No books can do more than help us to find it, and even without them, we can get all truth if you search the truth which is hidden by the world in which we exist.+

Interpretations of sacred texts, the force of scriptural mastery merit--none of these lead to the realization that the Self is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya.  

Ashtavakra or any other book is not final because it has been misinterpreted by different authors based on their egocentric outlook.  The Soulcentric knowledge cannot be grasped on the dualistic understanding.

Nothing has to be accepted as truth without verification.    What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal.

The study of Upanishad was neither indispensable nor a necessary prerequisite for attaining the human goal, the moksha.

All that one was required to do was to get rid of ignorance.

There is no need to read books after books. You need to realize only the world in which you exist is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Knowledge of that single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is Advaitic Gnana.

No books can do more than help us to find it, and even without them, we can get all truth if we search for the truth which is hidden by the world in which we exist. 

You have the love for books without bondage to them; and read the books, but do not believe blindly because it well written with the ornamental world, but think for yourself. No blind belief can save you, work out on your own to find the truth, which is hidden by the form, time, and space. Think the Soul is your inner Guru - that Soul is an eternal help.

There is no need to read books to realize the truth which is beyond form, time, and space.

Like a servant who carries a lamp in front of you to find your way, and you have found it, so becomes the spiritual books to that person who has realized the Truth.  why should the seeker depend upon any book further?

Actual realization takes you beyond books. At a certain stage, books become a botheration.

Remember:~ 

All the books written on Advaita by eastern and western authors are based on the dualistic perspective and orthodox point of view. Thus, they do not have a Soulcentric vision of the truth.

Advaita is the nature of the Soul. There are so many books by many authors, but none will help the seeker to reach the ultimate understanding.

Advaitic Wisdom is not found in scriptures or books. There are only hidden parables here and there. There is no clear-cut wisdom whatsoever in the scriptures or philosophy. Mere words ~ are just a collection of words.

Advaitic Wisdom is hidden within the world in which we exist. The truth is not found in the world because the world is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. The Truth is hidden within the form, time, and space, but it is beyond the form, time, and space.

Sages of truth restrained themselves from 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-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 to only selected a few. Thus, we find traces of the knowledge of the spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.

Remember:~ 

The books published by the Gurus and teachers of the east and west on Advaita made it still more complicated.

No amount of reading and understanding can lead to Self-realization. You must be made to see the truth hidden by ignorance.  When you get a firm conviction that the Self is not you but the Self is the Soul then the truth will start revealing itself. 

When the seeker goes to find his own answers independently he will be able to realize the truth hidden by the 'I'.

Religion and yoga do not satisfy the urge of the serious seeker for absolute truth.

Religion is in the grip of superstitions, dogmas, caste-system, and corruption. Gurudom is commercialized and the real purpose of the pursuit of truth has vanished.

The religion, mysticism, and yoga, high jacked by the Gurudom and the Advaitic wisdom got lost.

All the gurus of the east and west introduced their own theories and teaching and started playing with the sentiments and emotions of the innocent seekers for the sake of acquiring wealth.

Every human being will have a certain level of intellect enough to grasp the truth hidden by ignorance but the egocentric knowledge has made them non-thinkers. Advaitic truth is simple and anyone reading it with keen interest will be able to understand it to the core.

When the seeker realizes the Self is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self is hidden by the ‘I’ then whatever is based on the ‘I’ is bound to be an illusion. That is the world in which you exist itself is an illusion.

The world in which you exist is based on the ‘I’. The Advaitic wisdom frees the Soul, the 'Self' from the bondage of the ‘I’. Without ignorance, the Soul alone shines as the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

When one is unable to quench his spiritual thirst from his guru or teaching, then he has to look elsewhere to clear the cobwebs of his understanding and move forward in his spiritual quest.

Remember:~

It is no use arguing with someone who has faith in his belief system because for him there can be no possible refutation of what he believes, so, rational argument is entirely useless. He clings to his belief so strongly that he makes no distinction between the truth and his belief. One has to know the fact that God cannot exist without his existence. The truth does not depend on God’s existence, but it entirely depends on man’s existence. Thus, it is foolish to venture into knowing the truth of God's existence without verifying the facts about his own existence. 

It is difficult for tradition-bound people to accept anything as truth other than what they inherited from them. 

 Only with an intense urge to know the truth and the courage to accept the truth after verification with better understanding one will be able to drop all his accumulated dross, which is the main obstacle to Self-realization. 

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC ~56. Neither by Yoga nor by Sankhya nor by good work nor by learning, but by the realization of one's identity with Brahman is Liberation possible, and by no other means. 

58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures consisting of many words are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

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.

63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

64. Without killing one’s enemies, and possessing oneself of the splendor of the entire surrounding region, one cannot claim to be an emperor by merely saying, ‘I am an emperor’.

65. As a treasure hidden underground requires (for its extraction) competent instruction, excavation, the removal of stones and other such things lying above it, and (finally) grasping, but never comes out by being (merely) called out by name, so the transparent Truth of the Self, which is hidden by Maya and its effects, is to be attained through the instructions of a knower of Brahman, followed by reflection, meditation and so forth, but not through perverted arguments.

66. Therefore the wise should, as in the case of disease and the like, personally strive by all the means in their power to be free from the bondage of repeated births and deaths.

67. The question that thou hast asked today is excellent, approved by those versed in the Scriptures, aphoristic, pregnant with meaning, and fit to be known by the seekers after Liberation.

The seeker of truth has to direct the realization of the Soul, the Self, through wisdom and avoid losing precious time and effort losing him in philosophical studies.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

In the path of wisdom, the Karma theory becomes a great obstacle in realizing the truth.+

Karma (Action) will not dispel ignorance itself. Karma itself is based on ignorance Only Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will destroy ignorance.

The Karma theory is meant for those who are immersed in worldly life thinking the individual life within the particle world as a reality. In the path of wisdom, the Karma theory becomes a great obstacle to realizing the truth. 

When Sage Sankara says clearly, the universe is not real. He says that Brahman and Atman are one. The ultimate and the Absolute Truth is the Self, which is one though appearing as many different individuals. The individual has no reality. Only the Self is Real; the rest, mental and physical are but passing appearances, then it indicates the form (waking/duality/mind) is unreal the formless is real (Soul/spirit/consciousness). Therefore, only Atman is real because there is no second thing other than Atman.

Individuality is a reality within the illusory world. Therefore, all the theories created within the illusion on the base of the false self (ego), within the false experience(waking), have to be the part and parcel of the illusion. Thus, it is necessary to realize the fact that Atman is the innermost Self and all else is an illusion, to overcome the illusory concept of the cycle of birth, life, and death. Thus, to understand and assimilate Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom the seeker has to do his own homework through deeper self-search, without mixing the religion, the scriptures, the theories, the concept of God, and the yoga. 

The Karma theory is a reality only for those who believe their present physical identity (ego) as real, and the world as reality. When the Sage Sankara declares the world itself is an illusion, and Brahman is real, then what value the karma theory has when the world is an illusion, because man is part and parcel of the illusory world. Therefore, one has to view and judge the three states from the standpoint of the formless Soul, the innermost Self to overcome the duality, which he is experiencing as a reality. 

The rituals mentioned in the karmakanda of the Vedas are sought to be negated in the jnanakanda which is also part of the same scripture. While the karmakanda enjoins upon you the worship of various deities and lays down rules for the same, the jnanakanda constituted by the Upanishads ridicules the worshipper of deities as a dim-witted person no better than a beast.

 This seems strange, the latter part of the Vedas contradicting the former part. The first part deals with karma, while the second or concluding part is all about Jnana. Owing to this difference, people have gone so far as to divide our Scripture into two sections: the Vedas (that is the first part) to mean the karmakanda and the Upanishads (Vedanta) to mean the jnanakanda.

Sage Sankara says in Aparoksh Anubhuti: ~ 88. When the whole universe, movable and immovable, is known to be Atman, and thus the existence of everything else is negated, where is then any room to say that the body is Atman?

89. O enlightened one, pass your time always contemplating on Atman while you are experiencing all the results of Prarabdha; for it ill becomes you to feel distressed.

90. The theory, one hears of from the scripture, that Prarabdha does not lose its hold upon one even after the origination of the knowledge of Atman, is now being refuted.

91. After the origination of the knowledge of Reality, Prarabdha verily ceases to exist, since the body and the like become non-existent; just as a dream does not exist on waking.

92. That Karma which is done in a previous life is known as Prarabdha (which produces the present life). But such Karma cannot take the place of Prarabdha (for a man of knowledge), as he has no other birth (being free from ego).

93. Just as the body in a dream is superimposed (and therefore illusory), so is also this body. How could there be any birth of the superimposed (body), and in the absence of birth (of the body) where is the room for that (i.e., Prarabdha) at all?

94. The Vedanta texts declare ignorance to be verily the material (cause) of the phenomenal world just as the earth is of a jar. That (ignorance) being destroyed, where can the universe subsist?

95. Just as a person out of confusion perceives only the snake leaving aside the rope, so does an ignorant person see only the phenomenal world without knowing the reality?

96. The real nature of the rope being known, the appearance of the snake no longer persists; so the substratum being known, the phenomenal world disappears completely.

97. The body also being within the phenomenal world (and, therefore, unreal), how could Prarabdha exist? It is, therefore, for the understanding of the ignorant alone that the Shruti speaks of Prarabdha.

98. “And all the actions of a man perish when he realizes that (Atman) which is both the higher and the lower”. Here the clear use of the plural by the Shruti is to negate Prarabdha as well.

99. If the ignorant still arbitrarily maintain this, they will not only involve themselves into two absurdities but will also run the risk of forgoing the Vedantic conclusion. So one should accept those Shrutis alone from which proceeds true knowledge.

The above proves that karma is a reality only on the base of the false Self, where one thinks body and the universe as reality. When one becomes aware of the fact that, the true Self is the Soul, then the karma becomes part and parcel of illusion. 

My point is that, if one accepts the karma theory as reality, he will never be able to come out of ignorance. And ignorance makes him believe the cycle of birth, life, and death as a reality. Thus the freedom which one is seeking will remain a distant dream. For the one who accepts birth, life, and death as a reality, Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is impossible.

The path of religion, the theory of karma, the path of yoga, and the path of wisdom were intended for different classes of people. The 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. 

Remember: 

Sage Sankara: ~ Action (karma) cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness. -Atma Bodha

The karma theory is meant for those who are immersed in worldly life thinking the individual life within the particle world as a reality. In the path of Wisdom, the karma theory becomes a great obstacle to realizing the truth.

When the Self is neither the body nor the ego, neither the waking entity, not the dream entity, then how the karma based on the false self within the false experience can yield fruits. Therefore, karma is a religious fable.

The karma theory is a reality only for those who believe their present physical identity (ego) as real, and the world as reality.

When Sage Sankara declares the world itself is an illusion, and Brahman is real, then what value the karma theory has when the world is an illusion, because man is part and parcel of the illusory world. Therefore, one has to view and judge the worldview from the standpoint of Brahman (Atman) to overcome the duality, which he is experiencing as a reality.

 Individuality is a reality within the illusory world.

Therefore, all the theories created within the illusion on the base of the false entity, within the false experience, have to be the part and parcel of the illusion.

Thus, it is necessary to realize the fact that, the Soul, the Self is real and eternal and all else is an illusion, to overcome the illusory experience of birth, life, death, and the world. Thus to understand and assimilate Sage Sri, Sankara’s Advaitic truth, the seeker has to do his own homework through inquiry, analysis, and reasoning on the true base, without mixing religion, scriptures, theories concept of God, and yoga.

Sage Goudpada says: ~ The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

It means the people who follow the religion and the worship of the Guru and the conceptual Gods and believe in karma theory are lower and middling intellect. But in this modern world, people are sharp enough to understand and assimilate the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Thus, it is high time to discard the lower knowledge and move ahead to realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman or God in truth.

They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom and are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Ataman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Therefore, if one is seeking the truth, he has to know his true Self is not physical but is the formless Soul, which is in the form of consciousness. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Embark on the journey of the truth; it frees the Soul from the illusion of the form, time, and space.+

Bhagavan Buddha, Sage Goudpada, and Sage Sankara are not only reformers but also the greatest Sage scientists. Since their original thesis has been lost in the labyrinths of philosophy and mutilated by pundits and orthodoxy, it becomes very difficult to understand and assimilate the wisdom expounded by the great sages. In addition, the conservativeness of the orthodox scholars will not allow any research other than playing with the words, which suits the populace, because of their egocentric outlook.

All the add-ons have to be discarded in order to understand and assimilate the real fragrance of the wisdom expounded by the great Sages of Advaita, but it is a hurricane task. Thus, it is no use going through all the scriptures when there is a direct path to nondualistic or Advaitic truth. The same time and effort can be used to reach the nondual destination, in lesser time and effort.

Advaitic wisdom does not need the support of any scripture or revelation like the Veda. Advaitic wisdom is not based, not upon the varying theological fancies, which are as numerous as the sands of the sea, but upon reason, the common heritage of all mankind, irrespective of color or creed or clime.

Seeker of truth has to know that something is inadequate in Buddhist or orthodox Advaitic teachings to reach the nondualistic destination because of the add-ons and adulteration. Thus, it becomes difficult to reach the destination directed by the Bhagavan Buddha, Sage Sankara, and Sage Goudpada. It is for the seeker to go on his own and remove all the obstacles, which is blocking the realization of the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space

The greatest hindrance is mixing religion, God, scriptures, and yogic theories because the Advaitic truth is the rational truth, scientific truth, and the ultimate truth. Moreover, attachment to scriptures, personal God, and religious code of conduct keep one permanently in the grip of the dualistic illusion.

Embark on the journey of the truth; it frees the Soul from the illusion of form, time, and space.

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, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, you, your experience of birth, life, death, and world mere an illusion created out of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

You are not the witness because the ‘Self' is not you. The Self is the Soul, which witnesses the world, in which you exist. The world is merely an illusion thus, you are part of the illusion.

In reality, the Soul and the world in which you exist are one, in essence. Thus, there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Perfect understanding and assimilation of ‘what is what,’ leads to a perfect conviction of ‘What is the truth?” and ‘What is the untruth?. Perfect conviction of the truth leads to Advaitic self-awareness. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

One must know God in truth.All beliefs of Gods are a superstition.+

There is no individual, individualized God and the universe exists in the realm of truth because the whole experience of diversity (waking or dream) is created out of single stuff, which is consciousness. The consciousness is universal and the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The ultimate truth is God. Those who believe in practical life within the practical world as reality, and have a belief in a personal Gods based on blind belief feel the path of Gnana is atheistic.  Belief is not God.   One must know God in truth. The truth is not based on blind belief.  All beliefs based on Gods are a superstition.

There is neither Shiva nor Shakti but only consciousness. The consciousness is real 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. 

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

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. The Vedas confirm God is Atman (spirit), the  Self.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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.

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) 

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.:

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.

Shiva and Shakti are religious concepts.  Whatever seen, known, believed and experienced as a person within the dualistic illusion (world) is a falsehood. 

The Self is the Soul. The Soul is in the form of consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth and the ultimate truth is God in truth.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman, worships ‘Self’ as~ Atman (God) alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

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

The Soul itself is God, the One without a Second:~

The Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. The Soul or  God in truth is present in the form of consciousness. Thus, consciousness itself is God in truth, which is unborn eternal.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

What is this ‘I’? +

People study Vedanta and they are under the delusion and conclude and declare:~ "I Am-Brahman", but they fail to realize the fact that, Brahman is everywhere and in everything! The existence of Brahman is not limited to his physical identity because of it is the very essence of form, time, and space. 

The ‘I’ is ignorance. Till one holds the ‘I’ as the Self, it is impossible to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Thus, the seeker has to get rid of the ignorance, which is present in the form of ‘I’, to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

What is this ‘I’? 

The ‘I’ is not a thought. The ‘I’ is the mind. The mind is the whole universe. The universe appears as the waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality). 

The one that appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality) is the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The consciousness pervades everything and everywhere in all three states. 

Without knowing what the mind is, it is impossible to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. People think the mind is within the body, but deeper self-search reveals the fact that the world in which you exist itself is the mind. 

When the ‘I’ is there then only the mind is there. If the mind is there, then only the universe is there. If the universe is there then only the waking is there. Thus, it is very much necessary to realize the ‘what ‘I’ is in actuality. Without knowing ‘what is this ‘I’ it is impossible to realize the ‘I-less’ truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Till you hold the ‘Self ‘as the ‘I’ you will never be able to get Self-realization. ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is the   Self. ‘

• 'I’ is ignorance.
• 
  
• ‘I’ is duality.
• 
  
• ‘I’ is form, time, and space. 
• 
  
• ‘I’ is the universe.
• 
  
• ‘I’ is the waking. 
• 
  
• ‘I’ is the dream.
• 
  
• ‘I’ is an illusion. 
• 
  
• ‘I’ is the experience of birth, life, death, and the world. 

But remember:~

• Without the ‘I’ there is no ignorance.
• 
  
• Without the ‘I’ there is no duality.
• 
  
• Without the ‘I’ there is no form, time, and space
• 
  
• Without the ‘I’ there is no universe.
• 
  
• Without the ‘I’ there is no waking. 
• 
  
• Without the ‘I’ there is no dream.
• 
  
• Without the ‘I’ there is no illusion. 
• 
  
• Without the ‘I’ there is no experience of birth, life, death, and the world. 

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the Soul, the 'Self'. 

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. 

Bhagavad Gita: ~ The permanent is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18) 

It is time to discard the ‘I’. Never use the word the ‘I’ or I AM for the Self.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

First, you must make sure the ‘I’ itself is illusory because the ‘I’ is not permanent.

Sage Sankara says ~ “The exercise in discrimination between real and unreal and renunciation of the false is real meditation, then why you are indulging in other types of meditation.

Perfect understanding and realization of ‘what is what’ leads to Self-awareness. By holding on to theories one remains in the realm of duality. You have to mentally go on dropping what is not the truth through deeper Self-search. 

Finally when you become aware of the fact that, your ego, your body, and the world are one in essence then there is Self-awareness in the midst of dualistic illusion or Maya. :~Santthosh Kumaar  

Vedic God is the Atman, the ‘Self'.+

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 ideal Gods."

Vedic God is Atman. Atman is the Self. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship. There is no other worship other than Self-realization. 

All Hindu Gods are Puranic Gods. Puranas deals with symbols Puranas are not history; it is concerned with objective reality. 

Puranas are not concerned with subjective reality. These Puranic Gods do not exist outside the physical existence, but they have a psychological existence and that psychological existence is a great hindrance, to realize the reality beyond the form, time, and space.

So the first thing to be understood is that Puranic Gods are not real persons in the world, but they are mere beliefs. The belief creates a barricade and hides the truth, which is beyond the form, time and space. 

Religion can never make you know God. Only an intense urge to know what God supposed to be in truth can make you realize God.  The Athma, the ‘Self is the Infinite God. 

Vedic God is the Atman, the ‘Self'. 

The Athma is the innermost Self. God is the Athma, which is present in the form of consciousness. God is the fullness of the consciousness without the illusory division of form, time, and space.  Therefore, there is nothing apart from it. 

God is Self-evident. God is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny God because God is the very essence of the one who denies it. God is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. God is within the universe in which you exist, God is without the universe in which you exist.

Lord Krishna himself says ~ “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. (BG~Ch~ V.)

“Know the Self in truth”: ~ It means to realize the Self itself is God. God is without form, time, space, and name. 

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." 

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)

People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God. 

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)

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.

Thus, it clearly indicates the God is without the form and attributes and ever free.   Vedic Gods, hardly have any significance in present-day Hindu belief system. The Gods and Goddesses important to the Hindus of today are Rama, Krishna, Kali, Ganesh, Hanuman, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and the respective consorts of the last three, namely, Saraswati, Lakshmi, and Shakti. None of these deities figured prominently in the Vedic pantheon are clearly non-Vedic.

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

People, who worship the belief of God, are hallucinating that they become one with such God. 

Bhagavad Gita Chapter:~ All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many God s. (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.

The 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)

According to Yajur Veda: ~ They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, 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.)

Then why does anyone has to indulge in idol worship which is not God when Rig Veda clearly says: “May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5) 

Worshipping non~Vedic Gods in place of real God they fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time (Yajur Veda 40:9.). 

Santana Dharma or Vedic religion emphasizes on Self-realization is the quintessence.  Thus, Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship. There is no other worship other than Self-realization.:~Santthosh Kumaar