Jesus raised the dead and Krishna picked a mountain within the dualistic illusion. Whatever belongs to dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.
Mythology (Puranas) breeds superstition, blind belief, senseless rituals, and the most irrational and gives them a divine outlook. Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition. Mythology was introduced in the past to the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded if one has to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or real God.
Mythological gods and Goddesses are based on belief. The belief is not God. The belief implies duality. From the ultimate standpoint, the duality is merely an illusion. Thus, whatever one sees, knows, believes, and experiences within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.
Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely a superstition. Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement.
All the mythological Gods are worshiped in the form of idols. The belief system which propagated ideas of many Gods and Goddesses Bhakti is the only way to God is simply tries to lead the people to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self.
Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, senseless rituals, and the most irrational and gives them a divine outlook.
Mythology deals with symbols. It is not history; it is not concerned with objective reality. But that does not mean that it is not concerned with reality itself. It is concerned with subjective reality. These Gods, these mythological symbols, do not exist outside of you, but they have a psychological existence and that psychological existence can be helpful, and can be used. So the first thing to be understood is that they are not real persons in the world, but they are real symbols in the psyche of man.
Mythological Gods are a myth. All mantras are based on the mythological Gods that keep one in the prison of the dualistic illusion. The mantras never help to cross the trash hold of the form, time, and space. Mantras are meant for the ignorant populace who believe form, time, and space as reality. What is the use of the mantras based on the false God, that will yield false fruit?
The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the real God. God cannot be expressed by speech because God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. God is prior to the existence of form, time, and space. God is the cause of the form, time, and space and God is uncaused. The consciousness alone is Brahman or God and not that which people here worship as God with forms and names and symbols.
That is why Sage Sankara says:~ 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?
62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.
That is why In Mundaka Upanishad 1:2:8 “Remaining in the fold of ignorance and thinking “we are extremely wise and learned,” the fools with boastful nature ramble about like the blind led by the blind alone.”
The people who follow religion think that by following their inherited religion is their duty. And questioning the Guru or scholars is irreligious. Thus, they indulge in rituals and hearing of religious discourses. They are weak and timid.
Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know me 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).
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.
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.
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)
The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the Self.
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.
Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ Godis 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.
It is impossible to know that God is everywhere. What is God? God of belief cannot exist without duality. In non-dualistic reality, there is no man, no world, and no belief in God.
God with forms and names has no meaning in the realm of truth. It is a mere imagination or assumption. It is high time to realize all the belief-based Gods are not God in truth according to your own scriptures.
People who stuck to their religious beliefs and think scriptural authorities as the ultimate truth will not be able to assimilate Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Soul, which is the true Self, is nothing to do with religion and its code of conduct. Observing and following the religious code of conduct are accepting the false Self as the true Self.
Accepting so-called spiritual laws is accepting the illusion as reality. The laws are a reality within the duality.
The one who thinks of existence spiritual laws is accepted, himself as a person perceiving the world that is accepting himself as the doer. When the man is not the doer, how the actions are done on the base of false identity can yield fruits.
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.
When Upanishad itself says: ~ Sarvam khalvidam brahma ~ all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the nondual reality (Chandogya Upanishad).
Sage Sri, 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 besides 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 constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.
What happens if one worships is non-Vedic God with mantras and prayers based on the attributed Gods with forms and names according to Vedas.
Yajurveda says: ~
Translation 1.
They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).
They sink deeper into 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. Giffith pg 538)
All the accumulated knowledge from religion and yoga and paths and theories are mere dross in pursuit of truth. Religion and yoga are helpful for the general mass but they are a barricade in unfolding the mystery of the mind.
The orthodox people, if they are seeking the truth, then have to drop all accumulated dross to acquire nondual wisdom. Advaitic wisdom alone is a weapon to eliminate ignorance.
Remember:~
Vedic people did not worship Hindu Gods and Goddesses.
All the rituals of Hinduism are based on non-Vedic Gods. Non-Vedic Gods are not God in truth. The Vedic God is Atman, the Advaita. Advaita, God is one without the second. Hinduism is not Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.
Hinduism is identified by different founders whereas the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has no founders. The Vedic God cannot be worshipped but has to be realized.
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)
Bhagavad Gita Chapter:~ All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)
Kena Upanishad (6) Chapter I: ~ “That which cannot be apprehended by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is apprehended-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.
Kena Upanishad (7) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be perceived by the eye, but by which the eye is perceived-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.
Kena Upanishad (8) Chapter I:~ That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the hearing is perceived-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.
Kena Upanishad (9)- Chapter I:~ That which cannot be smelt by the breath, but by which the breath smells an object-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.
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. 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 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, a 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 (BrahmaVidyaa) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.-Adhyasa Bhashya
Orthodox people must follow their chosen path which makes them happy and gives them satisfaction. Without instance urge to acquire Self-knowledge it is impossible to tread the path of wisdom.
Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Among thousands of men, scarcely one strives for perfection; and of those who strive and succeed, scarcely one knows the ‘Self’ in truth.
The path of wisdom attracts only those who are in search of truth and they appreciate it greatly. The ignorant are not spiritually mature to receive Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
The ignorant indulge in argument and provocation and personal attack, which hinder their own realization of the ultimate truth or Brahman.:~Santthosh Kumaar
