Thursday, February 25, 2016

A smritis or code of conduct composed by Sage Atri defines Brahmin Hood very clearly.+


The one who has realized the Brahman (God) is Brahmin, not the one who is born in the Brahmin caste.

The Vedic system did not have a castes system.  Hinduism is nothing to do with the ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. 

The caste system was a fake created in the name of Hinduism. This non-Vedic belief system called Hinduism has created hatred in the low caste Hindu for the higher caste. 

Hindus indulge in 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 sanctions, therefore, Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. 

All Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practice barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at different times, whereas the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is ancient and has no founder. Many followers of Hinduism do translate the Vedas to fit into Hindu thought by changing the translation to reflect the beliefs of monism, reincarnation, the caste system,, and the absence of animal and human sacrifice. However, these poor translators.

In the Vedic era, a Brahmin was a person who had acquired Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana Atma Gnana. This was an extremely difficult path of the discipline of body, mind, and intellect, and people irrespective of their birth or class, who were dedicated to such an austere life, were recognized as Brahmins. 

A great example of this tradition (that a person becoming a Brahmin, rather than born as one) is the case of Vishwamitra, a warrior (Kshatriya), who became a Brahmin after attaining Atma Jnana or  Brahma Gnana or Self-Knowledge.

A smritis or code of conduct composed by Sage Atri defines Brahminhood very clearly.
"By birth, every man is a Shudra (an ignorant person). Through various types of disciplines (samskaras), he becomes a dwija (twice-born). Through the studies of scriptures, he becomes a vipra (or a scholar). Through the realization of supreme spirit (Brahma jnana), he becomes a Brahmin.”
The belief that people born in the Brahmin caste, automatically become Brahmins, is a much later concept in very ancient India.  Thus, Brahmin means not caste but one who has attained Atma Gnana or Brahma Gnana.  

The one who has realized the Brahman (God) is Brahmin, not the one who is born in the Brahmin caste. Anyone can become Brahmin by acquiring Brahma Gnana. 

The very concepts of castes by birth, upper/lower castes, superior/inferior castes, outcastes, untouchables, Dalits, etc. are clearly prohibited by Rig-Veda”.

A Brahmin is not a Brahmin merely because he is born out of a Brahmin mother’s womb. Nor he is a Brahmin merely because he is born in the Brahmin caste.  Brahmin is not Caste it is the state of God. Anyone can become a Brahmin by acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

A Brahmin has acquired Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana or one who is free from ignorance.

He has got rid of the ignorance; He has traveled beyond all bounds of form, time, and space. He is no longer tied to the illusory form, time, and space.  A person who has acquired Advaitic Gnana is a Brahmin, not a person who indulges in priestcraft.

A Brahmin has got rid of the strap of ignorance by acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.    A Brahmin is the one who freed himself from the dualistic illusion.

A Brahmin has broken all links with the illusory form, time, and space by acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Brahmin has taken off the cross-bar of ignorance. He has become aware of the truth is hidden by the ‘I’.

A Brahmin is abused and insulted by the ignorant. He is tortured, imprisoned,, and bound up by the ignorant. But he endures all these without being provoked or without losing his temper.

A Brahmin has patience as his power and his firm conviction about the truth, which is hidden by the ‘I’.

A Brahmin is free from the ignorance of his true existence. He is not the performer of religious worship and rituals. He is not a scriptural scholar. He is restrained.  He is fully aware of the fact that his individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The Brahmin does not belong to any religion, caste, race, or nationality because he does not belong to the domain of form, time, and space.  He, even being within the domain of the form, time, and space is not of the form, time, and space.

The water does not get attached to the surface of the lotus leaf. The mustard seed does not get attached to the point of a needle. In the same way, the Brahmin does not get attached to religion caste, race, or nationality.  He is non-attached from the world in which he exists even though he is in the world; he is not of this world.

A Brahmin has become aware of the fact that the world in which he exists itself is an illusion created out of consciousness.  Brahmin is the one who is aware of the fact that Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana frees the Soul from the cage of the dualistic illusion.

A Brahmin possesses profound wisdom. He is full of insight. He is capable of discriminating the right path from the wrong path. He has reached the highest state.

A Brahmin is the one who has established the reality of his true existence. He is not attached to the world in which he exists.

A Brahmin is the knower of Brahman.  His speech is true. His words are well-meaning, constructive, and not harsh. By his words, he will not give offense to anyone. Nor will his words provoke people. He silently shares the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.    

A Brahmin is the knower of Brahman. He has no attachments to the ‘I’ - He has no spiritual doubts due to his right awareness, He has entered the deathless existence.  

 A Brahmin has traveled beyond form, time, and space and realized the true existence is formless, timeless, and spaceless. 

The Soul is like the moon at the full - spotless and free of blemishes. The Soul, the Self is pure, calm, serene, and exceptionally tranquil.

A Brahmin has crossed over the quagmire of passion. He has gone beyond the difficult terrain of the dualistic illusion that is hard to traverse and has crossed the boundaries of ignorance. He is fully and totally reached the other shore.

He is in self-awareness. His spiritual doubts are resolved. His quest is over He is no longer given to grasping. He is cooled.

A Brahmin is the one who has realized Brahman.  He has given up the bonds that bind him to humanity. He has gone beyond the bounds of form, time, and space. He is disengaged from all bonds of the dualistic illusion.

A Brahmin is the one who has given up the religion and religious idea of God and religious rituals. He has also given up yogic Samadhi and the practice of meditation. He has achieved total tranquillity of the formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. He has conquered the effortless reality with his mental effort.

A Brahmin knows the experience of birth, life, death, and the world is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  He is not attached to the illusory experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

He has reached the destination which is beyond the illusory experience of life, death, and, the world. He possesses the knowledge of the essence which is the cause of the world in which he exists.

The path of truth is neither of Gods, nor of the religion, nor of the humans. All taints of ignorance are totally eradicated in the Atmic path. Those who tread the Atmic path have attained the highest spiritual knowledge.

He is a great Sage as he has realized the essentials. He has conquered the truth which is beyond birth, life, death, and the world. He is devoid of blemishes. He has washed away all the ignorance. He has awakened to the essentials.

He has his higher awareness. He has reached the state of a Sage. He has achieved the final perfection. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Manduka Upanishads: - A Gnani bears no external mark, neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.+


A Brahmin by birth, a Yogi, a Sanyasi, a Swami, a Sadhu a monk, a wandering ascetic, is not a Gnani. These are all categories that belong to the religious landscape of different ideologies. 

Manduka Upanishads: - Even the Gods cannot find out who is a Gnani because he bears no external mark. Neither nudity nor the yellow robe has anything to do with him.

A Gnani cannot have the idea of renouncing the world or giving up something of the practical world because that would connote the idea of duality.  Duality is merely an illusion from the ultimate standpoint. Knowing no second thing at all there remains nothing to be given up.

If a seeker after truth receives the words of the wisdom from some source, that seeker must pay the source due respect and gratitude to get the grace of the Soul.

One does not become a Gnani by one’s matted hair. Nor does one become a Gnani by one’s clan. Even one’s birth in priest caste will not make a Gnani. One has to realize the Truth by acquiring Self-knowledge or Braham Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The matted hair and religious robes belong to the religion. Religion is based on the false self (ego) within the false experience (world). 

The one who has realized the Self is not the ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul knows the religious robes and matted coiled hair is nothing to do with the Soul, the Self. 

The seeker who has realized the Soul alone is real and the world in which he exists is an illusion is worthy of the Advaitic Gnana.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana frees the Soul, the Self from experiencing the illusory experience of birth, life, death, and the world as a reality.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana make the Soul, the 'Self' unburdened and put down the illusory load of the form, time, and space.

Through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or AtmaGnana the Soul, the 'Self' gets disengaged from the bonds of the illusory form, time, and space in which was imprisoned.

A Gnanis attention is fixed on the Soul and he sees the illusion as the consciousness, the one without the second.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The fear of the God injected by the religion was the root cause of worship, superstitions and dogmas.+


People who pursue a multitude of religious and yogic paths without being aware of the Gnanic path are not the yogic or religious path.

The hallucination created by religion such as personal Gods, heaven, hell, karma, sin when they start growing; takes on such a big dimension. The cinema is more powerful than real life, given that one can just exaggerate it the way he wants it. When the illusory process gets exaggerated, it becomes more powerful than life.

Religion breeds superstition because religion is based on blind belief.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ “If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.
***
How can you worship the Absolute? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshipped, whereas the Absolute is nondual. One can worship his idea of the Absolute only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.

The Upanishads say in effect that ~ If you believe that the ‘the Soul, the innermost Self’ is one and God (Brahman) is another you cannot understand Truth.

The religion preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self. 

People all over the world in the past and present accepted the idea of the existence of God.  The fear of God injected by the religion was the root cause of worship, superstitions, and dogmas.  The religious belief is passed on to the populace from one generation to the next generation.
Realizing the single stuff of which this universe in which you exist is made, is Truth realization or Self-realization or God-realization.

When the expression itself is illusory, then the evolution within the illusory expression is bound to be an illusion.  Thus, the evolution theory holds no water from the standpoint of the Soul, the innermost Self

The religion preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self.  

People who believe in the religious idea of God as a creator are deluded because they are unaware of the fact that, the ‘Self’ is not the form but ‘Self’ is formless consciousness. They will not be able to accept anything other than their practical experience in this practical world.  Therefore, people who are the deeply rooted conviction of their belief system are not qualified for the pursuit of truth. And seeker of truth should avoid discussion religious-minded people. 
First, you must know what God is supposed to be in actuality.
All the mythological stories are nothing to do with Vedas.  There is no mention of these mythological Gods in Vedas.
There is a clear-cut idea in the scriptures, what is supposed to be God. And what not to worship in place of God then why worship the belief of God, which not God.
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)
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.
People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.
Vedas itself says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship. 
The seeker of truth stays away from religion. Soulcentric reasoning is a reliable method to reach the realm of the Soul, which is the ultimate reality. Unless one exercises his reason--there is no chance of getting the truth.

Sage Sankara founded his Advaita Vedanta either on reason independent of Sruti or on Sruti confirmed by reason."  

Sage Sankara:~ This (the unreality of duality) is borne out by the Srutis ... But it is possible also to show the unreality of the object world even from pure reasoning, and this second chapter is undertaken for that purpose. (Commentary on the Manduka Upanishad, II, 1)  

From the ultimate standpoint, there is nothing exist other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The universe is an illusion created out of consciousness; therefore its contents are also consciousness. Thus, the individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world is part of the dualistic illusion.  Thus, the dualistic illusion which appears as the universe is created out of consciousness.  Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

First, know what this God supposed to be according to the Vedas.+


Until the seeker of truth drops all this priest-oriented baggage it is impossible to reach the ultimate end of understanding. Without reaching the ultimate end Self–Realization or God-realization is impossible.

No religious God can exist apart from the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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

The Vedas talk about Brahman (God in truth) which refers to the ultimate truth or ultimate reality. The consciousness is the ultimate truth, therefore, the consciousness is Brahman and Brahman is God.
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.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the Self.   In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.
Vedas do not permit idol worship. All the idols are of the Puranic Gods priests are referring to the Puranic Brahma as God they are ignorant of the God in Vedas even though they speak of Vedas.
Priests do not understand the meaning of the Brahman, which is present in the form of consciousness. 
First, know what this God is supposed to be according to the Vedas. 

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

God in truth is the Atman, the Self. Atman is present in the form of consciousness.

Do not accept any other God other than Atman not worship other than Atman.

Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything.

God in truth is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is and all else is an illusion.

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: ~ There is no image of God in truth. God in truth is unborn and eternal. (Chapter 32, Verse 3)

Yajurveda: ~ God in truth is nondual and pure" (Chapter 40, Verse) 
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.
From the Vedic perspective, all your religious Gods are non-Vedic Gods based on imagination.
Religious Gods are mere beliefs. Belief is not God.  Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the ‘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.
Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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. 

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshipped, whereas God is nondual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.

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

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

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)

Swami Vivekananda: ~ The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods?

 Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back that is the idea. ... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the Gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods? ... The Gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. ... This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my Soul. You are infinite, deathless, birthless. Because you are the infinite spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? 
- Swami Vivekananda  (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

That is why Sage Sankara,  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

Sage Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be realized. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying “I am a king.”

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.

The Atmic path is not for religious and yogic-minded people. Religious and yogic people must move on their chosen path. The Atmic path is for only seekers of truth who are seriously searching for the truth of their own existence.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

I AM" itself’ is creates the prison to the Soul, the Self. +


Many spiritual masters say that sticking to "I AM" is way out from the physical shackles. But that "I AM" itself’ is creates the prison to the Soul, the Self.

By thinking repeatedly, ‘I AM THAT’ the wisdom will not dawn.  The thought, ‘I AM’ is the bondage. The thought, ‘I AM’ is the dualistic prison’.  The thought ‘I AM’ is the cause of ignorance.  

I’ AM ‘indicates the ‘Self’ as being limited to the physical body. When this delusion ‘I AM’ is destroyed by realizing the Self is not the ‘I or ‘I AM’.

The one, which expresses itself as 'I', is not 'I' but it is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  The Soul is prior to the appearance of the ‘I’. The ‘Self’ is not the ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the witness of the ‘I’.

Remember, the ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ is not the ‘Self’. Considering the ‘I’ or ‘I AM as the ‘Self’ is an error.
The Soul, the ‘Self’, which is in the form of consciousness cannot be called anything nor approached because it is prior to anything that exists.

The Soul or consciousness is the substance of the whole universe with all contents. The thoughts and words are part of the dualistic illusion.    The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is not a thing or an entity or identity within the universe. The Soul is the fullness of consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space.

Remember this: ~ I or 'I' AM’ is an illusory expression of the Soul. Holding the Self’ as the ‘I’ or ‘I am’ is holding the illusion as reality.

 The mind ceases to exist without the ‘I’.

The mind ceases to exist without form, time, and space.

The mind ceases to exist without the universe.

The mind ceases to exist without waking or the dream.

The mind ceases to exist without the individual experience of birth, life-death, and the world.

The mind ceases to exist without the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

But

The Soul, the Self can exist with or without the ‘I’.

The Soul, the Self can exist without the mind.

The Soul, the Self can exist without the universe.

The Soul, the Self can exist without waking or the dream.

The Soul, the Self can exist without the individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

The Soul, the Self can exist without the dualistic illusion.

Consciousness pervades everywhere and in everything in the universe, which is the dualistic illusion.

The existence of the Soul, the ‘Self’ which is hidden by the ‘I’ has to be mentally grasped and assimilated.

The ‘Self’ is the Soul, the witness of the ‘I’. 

Remember:~

Unless the ‘I AM is present the world in which we exist prevails as a reality.

The thoughts of liberation and bondage will remain. So long one thinks the Self as “I AM”.

Wisdom dawns when you realize the ‘Self’ is not the ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ Is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Giving up one physical identity such as ‘I AM’ and replacing it with ‘I AM THAT, will not get to the root of the problem of false identification.

By thinking, ‘I am self-realized is only an imagination. In the realm of truth, there is no scope for such imagination.  The seeker has to transcend the dualistic illusion in order to enter the formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana free the Soul, the Self from experiencing the dualistic illusion as a reality.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Those who are wedded to philosophical and scriptural knowledge will permanently remain in illusion believing their philosophical knowledge as real wealth.+


Those who are wedded to philosophical and scriptural knowledge will permanently remain in illusion believing their philosophical knowledge as real wealth. 

Until and unless they make sure the  ‘Self’ is not the ‘I’  and the world is unreal through deeper ‘Self’-search they are bound to believe their egocentric intellectual accumulated knowledge as wisdom. The Advaitic wisdom is knowledge of the existence which is hidden by the form, time, and space. 

Philosophical and scriptural knowledge which are based on the ego as  the ‘Self’ is not useful in pursuit of truth

Lectures consisting of a shower of ornamental words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures or intellectual theories, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the intellectuals, but are no good for freedom.

By discussing philosophy or by indulging rituals, prayers, and worship or by glorifying Gurus or Gods, freedom from duality will never come because the conviction of duality grows stronger and stronger. If one has the strong conviction that, the practical life within the practical world as reality, then there is no freedom from experiencing the birth, life, death, and the world as reality. Until one believes the experience the birth, life, death, and the world as reality the duality will prevail as a reality. 

Sages of truth restrained themselves parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass and only a selected few. It was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it. Self- it was given knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few. 

Thus, religion was given to the mass, and knowledge of the spirit is given only selected a few. Thus, we find traces of the knowledge of the Spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.
Katha Upanishad says: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. ( II -23-P-20)
Upanishads:~  Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)

The inner 'Self' reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready.    : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Vedas says never accept another God in place of Atman nor worship other than the Atman.+


People indulge in prayers asking God ‘God give me this, give me that, and save me. What they are seeking in prayer is not God, what they are seeking is security and happiness. Ultimately what they want with prayer is their wellbeing, not the truth; they are not willing to admit it.

Ordinarily, one thinks prayer is a means to reach God, but what does he really know about God? If we are truthful, he must admit he has no direct experience of God; he is coming from a particular belief system. The danger in using prayer to reach a God, he has no direct experience of, can be illusionary. Thoughts and prayers can open a person but at the same time, they can create hallucinations.

The ignorance will never vanish by discussing philosophy or by studying the scriptures or by indulging in rituals, prayers, and worship, or by glorifying Gurus or Gods.

The inborn conditioning becomes deep-rooted by indulging in the rituals, glorifying Gurus and Gods.

It is better to know what God is supposed to be in actuality according to Vedas. If God you worship and pray is not Vedic God then all such belief of non-Vedic Gods has to be discarded without mercy. 

From the Vedic perspective, all your religious Gods are non-Vedic Gods based on imagination.
Religious Gods are based on blind belief. Belief-based Gods are not God in truth.  Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the ‘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.
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. (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. 

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

Even 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)

 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)

That is why Sage Sankara:~ 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

Sage Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness of not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine. Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be realized. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise. Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying “I am a king.”

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.

The Atmic path is not for religious and yogic-minded people. Religious and yogic people must move on their chosen path. The Atmic path is for only seekers of truth who are seriously searching the truth of the true existence.:~Santthosh Kumaar