It's the same as the traditional devotional path. Andrew Hewson has a nice simple set of phrases to distinguish the two. Maharshi's results in the realization of our true selves as "Pure Awareness," and it tends to have an impersonal quality to it.

On the other hand the "outward facing path," (which simply refers to seeing God in everything and everyone rather than turning within to find the impersonal God) leads to an experience of what Andrew calls "Conscious Presence" - a sense of a Personal Divine Presence permeating everything.

Pure Awareness could symbolically be said to have a masculine quality, while Conscious Presence has a more "feminine" quality (politically correct folks - this is only symbolic!!).

In what has traditionally been referred to as the "sacred marriage," there is a perfect integration of pure awareness and conscious presence - pure awareness consciously present, or conscious presence "purely aware."

The Two as One.