Advaita is present in the form of the Soul. Dvaita is present in the form of the universe.+

Advaita is the treasure hidden by the Dvaita. Advaita is the Soul, the Self and Dvaita are the ‘I’. Advaita is present in the form of the Soul. Dvaita is present in the form of the universe.

Sage Sankara says:~ A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC~ All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman (Consciousness) which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

When you finally realize the ‘‘Self’ ‘is not you but the ‘‘Self’’ is the Soul then you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Sage Sankara says:~VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, is burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Remember: ~

All is consciousness. The whole universe is consciousness. From consciousness, the universe comes. When the universe disappears, the consciousness still remains without form, time, and space.:~

The Soul, the Self is Advaita. Advaita means one without the second. The Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Advaita is the nature of God, the innermost Self. Advaita is God. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness.

You are being conditioned by the religious myth which has made you a non-thinker.

Come out of the religious myth by realizing God in truth. 

You are being conditioned by the religious myth which has made you a non-thinker. Come out of the religious myth by realizing God in truth.

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.– 

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Yajur Veda chapter- 32:~  God is Supreme or Supreme Spirit.

Vedas and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the  Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)”,

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides.

And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there is

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham -Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material (Gita 14.27)

If God is  Spirit, then how does a man know God created the world? There is no proof. If the man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? (i.e. were created).

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there is.

That is why Jesus said: ~ Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6)

Jesus meant knowledge of the Spirit or God (pearls) should not be given to the ignorant populace (pigs).

Advaita is universal. Advaita is not for sale. Do not buy Advaita from the spiritual supermarket. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the innermost Self. The world in which you exist is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Knowledge of the single stuff is Advaitic wisdom.

Advaitic truth is very simple, but it is tough to realize because you have accumulated mental garbage from different sources in the name of Advaita. Until you discard all the accumulated knowledge you will never be able to realize the Advaitic truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

The Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the 'Self' shines in its own awareness when wisdom dawns.

The Advaita is the Soul is the cause and the support of all that exists as the world in which we exist.

The Advaita is present in the form of consciousness. Advaita is the root element of the universe. From the Advaita, the universe comes into existence. In the Advaita, the universe resides. And into the Advaita, the universe is dissolved. The Advaita is the parent of all that is there is. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Religions are more concerned with its culture, tradition or parampara, and belief’s dogmas and superstitions.+

People’s approach was more practical, and they are stuck with the belief of their inherited religion.

Religions are based on the blind faith or belief is a myth, not the truth. Religions are more concerned with its culture, tradition or parampara, and belief’s dogmas and superstitions.

Religious Gods are based on imaginary beliefs. The beliefs are not truth. The belief is part of the dualistic illusion.  The Atman is Brahman or God in actuality.   Other than the Atman the God all else is an illusion.  Whatever is based on the belief is a myth. 

People think it is blasphemy to disbelieve in their inherited religion and the religious God so they never ready to know or hear anything which harms their belief system. 

Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false, and by the politicians as useful.

The seeker of truth must realize the religion is not Spirituality or Adyatma. religion is based on blind belief or faith whereas Spirituality is based on the Spirit, the God in truth.

Sage Sankara says: ~ Atman is Brahman. The Atman alone is real is not religious truth. Sage Sankara declared this Advaitic truth, which the ultimate truth to the whole world, many centuries back is rational truth, scientific truth, and ultimate truth.

Thus, the Atman which is present in the form of consciousness is real and eternal, the world in which we exist is merely an illusion.

People do not want to work persevering for the truth beyond the form, time, and space. They expect enlightenment instantly. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be acquired so easily. Most people lack the patience and perseverance in investigating the truth, beyond the form, time, and space.

Religion is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. If one is seeking the truth, then he has to be free from all the religious beliefs and dogmas. Religion is based on the ego (you), whereas, the ultimate truth is based on the Soul, the innermost Self. Whatever is based on the ego is an illusion and whatever is based on the Soul is the ultimate reality or Brahman. Thus, religion has to be bifurcated from spirituality to realize the truth beyond the form, the time, and space.

There is no use in condemning religion. But one has to highlight how they cause hindrance and becomes an obstacle in the pursuit of truth.

There is no need to rebel against religion but to realize the religion is based on the false self within the false experience whereas spirituality is based on the Soul, the innermost self.

Remember:~

Religion makes humanity remain in ignorance of the reality of their true existence with its beliefs, superstitions, and dogmas, the ideas of heaven, hell, sin, karma, and rebirth.

Heaven the abode of physicalized Gods, where one goes after death, rebirth, and karma theories based on the birth entity, which is the false self within the illusory world.

When Vedas and Upanishads give clear-cut ideas of what God is supposed to be then all these Gods and Goddesses which people worship have no value from the ultimate standpoint.

For those ignorant who believe their experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, think that the effect of action done in previous births, as the Prarabdha in this birth, but for the realized one the present birth, life, death and the world itself is an illusion because they have realized the fact that, waking experience itself is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Isa Upanishads indicates that: ~ By worshipping Gods and Goddesses and going to the world of Gods after death is of no use. The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is the main goal. One cannot reach the non-dual destination by glorifying god and goddesses and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness. It surely indicates the fact that the seeker of truth has to drop the worshiping god and goddess in order to get Self-knowledge.

Sage Sankara says ~ “The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. Also, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the 'Self' has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies Self with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. (Adhyasa Bhashya)

Sage Sankara:~ (11.1) This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person. (Adhyasa Bhashya)

Sage Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, the person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is Avidya, an error that can be removed by Vidya. (Adhyasa Bhashya)

Sage Sankara: ~ (12) Sage Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma Vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman. (Adhyasa Bhashya)

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the innermost Self is verily Brahman (God), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body which is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise.

Isa Upanishads: ~ Religious Rituals (Avidya) is Karma (action) and, therefore, a hindrance. By performing Agnihotra and other sacrifices (Avidya) is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark.

The Vedic karma is limited only to the religious rituals, not on the whole human life. This karma theory based on human conduct must have been adopted from Buddhism and other theories based on human conduct.

When it says: Perform the obligatory karmas without any attachment to the fruits and at the same time worship Gods and Goddesses, again without any desire to go to heaven - then you can get the benefit of both, liberation and bliss. For those who are not yet ready to renounce, this path is recommended, it means that the religion and its idea of God and Goddesses and code of conducts, and its rituals are meant for the mass who are incapable of thinking of the beyond.

If the ‘Self’ is not the body, then the karma theory has no meaning. On the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self no second thing exists other than the Soul, which present in the form of consciousness because the world in which we exist is an illusion created out of consciousness. Thus, whatever karma performed by you within the world in which you exist has no value because the world in which you exist is an illusion.

Mundaka Upanishad says ~ “The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing The sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross The sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

Heaven the abode of physicalized Gods, where one goes after death, rebirth, and karma theories based on the birth entity, which is the false self within the illusory world.

When Vedas and Upanishads give clear-cut ideas of what God is supposed to be then all these Gods and Goddesses which people worship have no value from the ultimate standpoint.

Religious Gods are based on blind faith or belief. Belief is not God. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ is the center of all that exists. Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence. God in truth is only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. 

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the innermost self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is present in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

Even the Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God  other than consciousness 

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from the Self does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

No mantras help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, the world in which he exists as a reality. For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantas will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

That is why Sage Sankara:~ VC~.61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

VC- v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity With the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Advaitic Orthodoxy misinterpreted Sage Sankara and presented only the religious side of his teaching as the highest doctrine. Thus, people are misled. +

 

God has to be realized not worshipped.

God is the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in the universe because the universe is nothing but a dualistic illusion or Maya created out of consciousness.

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma': - Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the Self.

The universe is the product of ignorance. It is the Soul that is in ignorance. The Soul has to be awakened from its sleep of ignorance. In order to awaken the Soul, the Self you should realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self is the Soul by constant remembering of the Soul.

When the Soul the ‘Self wakes up in the midst of the dualistic illusion or Maya the ignorance vanishes the Soul sees itself as it is without the form, time and space even in the midst of the illusory form, time and space.

The Soul, the God is impersonal. The only way to approach God is by Acquiring the Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because the description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not a distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constituted the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.

Constant remembrance of the nature of God leads to Self-awareness, which itself is God-awareness. 

Advaitic Orthodoxy misinterpreted Sage Sankara and presented only the religious side of his teaching as the highest doctrine. Thus, people are misled. The orthodoxy based on rituals and mythical Gods and Karma. Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is nothing to do with Advaitic orthodoxy.

Let Advaitic wisdom annihilate ignorance (I) and reveal Soul, the Self the God in truth. Let your ears become deaf to the untruth propagated by the religion as a reality; enable you to realize the truth hidden by the ignorance (I). Let your eyes become blind to illusion to receive the Soul as the Self as it is in the midst of the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Sage Sankara makes a distinction between the absolute view and the relative view of things.

Genuine philosophy must be independent of religion, that in Sage Sankara himself the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion.

The Brahma Sutras together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon do not contain the higher wisdom. They are intended for those who are incapable of thinking rationally.

Sage Sankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras is not on a philosophical basis, but on an orthodox and mystic basis, with an appeal to the Vedas as a final authority.

In Brahma Sutra Sage Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e. the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because Sage Sankara explains in Manduka that those who study the Sutras are orthodox minds, intellectual children, hence his popular viewpoint to assist them. These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti, and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God. A Gnani says the scriptures for children, but wise seekers will think rationally.

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie, nevertheless one will find Sage Sankara (in his commentary on Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary Sage Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it is objected that a number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, only a few Upanishads do not but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

Scholars' translation of Brahma Sutras in Sacred Books of East must be read cautiously as he has not understood its highest sense, e.g. for Advaita, they wrongly put "Unity" instead of “Non-duality."

Sage Sankara gave religion and scholasticism and yoga no less than philosophy, to the seeking world. He was great enough to be able to do so. His commentary on Manduka is pure philosophy, but many of his other books are presented from a religious standpoint to help those who cannot rise up to philosophy.

Remember: ~

All the orthodox ideas rejected by Sage Sankara. There is no need to indulge in rituals, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman. There is no need to study philosophy, in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman then why you indulge in studying philosophy.

Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

Sage Sankara pointed out those rituals could in no way bring about wisdom, much less moksha.

Sage Sankara says the rewards of the rituals were not a matter of direct realization. Advaitic wisdom is based on personal realization.

The orthodox Advaitin believes that rituals alone would lead one to higher levels of attainment. Further, the deities would reward only those entitled to perform the rituals alone. The entitlement involved the caste, creed, and other parameters.

The scriptural authority and value of rituals are part of the Advaitic orthodoxy, which is meant for ignorant people.

The Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is nothing to do with religion, caste, rituals, worship, yoga, and other practices. Therefore an obvious disparity between Sage Sankara‘s path of Gnana and the path of Karma. Path of Gnana is meant for the advanced seeker of truth and path of Karma is meant for the ignorant populace.

Even Sage Sankara appears and tells the orthodox people the path of orthodoxy is the path of ignorance, they will not be able to drop their inherited samskara or conditioning, which they think is the only way to reach heaven and reap happy life in the next life.

As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the Self has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the ‘Self’ with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.- (11- Adhyasa Bhashya)

The orthodox people only teach and preach their knowledge of ignorance but none of them wants to know the God in Truth, which is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Remember:

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10) - Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they still remain in ignorance of the Atman the real God.

As a person, one performs rituals throughout his life. The person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view the world in which he exists as a reality. However, the Soul, the Self unborn eternal hidden by the world in which he exists. From the standpoint of the Soul, the world in which he exists is merely an illusion or Maya.

The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (9) ~ Children, immersed in ignorance in various ways, flatter themselves, saying: We have accomplished life's purpose. Because these performers of karma do not know the Truth owing to their attachment, they fall from heaven, misery-stricken, when the fruit of their work is exhausted.

First Mundaka - Chapter 2 (8) ~ Fools, dwelling in darkness, but wise in their own conceit and puffed up with vain scholarship, wander about, being afflicted by many ills, like blind men led by the blind.

Ish Upanishad declares:~ Those people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide 10/11/12

The religious orthodox people who have neglected the attainment of Self-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death.

This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain Self-knowledge. They are, in a real sense, committing suicide, for what can be worse than being a slave to sense enjoyment, completely oblivious of the real purpose of life, which is to be one’s, own master?

Sage Sankara says “he who knows the Brahman (God) is one and the ‘Self’ is another, does not know Brahman (God).”

Sage Sankara also asserts that Self is realized when All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of Self- knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Sage Sankara’s Gnanic path can help the seekers draw and prepare them for the journey to the reality hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.

Remember:~

Sage Sankara says rituals and rites such as yajna or fire ritual meant for the ignorant populace. Sage Sankara asserts will not prepare the mindset for the journey to Self-knowledge.

Moral, ethics, love compassion, code of conduct, celibacy, karma, sin, temple worship, ancestor worship, heaven, and hell are concerned with the one which is born, lives, and dies in the world.

Moral, ethics, love compassion, code of conduct, celibacy, karma, sin, temple worship, ancestor worship, heaven and hell nothing to with the Soul, the Self because it is unborn eternal. It is unborn eternal because it is an ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Religion and yoga prevent seekers from acquiring  Self- knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Athma Gnana.

According to Sage Sankara Atman, the unchanging entity itself is the ultimate reality or Brahman. Atman alone is real, while the universe is unreal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Mysticism, scriptural knowledge, penance based Scholasticism are a great hindrance to Self-realization.+

Physical & mental discipline such as Karma, Mantra Yoga, and Yajna, Puja Japa blind devotion to deity or guru is not the tool for liberation or freedom from experiencing the duality as reality. It is a dualistic cult including tradition Advaitic orthodoxy propagates this discipline has no value if one is seeking ultimate truth or Brahman to get Non-dualistic Self-awareness.

Mysticism, scriptural knowledge, penance based Scholasticism are a great hindrance to Self-realization. Inherited blind belief with corresponding actions based on scriptures, worship, ritual faith which imply certain mental and physical discipline, or scripture supporting belief, faith, creed, ritual, theological knowledge personal or opinion leads to hallucinated knowledge. All these become great hindrances in grasping, understanding, assimilating, and realizing the Advaitic or non-dual truth.

Scriptural mastery including ancient Sastras, Tarka, Samkhya disciplines to support Karmas & belief Bhakti Argument & interpretation with help of logic, grammar, etc. to support beliefs, revelations, prayers, etc. Also, dogmas, theological or other based on authorities.

Yoga, Silence, meditation, rituals, and devotion are based on the false self, and false experience does not yield the truth one seeking because the truth is beyond the false self [ego] and false experience [universe].

Mysticism is based on individual experience. The self is not individual because the self, which s in the form of consciousness, pervades in everything and everywhere in all the three states. Blind beliefs without verification and argument and interpretation on the base of the false self have not verified knowledge therefore it is not the truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Reject all non-Vedic Gods to realize the Atman, the God in truth.+

Vedic God is Athma.

It is for every seeker who is seeking truth must first know what God is supposed to be in actuality according to Vedas and Upanishads and reject all non-Vedic Gods to realize the Atman is God in truth. 

Bhagavad Gita Chapter:~ “All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many gods. (7- Verse -20)

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is present in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself’.

Thus, it refers to formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the innermost ‘Self’ within the false experience. Thus, it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false ‘Self’. Thus Atman or Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ is God.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshiped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jainism. There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme ‘Self’ in i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false ‘Self’.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

A great majority of Hindus are not in contact with their religious history therefore, they believe their inherited beliefs as the ultimate truth.

Hinduism is not the Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. And all Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practice barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at a different time, whereas the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is ancient and has no founder. Thus to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize his inherited religion is adulterated in the past and it becomes a great obstacle is realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

While they do not accept the texts past the Vedas, they are still monists and uphold other Hindu views. In their reformations, they rejected Brahminical control and they are open to all castes and women.

Hinduism is based on myths and thus, the people of Indian are unaware of the facts of their inherited religious history. The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves but Hinduism which is a non-Vedic belief system with all its ritual and conduct oriented practices has been contributed largely by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

Supreme Court of India:~ Hinduism, as a religion, incorporates all forms of belief without mandating the selection or elimination of any one single belief,“ It is a religion that has no single founder, no single scripture, and no single set of teachings. It has been described as Santana Dharma, namely, eternal faith, as it is the collective wisdom and inspiration of the centuries that Hinduism seeks to preach and propagate,” ---Hinduism has no single founder or scripture: SC, The Times of India (Delhi) Dec 17, 2015

Hindus are idol worshipers of a large number of Gods and Goddesses whereas in Vedas the God has been described as:-

Max Müller says ~ "The religion of the Veda knows no idols; the worship of idols in India is a secondary formation, a degradation of the more primitive worship of idolized Gods."

In Vedas, God has been described as:~

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~God  is the Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. He cannot be seen directly by anyone. He pervades all beings and all directions. 

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the innermost ‘Self’. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma' - Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

The Vedas as a body of scripture contains many contradictions and they are fragmentary in nature. For Hindus, scriptures like the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas are more attractive and appealing than the Vedas. And also the Gods and Goddesses they worship differ considerably from the Vedic ones. The collection of hymns called Vedas are written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus.

Yajur Veda says:~

Translation 1

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent." (Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Griffith pg. 538)

Translation 3.

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that:~

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc (Yajurveda 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time." (Yajurveda 40:9.)

Why worship and glorify the non-~Vedic Gods in place of Vedic God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time.

God exists prior to the form, time, and space. The form, time, and space cease to exist as a reality when wisdom dawns. Thus, the Gods and Gurus have no place in the domain of the Advaitic reality. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is real God. Thus, Self-realization is the only way to God-realization.

By worshipping the religious Gods and Gurus one will not get Self-realization or God-realization.

The Soul, the inner Guru reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready.

The Upanishad says: the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized god and scriptures are the greatest obstacle to Self-realization because they are based on false Self. The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper, inquiry, analysis, and reasoning and assimilate and realize it.

That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: ~ “One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and the witness of the universe. The universe is present in the form of the mind. By tracing the source of the mind (universe) one will be able to realize the Brahman or God. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar