Santan Dharma or Vedic religion emphasizes on Self-realization is quintessence.+

Hinduism has a multiplicity of Gods and Goddesses. Hinduism abjures all divides and separates. It contains different beliefs, dogmas, and practices.  

Santan Dharma or Vedic religion emphasizes on Self-realization is quintessence.   Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has no founder or a Supreme head or individual leadership or hierarchy. There is no supreme middleman who can canonize a human into a saint, by the unsuspecting populace.  It is a relentless pursuit of truth, flexible to suit all situations. 

Temple worships were not of the Vedic religion.  Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is the world's oldest religion.

 

India has never attacked any other country in past history but has been invaded many numbers of times by foreign invaders.  

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship; the followers of Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma never worshipped idols.

God is formless, timeless and spaceless existence. Thus according to the Vedas God neither has any image nor God resides in any particular idol or statue. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.   

                               

On the Vedic perspective, Lord Krishna has been just a Mahan yogi and not God himself. Because in the Bhagavad Gita itself says: ~

The Bhagavad Gita: ~ 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)

Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self in truth." The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

So, on Vedic perspective, Lord Krishna is not Vedic God because Rig Veda says:   May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?"

That is why Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the Self in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ 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)

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.

Hinduism is not Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.  Hindus do idol-worship while Vedas bars idol worship.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshipped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains. 

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.

The Hindus believed in polytheism, believing all of their Gods to be separate individuals, which were introduced much later by the founders of Hinduism which contains diverse beliefs caste and creed.  

When the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma knows no idols then why so many Gods and goddesses with different form and name are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes. 

Hindus do idol-worship while Vedas bars idol worship. According to Vedas, God pervades in everything and everywhere.

People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God because they believed the false God as real God. 

To be considered an orthodox Hindu one need only accept the authority of Shruti, however, there is no universal agreement among Hindus what constitutes Shruti. Vedantins consider the Vedanta, i.e., the Upanishads as Shruti but also include the Bhagavad-Gita and Brahma Sutras as authoritative. For some Vaishnavas, the Bhagavata Purana is to be considered Veda. Some consider the Tantras are considered Veda. Thus, we find that there is ample scope for different ideologies,   philosophies, and practices under the very broad umbrella of Hinduism.

Hindus indulge non-Vedic beliefs such as idolatry, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priestcraft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, untouchability and child marriages. All these lack Vedic sanction, therefore, Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma.

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. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

 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.

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

 When Upanishads and Vedas declare that, “God is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman.

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 Prakriti, 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.)

Thus, to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize the fact that Hinduism is not Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma and Hinduism is not means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  The Hinduism is nothing to do with ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. :~Santthosh Kumaar