Bhangita asks, would you say Ramana Marsh is an exception to this linear requirement? Pro-true. As far as we know, Ramana Marshita did not get enlightenment from any particular guru,. Go and read Upanishads. If you can't be so strict about this, I was just thinking, Sri Ramakrishna, the semi-literate Mad Brahmin priest of Daksineshwar. But then his primary way was to cry to the Divine Mother. This is a formalized way of showing the importance of teachers.
Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches the Mundaka Upanishad which one of the major Upanishads belonging to the Atharva Veda. Mundaka means ''shaved'' like a shaved head. The teachings revealed in this Upanishad are meant to leave the student clean, or shaved of the veil of ignorance. Indeed, the study of this Upanishad has been traditionally confined to the shaven-heads, or the sannyasins, who have renounced everything and devoted themselves exclusively to contemplation. The book consists of 64 Mantras (verses) split across Mundakas (parts) and Khandas (sections) as follows:
Mundaka 1 - Khanda 1 - 9 mantras (1.1.1 - 1.1.9)
Mundaka 1 - Khanda 2 - 13 mantras (1.2.1 - 1.2.13)
Mundaka 2 - Khanda 1 - 10 mantras (2.1.1 - 2.1.10)
Mundaka 2 - Khanda 2 - 11 mantras (2.2.1 - 2.2.11)
Mundaka 3 - Khanda 1 - 10 mantras (3.1.1 - 3.1.10)
Mundaka 3 - Khanda 2 - 11 mantras (3.2.1 - 3.2.11)
Reference books:
1. Mundaka Upanisad translated by Swami Gambhirananda - https://www.vedanta.com/store/mundaka-upanisad-with-the-commentary-of-sankaracarya_moreinfo.html (or)
2. Eight Upanisads Vol. 2 translated by Swami Gambhirananda - https://www.vedanta.com/store/Eight-Upanishads-Commentary-by-Shankara_moreinfo.html