“There is nothing to realize” is a pointer that is incomplete. When such a pointer is taken out of a wider teaching context, it may be misleading.
The realization of the Self is not nothing. It is the revelation of the truth that IS.
The nothing state is empty and void of the perfume of the Self.
The dissolution of ignorance, the awakening from the illusory dream of separation is absolutely necessary for the full and joyful revelation of the Self.