The Upanishads are Self -contradictory.+

Nagarjuna:~ All the philosophies are a mental fabrication.  There has never been a single doctrine by which one could enter the true essence of things.

Swami Vivekananda: Vedanta does not believe in the book. It denies the authority of any book over any other book. It denies emphatically any one book contains all the truths about God, Soul, the ultimate reality.

Those of you who have read Upanishads remember that again and again, “Not by reading books can we realize the Self”

Second, it finds veneration for some particular person still more difficult to uphold. Those of you who are a student of Vedanta – Vedanta is always meant Upanishads- know that this is the only religion that does not cling to any person.

Not one man or woman has become object worship among the Vedantins. 

You see how very little room there is Vedanta for any man to stand ahead of us and for us to and worship him. Vedanta does not give you that. No book, no man to worship nothing.  

A still greater difficulty is about God. If you want to be democratic in this country.   It is a democratic God that Vedanta teaches.  ~ (Is Vedanta in future religion? BY Swami Vivekananda –lecture – San Francisco on April 8, 1900)

There has never been a single scripture by which has the whole wisdom in it. Sage  Sankara restrained himself from parting the Advaitic wisdom to the mass and imparted it only to a selected few. 

Advaitic wisdom was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it.  Advaitic wisdom was not written down in one book but was imparted orally to the chosen few. Thus, religion was given to the ignorant populace and the Advaitic wisdom is given only selected few.  Thus, we find traces of the Self-knowledge in the religious books in the form of parables. 

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 discriminating between real and unreal, and renouncing of the false is real meditation.

Self-knowledge cannot be attained by the study of the scriptures and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore,  there is no use of studying the scriptures and other scriptures in order to acquire the nondual wisdom. 

Scriptures mastery, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth or Brahman. The ultimate truth is revealed in the clear understanding and realization of ‘what is the truth and ‘what is the untruth.  When one realizes the untruth (universe) is created out of single stuff, Self-awareness rises in the midst of duality exposing the unreal nature of the form, time, and space.

                                                                                       

The ultimate truth has to be realized first then only it is possible to know what the scriptures are saying. I do not require any scriptures.

I quote Scriptural citation and also the citation of the sages of truth only after verification reality and proved the truth, to point out that the scriptures teach the same thing. If one quotes them before having demonstrated truth, then it is scholasticism.

Scriptures are being added from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.

Self-knowledge cannot be acquired by the study of the scriptures and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore,  there is no use of studying the scriptures and other scriptures in order to acquire the nondual wisdom.  That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the concept of God, and the scriptures. 

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 

The Upanishads are self -contradictory. Every pundit even gives conflicting interpretations of them. The final authority, therefore,  is using one’s own reason. One should apply his reason to them.

The scriptures are for ignorant masses, who wholly accept the material world as it presents itself. Gnana is for those who have begun to realize that things are not what they seem.

The Scriptures are of value only when dealing with persons who are incapable of understanding the truth. They have no value as authority for those who use reason.

I quote only verified citations from the scriptures. I need no scriptures,  but I quote them to help the seekers to realize the religion, scriptures and the belief of God are nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The Upanishads are the only scriptures in the world that say: ~

It is impossible to find and realize the truth via religion and scriptural study.

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC~ 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 which 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.

The religion is based on the birth entity whereas the Soul, the innermost Self is birthless and deathless. Spirituality is based on the Soul (formless). Thus, there is a need to bifurcate the religion from spirituality.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth.+

There has never been a single scripture that has the whole wisdom in it. Sage  Sankara restrained himself from parting the Advaitic wisdom to the mass and imparted it only to a selected few. 

Advaitic wisdom was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it.  Advaitic wisdom was not written down in one book but was imparted orally to the chosen few. Thus, religion was given to the ignorant populace and the Advaitic wisdom is given only selected few.  Thus, we find traces of the Self-knowledge in the religious books in the form of parables. 

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 discriminating between real and unreal, and renouncing the false is real meditation,

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 seeker has to without the scriptures move ahead in his pursuit of truth.  All the religious scriptures and holy books are irrelevant -- God's greatest book is just in front of you. 

That is why Sage Sankara says you must first know what is before you. If you cannot know that, what else can you know or understand? If you give up the external world in your inquiry, you cannot get the whole truth. 

You have to study the book of the universe carefully and find and realize God hidden in it. 

All religions claim that their books are not man-made? Hindus claim that the Vedas are Aporsheya: not made by man but revealed by God himself; and Sanskrit is the divine language, not human. 

All religions have the same type of claim. Muslims say the Koran has descended from God, and so with Jews and Christians. Everybody is trying to claim that their book is the sacred book and nobody bothers to look at the real divine book.

This is what the real Veda, the real Koran, the real Bible is. This is the book, and all other books are man-made. Only this universe is the book that is authored by God because God is hidden by the universe. 

The universe is the real Veda, the real Koran, the real Bible is. The universe is the book, and all other books are man-made.

Only when you open the book of the universe the God hidden in the book will be revealed. When you finish reading the book of the universe then the universe will become an illusion and God alone prevails as the ultimate reality. 

Sage  Sankara says: ~ “What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress. 

You are also part of the divine book of the universe! And whatever you have seen, known, believed, and experienced as an individual is part of it. 

It is difficult to understand and assimilate Advaitic wisdom within a framework of some Gurus teaching or holding some philosophy as a yardstick. 

We have to drop all our accumulated dross to understand and assimilate and realize the non-dualistic truth.

I am highlighting some scriptural citations only to show the seeker that the Advaitic Sages themselves declare that scriptures, religion, and ideas of God are unimportant in the pursuit of truth. It is easier to understand, assimilate and realize the ultimate truth or non-dualistic truth by rationalizing our views and understanding. :

Remember:~

Advaitic truth is the supreme truth; all dualistic systems hold false self as real Self and false experience as a reality.  Advaitic wisdom is the culmination of all systems including the theistic Advaita. 

There is no need to discuss argue and quarrel with those who think they know the truth.  There is no need for any support from scriptures to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   Theistic Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom.  The theistic Advaitic Orthodox scholars or pundits like Dualist sages could not distinguish between ‘I’ and ‘formless witness of the ‘I’.

They take the ‘I’ as the witness.  They are stuck to the reality of the ‘I’, all their theories are based on the ‘I’. All the ‘I’ based theories are false theories

They are so much attached to the 'I' that they do not want to think that 'I' does not exist. Again they are unable to detach the ‘I’ from the Soul, the Real witness.  

There is no need to study the scriptures.  The seeker has to self-search for the truth and realize it without the scriptures.  When he realizes the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space then he reads the scriptures he realizes some of the scriptures are also saying the same thing,  but everything is misinterpreted.  

Yoga Vasistha:~ "Teachers, interpretations of sacred texts, the force of religious merit--none of these lead to the realization of that Ultimate Truth which is revealed in the clear reflection of the heart, engendered from contact with the good."

When the ultimate truth is rightly known and one attains eternal life thereby. Through Soul, the Self he gains strength and through its knowledge immortality.

Advaitic truth cannot be realized by intellectualism but only by a perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth?’  and ‘what is the untruth?’.

The soulcentric vision is when you learn to view and judge the world which confronts you from a non-dualistic perspective.

The nature of the Soul, the  Self s is like the state of deep sleep.

Mundaka Upanishad: ~ “This Atman cannot be attained through study of the Vedas, nor through intelligence nor through much learning. He who chooses Atman—by him alone is Atman attained. It is Ataman that reveals to the seeker Its true nature”. - 3 page70upanhsds by Nikilanada

It means the truth is beyond scriptures and egocentric intelligence.  Thus in order to grasp, assimilate and realize the Advaitic truth the seeker to employ soulcentric reasoning. 

That is why  Sage Sankara says in the commentary in Vedanta-sutra that what is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.  

Seekers of truth should not believe blindly in traditional Orthodox nonduality without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process.

That is why Sage Sankara says:~  VC- 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 which 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.

There is nothing more rational, more intelligible, and more un-dogmatic insights of Sri, Sankara, is to drop all the theistic nonduality or Advaita which is meant for those who are incapable and not receptive to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

If one merely theorizes, tries to understand through his intellect and there contended he cannot become a Gnani,  but he becomes a scholar or pundit.   

Seeker of truth must make what he has understood and assimilated has to be realized, to get a firm conviction of the non-dualistic truth or ultimate truth or Brahman,   then only it is possible for him to transcend all the limitations of the experience of form, time, and space.    

The existence beyond limitations of form, time, and space is known as Moksha or Nirvana. Spiritual freedom or Self-realization is the goal of every seeker of truth.  

The Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the goal of the true seeker.  Self-knowledge is the end of all egocentric knowledge.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Deep sleep brings on a sense of non-dualistic peace with it.+

Sage Sankara: ~VC~ if the universe is true, let it then be perceived in the state of deep sleep also. As it is not at all perceived, it must be unreal and false like dreams.   

From the dualistic perspective, people see the world in which they exist as a reality.   They see their body as the body, their ego as the ego, and the world in which they exist as the world whereas a Gnani sees everything from the non-dualistic perspective.  A Gnani sees his body as the consciousness, his ego as consciousness, the world in which he exists as the consciousness. For a Gnani, whatever is seen, known, believed and experienced is nothing but consciousness.  There is unity in diversity in Gnani's understanding whereas the ignorant people see only diversity and separation.

Thus, it is necessary to learn to view and judge the worldview from the non-dualistic perspective to realize that form, time and space are one in essence.   There is nothing to realize other than realizing that consciousness is everything. The consciousness is second to none.  

When everything is nothing but consciousness then what remains is not consciousness. 

Deep sleep brings on a sense of non-dualistic peace with it. This experience one gets only in the absence of the ‘I’.  Therefore,  there is a need to investigate what this ‘I’ is? The ‘I’ appears and disappears.  

A deeper investigation reveals the fact that the ‘I’ is present in the form of the mind. The mind is in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).  

Self is not the ‘I’. If you hold the Self as ‘I’ then you will never be able to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

The Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is the witness of the ‘I’ which appears and diapers. Thus the ‘I’ is not permanent.

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

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole. 

People think the ‘I’ without the body is the Self. The seeker has to understand the fact that ‘I’ is not the Self, but the witness of the ‘I’ is the true Self, which is eternal. 

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. 

People are stuck with the reality of the ‘I’, which they take it as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. is no need to convince such mindsets. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth. 

Remember: 

The Mandukya Upanishad too says the unreality of the dream and waking worlds by the term –prapanchopashamam and specifically negates those two states by the terms: naantaH prajnam, na bahishprajnam? -in the crucial seventh mantra that teaches the nature of the Turiya, Brahman, and Atman.

The Upanishad has spoken of the sleep state at length.  This has several purposes?

    1. To reiterate that the objective world does not have a permanent reality

    2. To demonstrate that the subject alone remains as the nondual reality in the sleep state and therefore in all the states.

   3. To prove that the sleep state, being nondual, gives the greatest bliss to the subject consciousness.

   4. To prove to the subject-enquirer that bliss is obtained not from objects but on the contrary, in the absence of objects.

      5. To prove that duality is samsara, misery, and nonduality is liberation, bliss.

       6. To give the sadhaka a? preview? a foretaste,  of the liberated state.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.22 alludes to this experience:-  (In this state a father is no father, a mother no mother, Gods, no Gods, the Vedas, no Vedas.  In this state, a thief is no thief, the killer of a noble Brahmana no killer, a monk no monk, a hermit no hermit. This form of his is untouched by good work and untouched by evil work, for he is then beyond all the woes of his intellect.)

Gaudapada Karika-s of the second, third and fourth chapters are the authority that a mumukshu ought to resort to. Since the reality of duality is born of ignorance even to a just born animal, and therefore the cause and characteristic of samsara, bondage, misery, the Upanishads and the Sages who have followed the Vedic tradition teach the unreality of the duality and redeem the suffering humanity from the misery caused by the duality.

For the sincere spiritual seeker duality (dvaita) and suffering is synonyms. So also Nonduality (Advaita) and bliss (sukha) are synonyms. The Veda, especially the Upanishad portions, is full of teachings directed at establishing the unreality and miserable nature of duality and upholding the non-dual nature of the Atman, the sole reality.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.3.22 alludes to this experience:- (In this state a father is no father, a mother no mother, Gods no Gods, no Vedas. In this state, a thief is no thief, the killer of a noble Brahmana no killer,  a monk no monk, a hermit no hermit. This form of his is untouched by good work and untouched by evil work, for he is then beyond all the woes of his intellect.).:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Bhagavan Buddha said:~ Do not believe a spiritual teaching.+

Bhagavan Buddha: - There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth: not going all the way... and not starting.

Everyone’s inner work is on. Until a man is ripe to receive Self-knowledge, he will not be able to understand what I am saying. 

Even if they may find it difficult in the first as they go on reading and reflecting repeatedly the post their subconscious will start dropping the dualistic egocentric knowledge and start accepting the Soul-centric Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

Grasping the truth depends on the spiritual maturity of the seeker. My mission is to share the knowledge by inspiring the serious and sincere seekers of truth and diverting their attention towards the inward reality. 

As their urge is at the seed level and As they go on reading the words of wisdom it will start growing. 

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth’ and ‘’what is untruth’. 

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is the truth’ and ‘’what is untruth’. It takes time for the Soul, the innermost Self to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one realizes the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. 

The seeker must  have: ~  

An intense urge to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space

Receptive to receive the truth

Sharpness to grasp the truth  

Courage to accept the truth and reject the untruth

Patience

Humility

Non- argumentive

Ready to reflect on the truth repeatedly

Drop all the accumulated knowledge

All the above things are very much necessary to tread the Atmic path.    The Guru is needed only on religious and yogic paths.  In the Atmic path,  there is no need for the Guru.  There is no need to stick to any Guru or any teaching.

A Gnani will never accept himself as Guru nor does he claim himself as a Gnani.   One who accepts himself as Guru does not know the truth. When one inquires into the nature of the mind then the truth will start revealing on its own.

That is why Swami Vivekananda said:~ “You have to grow from the inside out. None can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.”

Buddha said:~ Do not believe spiritual teaching just because:-

1.   It is repeatedly recited

2. It is written in a scripture

3. It was handed from Guru to disciple

4. Everyone around you believes it

5. It has supernatural qualities

6. It fits my beliefs anyway

7. It sounds rational to me

8. It is taught by a respectable person

9. It was said to be the truth by the teacher

10. One must defend it or fight for it.

However, only when it agrees with your experience and reason, and when it is conducive to the good and gain of oneself and all others, then one should accept the teachings, and live up to them." 

Upanishad says: ~ The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate that belief in the personal Gods, yoga scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self –Knowledge, then why anyone should indulge in it. Religion, the concept of individualized Gods, and scriptures are a great obstacle to Self-realization because they are based on a false Self.  The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search and assimilating and realizing it.

That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: ~ (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) ~ one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Thus, the path of wisdom is the only means. Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and the witness of the universe (mind).  By tracing the source of the mind or the universe,  one will be able to realize the Brahman.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

The religious caste and sects and religion are nothing to do with the Sage Sankara's Advaitic wisdom.+

Advaitic orthodoxy is a sect.  The sect and religion are nothing to do with Sage  Sankara's Advaitic wisdom. Advaitic orthodoxy is based on the birth entity.  The one which is born, lives, and dies in the world is not the ‘Self’.  

Sage Sankara says the world is merely an illusion Brahman alone is real and Atman is Brahman.

Thus, it proves the world in which birth and death happen is merely an illusion. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the cause of the world is real.  The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

Orthodoxy is the path of ignorance.  And ignorant worship mechanically performs the prescribed sacrifices without any thought as to why they are doing them.   

That is why Ish Upanishads says:~ such people no wonder they grope in the dark. They are doomed unless someday the truth dawns on them that to save themselves they must seek Self-knowledge.

The Advaitic orthodoxy conduct oriented and tries to prove the truth on the base of scriptural authorities, whereas the ultimate truth is based on the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’. 

The religion, concept of God, and scriptures are a great obstacle to acquiring the  Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  The scriptural knowledge fuels the ego. And ego makes one experience the duality as reality.  Duality makes one blind to the truth and makes one accept, the egocentric theories based on the false self as an authority. The ultimate truth has to be proved without the scriptures.

The Advaitic Orthodoxy holds the caste, religious rites, God and Glorifying the Gurus, scriptural studies, virtues, good deeds, and physical conduct as the means to acquire the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The Advaitic orthodoxy believes in the worship of non-Vedic Gods barred by Vedas.

Remember always: The Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God. 

The Soul is the Self. God is the Soul, 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, the God is without the universe in which you exist.

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

 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.

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)

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, 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.

God is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness, and intelligence, which is beyond form, time, and space. Which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

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

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the Universal Essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

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."

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. 

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the innermost Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV-13:~ ‘As a mass of salt has neither inside nor outside, but is entirely a mass of taste, thus indeed, has that Self neither inside nor outside but is altogether a mass of Knowledge. Just as a lump of salt has inside as well as outside one and the same saltish taste, not any other taste, so also that Brahman (consciousness) has inside as well as outside one and the same intelligence. Inside and outside are mental creations only. When the mind melts in silence, ideas of inside and outside vanish. The sages cognize one illimitable, homogeneous mass of consciousness only.

Causality taught in the Upanishads is only to enable us to understand the supreme truth of no-origination. The world is not different from the consciousness and the consciousness is not different from the Soul, the innermost Self, and the Soul is not different from the ultimate truth or Brahman. That the consciousness appears as a diverse world is only an illusion. If it really became diverse then the immortal would become mortal.

The dualists who seek to prove the origination of the unborn, by that very enterprise try to make the immortal, mortal. Ultimate nature can never change - the immortal can never become mortal and vice versa.

Sage Goudapada quotes from the Upanishads: ~ "There's no plurality here"; "The Soul through its powers appears to be many"; "those who are attached to the creation or production or origination go to utter darkness"; "the unborn is never reborn, for what can produce it?”

As per the Ish Upanishad: ~ Those who worship Gods and Goddesses go into deeper darkness because they seek rewards for their worship.

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

This clearly indicates that religion, which is based on individual conduct, prescribes karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, therefore religion is for the lower intellect. And wisdom is for those who are capable of inquiring into their own existence. :~Santthosh Kumaar