Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda: ~ God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape.+

Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda: ~

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

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"

Yajurveda: ~ "They are entering darkness, those who worship the natural things (like air, water, fire, etc.), they are sinking more in darkness who worship created things." (Chapter 40, Verse 9)

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

Yajurveda: ~ "They are entering darkness, those who worship the natural things (like air, water, fire, etc.), they are sinking more in darkness who worship created things." (Chapter 40, Verse 9)

Remember:~

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

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda declares God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of real God.

Rig Veda: ~"Say this, all one God in many names." (Rigveda, book 1, Hymn 164, Verse 46)

Rig Veda: ~ Do not worship anyone besides God in truth alone, praise God in truth alone" (Book 8, Hymn 1, Verse 1)

Rig Veda: ~ Praise God in truth would matchless and alone." (Book 6, Hymn 45, Verse 16)

Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth, Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realizing God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

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

Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth of God in truth. The ultimate truth itself is God in truth.

Those whose intelligence has been stolen by ignorance worship demigods":~Santthosh Kumaar

If you are trying to become a Guru or Monk then you are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge.+

If you are trying to become a Guru or Monk then you are unfit to acquire Self-knowledge. Someone posing as a Gnani because he is some Gurus’ direct disciple cannot be a Gnani. Those who pose themselves as Gnanis are not Gnanis.  A Gnani never poses himself as a Guru, a swami, a sadhu or a yogi, or some Guru’s disciple. 

Different Gurus and teachers are pointing out the understanding of the Advaitic truth from different standpoints. All such an understanding of Advaita is on the dualistic perspective accumulated from here and there.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread."

Sage Sankara: ~ A Gnani "bears no outward mark of a holy man" (Stanza 539).

Thus, it proves that the religious gurus and yogis are not Gnanis because they identified themselves as holy people. 

A Gnani never claims himself as a Gnani, he guides the seekers, not posing himself as a Guru, and he does not force his wisdom on others.

Advaita is not a theory or a philosophy. Advaita is the nature of the Soul the innermost Self.  There is no need for any theory or philosophy or scriptures to acquire Self-knowledge. Only a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed.

Sage Sankara:~ 'Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the Veda to that person. What is the Veda? ~ utterances of those who have known the Truth. Here is one who has known the Truth; why should he or she depend upon the Veda further? Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration. The Upanishad itself says that the 'words are only so much of the  distraction for such minds.'

Bhagvan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

You need not become a Guru or a monk to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. You have not to renounce the world or leave anything ~ your wife, children, job, responsibilities. You do not have to renounce anything! 

The only thing you have to realize is the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space by realizing the form, time and space are the product of ignorance. When ignorance vanishes, the unreality of the form, time and space is exposed.

Upanishad's say:~  "He who thinks he knows, does not know." This means that to know anything implies a second, an object of knowledge, hence duality, i.e. no Gnana.

Tripura Rahasya: ~ Second-hand knowledge of the Self-gathered from books or Gurus can never emancipate a man until its truth is rightly investigated and applied; only direct realization will do that. Realize the Self, by mentally turning your attention inward. (18: 89) :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Aham Brahmasmi ~ I am God, I am Brahman. But when Brahman is, how can "I" remain? +

Bhagvan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

Gurus and Godmen say: ~ Aham Brahmasmi ~ I am God, I am Brahman. But when Brahman is, how can "I" remain? Only Brahman remains not the ‘I’. ‘I’ is not the Self. The Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, it is the Soul, the Self which is Brahman or God in truth.

Man and his experience of the world are present only in the duality. The duality is present in the form of the mind. The Mind is present in the form of the universe and the universe appears as the waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

One cannot live without the physical world; it is the basis of his life. The physical world is within the waking experience. In the same way, the dream world and the dream entity exist within the dream. 

The dream entity and the dream world are a reality within the dream. Similarly, the waking entity and the waking world are a reality within the waking experience. The dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place, and the waking remains as a reality until the ignorance is there.

Ignorance will prevail until the waking entity remains unaware of the existence of the formless witness. 

Thus, one has to trace the formless witness of the three states in order to realize, that the Self is neither the waking entity nor the Self is the dream entity but the Self is that which witnesses the coming and going of the three states, without the physical apparatus.

So it is the starting point of his spiritual quest. Proof, not imaginations, must be the seekers’ material.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Sage Sankara : ~ The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga.+

Yoga is based on the body as the Self. The deeper investigation reveals the fact that the Self is not the body. Therefore, the physical-based practices will not yield truth. Yoga has its own value in practical life within the practical world. But yoga is nothing to do with the ultimate Truth or Brahman.

The path of Wisdom is nothing to do with yoga and religion. The path of religion, the theory of karma, the yogic path, and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. 

The path of wisdom is for the advanced seekers of truth. It deals with the nature of the ultimate Truth and Reality. It is meant for superior aspirants who have an inner urge to know the truth and it is not for those who are immersed in earthly desires.

Remaining thoughtless in the waking experience is Yogic Samadhi. Yogic Samadhi is not the Advaitic wisdom

Brih Upanishad: page 32. "Yoga does not yield truth or liberation."

One who is in Samadhi will not know that this universe as the consciousness; therefore yoga is not the means to Self- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

In Samadhi the yogi knows nothing, sees no universe; so if there is nothing but blankness. The blankness is not the Advaitic wisdom.

The yogi does not know the nature of the universe. If the universe is not seen in the Samadhi then there is no need to use the word Atman and Brahman.  The yogi is unaware of the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space. 

By shutting his eyes in Samadhi, the Yogi does not know the universe, which confronts him. Hence the universe can't be known as the Soul or the consciousness through yoga.

One is in a non-dual condition in deep sleep or Samadhi, One without a second, true, but he did not know it at the time. He says only in the waking experience afterward. Hence, there must be an inquiry so that you find non-duality whilst you are awake so that you can see nonduality at the time not afterward. Hence, too the need for inquiring into the nature of the universe and knowing it as the Soul or the consciousness whilst one is awake, and not during sleep or Samadhi.

Advaitic truth is the ultimate truth.  Yogis, Mystics and religious teachers do not accept the path of wisdom because it pries into the truth, the source and the validity of the knowledge they claim. Therefore, it is the most difficult part of the study of Advaita.

That is why Sage Sankara said: ~VC-63- “Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation.   

The universe in which we exist will not remain as reality when wisdom dawns. The universe is a mere mirage created out of the consciousness and there is conscious awareness of unity in diversity because there is no second thing exists other than the consciousness.

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaitic wisdom) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says: ~ "This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas: the force of the word this is to point this out.

Lord Krishna describes some of the other yogas but devotes this chapter separately to Gnana Yoga. So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence Gnana got lost. That is why Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Krishna points out that the yoga must-see is "Brahman in action."

As per the scriptures, the three "Ashrams" or stages in life were originally intended for three grades of intelligence thus:~

Religion: low intellects had to do 'karmas' works, ritual actions, chanting of mantras and indulging in Bajans and prayers, etc.

Middle intellects:~ Yoga: taking yellow robes, going to the caves, ashrams, and doing meditation, etc.

High intellects:~ Wisdom who wanted truth are concerned with no external rites or sanyasa but depend solely on the intelligent inquiry for their path.
Remember:~

Sage Sankara says: ~  Yoga is not the means of liberation (page 132-133 - Commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad).

In Sutra Bashya and Manduka: ~ The Samadhi and sleep are identical.

Brihad Upanishad does not advocate Samadhi.

Sage Sankara in the commentary to "Brahma Sutras: ~ " "The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga." (Sacred Books of East Series page 298 Vol.1.) And he also says Samadhi is the same as sleep (p.312) ~this indicates that yoga is not the means to Self-realization.

Yoga can yield only the duality because everything that one can do or practice becomes a vanishing 'known.' It yields relative truth based on imagination, which is true from the physical viewpoint of view, not the Advaitic truth, which is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

Realizing the universe is created out of single stuff and that single stuff is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness leads to non-dualistic or Advaitic Self-awareness. Self-awareness is freedom or Moksha. Moksha is unity in diversity in the midst of duality. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

The man alone does not become Brahman (God) because the world in which man exists is mere an illusion.+

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

The man alone does not become Brahman (God) because the world in which man exists is merely an illusion.  The illusion is created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  Consciousness is the ultimate Truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Self is not you because you are bound by the experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

The experience of birth, life, death, and the world is nothing to do with the Soul, the  Self. When you are not the Self, then how can you relate the Self with your experience of birth, life, death, and the world. 

When the Soul wakes up with its own awareness, then you and your experience of the world becomes unreal in the same way as the dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place.

In Self-awareness,  the Soul remains in its own awareness. Self-realization is impossible, without understanding ‘What is the mind?’  ‘What is the substance of the mind?’ and “What is the source of the mind?”.

The mind and its substance and its source are one, in essence. That essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  By realizing consciousness alone, is real, all else is merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

The world in which we exist is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. This knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana leads one to Self-awareness. Self-awareness is an impossibility without Advaitic wisdom. 

Holding the belief as God keeps the Soul, the Self permanently in ignorance. The ignorance keeps the Soul permanently in the prison of dualistic illusion. 

Illusion makes the Soul remain in the domain of form, time, and space. In the domain of form, time, and space the experience of birth, life, death, and the world is experienced as a reality.

If the seeker wants to realize the truth, then he has to discard all the religious beliefs and yogic practices, and scriptural studies. Nothing is needed in pursuit of truth other than an intense urge and receptivity to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

That is why Sage Sankara: ~ VC 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 (verses-6)

Sage Sankara said:~ -Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg~25

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with religion and yoga. There are two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know the truth beyond the form, time, and space. Religion and yoga are meant for the first audience, to help lead their followers along the way. Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom, with its emphasis on the Advaitic wisdom, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures. 

First, you must know what God is supposed to be. There is a clear-cut idea in the scriptures about what is supposed to be God. And what not to worship in place of God then why worship the belief of God, which is not God in truth.

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 the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

People, who worship the belief in a religious 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 is real worship.:~Santthosh Kumaar

People who are saying ‘I AM GOD’ are hallucinating that they become God. First, they must know what is God.+

The man alone does not become Brahman (God in truth) because the world in which man exists is merely an illusion.  The illusion is created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  The consciousness is the ultimate Truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The Self is not you because you are bound by the experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

The experience of birth, life, death, and the world is nothing to do with the Soul, the Self. When you are not the Self, then how can you relate the Self with your experience of birth, life, death, and the world. 

When the Soul wakes up with its own awareness, then you and your experience of the world becomes unreal in the same way as the dream becomes unreal when the waking takes place.

It is foolish to say ‘I AM GOD’ when the Self is not you,  but the Self is the Soul. Therefore, the Soul, the innermost Self,  is God.

People say Aham Brahmasmi ~ I am God, I am Brahman. But when Brahman is, how can "I" remain? Only Brahman remains, not the ‘I’.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ 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)

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

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 the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

People who are saying ‘I AM GOD’ are hallucinating that they become God. First,  they must know what God suppose to be in truth. 

That is why Ashtavakra Gita 16:10:~ If you desire liberation, but you still say 'I' if you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise man or a seeker. You are simply a man who suffers.

Only religious Godmen declare: I AM GOD. Gnanis say the Soul, the innermost Self is God.:~Santthosh Kumaar  

Advaitic Wisdom dawn only when you realize the Self is not you, but the Self is the Soul.+

You are not the 'Self'.  You and your experience of the world are part of the dualistic illusion. The Self is not you.  

If the Self is not you, then the question of your body, your ego, your memories, and your experience of the world and your karma is nothing to do with the Soul, the Self.  Advaitic Wisdom dawn only when you realize the Self is not you, but the Self is the  Soul, which witnesses you and the world together. 

The Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.   The Soul, the innermost Self, witnesses you and your experience of the world together.   

It is the Soul that has to get rid of the illusion, by realizing, that along with the world and the  'Self' are one, in essence. That essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, you and your experience of the world are made of single stuff, which is the Soul, the  Self.  

Thus, it is necessary to realize the Self is not within our body (you) but it is hidden within the world in which we exist as its formless substance and the witness.  Thus, our bodies and our experience of the world are made of the same stuff. Realizing this truth will lead one to Advaitic Self-awareness in the midst of duality.    

The body, ego, and the world are made of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  The Soul, the Self, is nothing to do with the body, ego, and the world.  The Self is not within the body, but the body and the world are within the Soul, the Self.  

The Self is not the part because the Self is the fullness of consciousness. It is erroneous to think the Self is within the body. If one thinks the Self is within the body then he is unable to realize the truth beyond form, time,  and space.  

The body, the ego, and the world are made of single stuff.  That single stuff is consciousness.  There is no second thing that exists other than consciousness.  In reality, there is no physical body, no ego, and no world because there is no duality because there is only unity in diversity.  

What is knowledge? What is ignorance? What is the ego? What is duality? What is the mind? What is bondage? What is liberation? What is definableness to the formless Soul, the Self, which is in the form of consciousness? 

All these appearances are merely an illusion, which comes and go; hence meaningless to the formless Soul, the  Self. 

Remember:~ 

As the seeker becomes more and more inward-turned, he realizes the fact that the ‘Self is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is hidden by the ‘I’. From the standpoint of the Soul, the ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of the Soul. It is necessary for the seeker to realize, what is ‘I’? - supposed to be in actuality.

The ‘I’ is present only when the mind is present. Without the ‘I’ the mind ceases to exist.

The mind is present when the universe is present. Without mind, the universe ceases to exist.

The universe is present only when the waking is present. Without the universe, the waking ceases to exist.

So, without the ‘I’ the mind or universe or the waking ceases to exist.

From the standpoint of the Soul is the ‘Self’, the ‘I’ the mind or universe or the waking cease to exist as a reality.

The Soul is the ‘Self’ that can remain with or without the ‘I’. 

Slowly but surely you must imbibe the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space by realizing that form, time and space are one in essence.

When you enthrone the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness in your subconscious, you will realize the world in which you exist is merely an illusory play of consciousness.

Consciousness is ‘One’, and all divisions of form, time, and space are illusory. Be established in this Advaitic Truth, which is eternal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar