A counter to a common diss on Sadhguru

A common diss on Sadhguru from so-called "traditional" Hindus is that they claim Sadhguru hasn't read any scriptures ("shastras") by his own admission, hence it can be concluded that he isn't an authentic Yogi/Enlightened.

The following text is by a monk SWAMI PREMANANDA from the highly respected Vedanta school of Rama Krishna mission order established by Swami Vivekananda. source link https://vk.rkmm.org/s/vkm/m/vedanta-kesari-1914/a/04-dharma-or-spirituality-aug-1914 04 DHARMA OR SPIRITUALITY (Aug 1914) published in Vedanta Kesari.

We can never hope to attain even a bit of Dharma, if we rest contented by simply making a verbal reproduction of the teachings of our Shastras like a talking-machine, and make no further move. Spirituality has he only who has the internal realisation of it. To him alone who has the seed of Dharma comes its gradual unfoldment. Just as a seed of a banian brings forth a mighty tree wherever it falls, so there must be the seed of spirituality in us, first; and then we shall have to rear up the tree —we should attempt to realise it—we must try to get our mind moulded by that one thought. Otherwise, none can become spiritual by simply stuffing the brain with a mass of stock-phrases and patent words, and now and then making a parade of them before others, though thus one can pass for a great scholar at the best, that is all! One can be estimated as a learned Pandit by memorising the whole of Sankara’s commentaries—but he can never be a spiritual man for all that. Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna used to say: “Great scholars are just like kites and vultures; they soar high up in the heaven but their eyes remain always fixed on the carrion below,—so the scholars also read a cart-load of good books and display their learning with tall-talks of philosophy, but their minds remain ever riveted on the carrion—on money and women".

The following is from Yoganada Pramahansa source; https://yogananda.com.au/pyr/pyr_knowledge.html
"Theoretical knowledge cannot give you realisation about God. So don’t waste your time on too much theory. Those who do so becomes lost in the jungle of reason and never get beyond mere theories. In the process of reasoning and reasoning they never perceive truth, for truth is beyond reason. Most intellectualists thus become bound by their own conclusions."

"A person with a theoretical knowledge of scriptures but without Self-realization is like a man who eats much food but cannot digest it. The man with divine realization, even if lacking scriptural knowledge, has attained God and is a worthy example to society"

"One hour of regular meditation is worth more than one month of theoretical study of the scriptures. In meditation, direct knowledge is received."

"Patanjali, the great sage and expounder of yoga in India, who lived several centuries before Christ, said that the so-called authority of the scriptures is not proof of their truth. To discover the truth of the universal teachings of the scriptures, undiluted by the limitations of our opinions, one must live their teachings."

"Realization comes from constant, deep meditation, and the unceasing effort to convert theory into true understanding through practice. God-realization comes first. Books and everything else are of secondary importance. Find God and everything else will be added unto you – all wisdom, all prosperity, all beauty. Find the Tree of All Life and you will have all its fruits." https://www.ananda.org/ask-yogananda/are-scriptures-true/

Ofcource, Sadhguru also has read Advaita Vedanta and Adi Shankaras works (proof https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixvymSQb-xw&pp=ygUbc2FkaGd1cnUgYWRpIHNoYW5rYXJhY2hhcnlh ) and many other texts, what he means when he admits he didn't read Vedanta is that he didn't read it for his own enlightenement because his path was purely Kriya/Yoga or commonly referred to as "Raja Yoga". The vedantic method of reading Vedanta scriptures and self-enquiry is the path of "Jnana Yoga".
Sadhguru routinely talks about non-vedantic texts like Patanjai Yoga sutras, the whole Chakra, Kundalini, Yogic methods which are all described in standard Tantric/Yogic “shastras”.

The real reason Sadhguru doesn't discuss purely vedantic type scriptures is because the general population is too hallucinatory and not intellectual enough for the highly abstract nature of these texts. All he wants is people to practice methods where direct realisation is possible instead of getting lost in misinterpreting multiple dozens of scriptures written by various authors in a language where people may not be very erudite in.

Then there is also a major problem in the world where each religion claims only its own scriptures as the truth and others as heretic or false. SG wants to solve this problem and not contribute to it by preaching people of various religious backgrounds to read Vedantic scriptures like ashtavakra git or adi shankaras half-a-dozen self-enquiry books. This approach of preaching people all over the world to read Hindu scriptures will not work. Hence SG focusses only on Pranic methods i.e Yoga/Tantra which doesn't require any belief in any scripture because its a live-experience. Yoganada Pramahansa also had similar views https://www.ananda.org/ask-yogananda/are-scriptures-true/