The universe is nothing but the consciousness.+

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness, which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (14.27).

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness. 

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

Religious  Gods are based on blind belief. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul and the  ‘Self’ is the center of all that exists. Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious Gods are dependent on the Soul for their existence.

Even Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman, the Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "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)

No mantras help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, the world in which he exists as a reality.  For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana,  the mantas will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

That is why Sage Sankara VC~.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?

VC-  v6~ Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together.

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

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it, your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

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.

Vedas and Upanishad confirm the Soul, the Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.

If God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless Spirit, then how does man know God created the world? There is no proof. If man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? (i.e. were created).

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that there is.

 The Spirit is present in the form of consciousness. Everything is consciousness. All the moments are within the dualistic illusion. Whatever happens within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion created out of consciousness. Thus, the consciousness alone is real and all else is merely an illusion.

“Spirit is my father and I and my father are one.”

If the Spirit is the father the son is bound to be the Spirit. The Spirit, the beloved alone is real and all else is merely an illusion. 

There is no God in the dualistic illusion because the dualistic illusion is created out of God, which is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.  Thus, God alone is real.

Spirit is prior to Love. Love implies duality. The love hides God. When love disappears God appears.  Find the Self and Love the Self and rest in God, which is the Spirit. 

Consciousness is the only reality in which the universe exists, to which the universe belongs; from which the universe has emerged, which is the cause of the universe and which itself is uncaused.  Thus, the universe is nothing but consciousness. 

Remember:~

Sage Sankara: ~ “VC- All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman (consciousness) which is absolutely free from all the limitations of human thought.

The universe is the product of ignorance. The ignorance is present in the form of the ‘I’.

Sage Sankara says: - VC-47 All the effects of ignorance, root, and branch, are burnt down by the fire of knowledge, which arises from discrimination between these two—the Self and the non-Self.

Until you think you are an individual separate from the world and the world existed prior to you and you are born in it afterward the ignorance will prevail as a reality. Till ignorance is there the universe prevails as reality.

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.

Sage Sankara says ~ V.63 ~ "Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know Truth, as the idea that the external world exists, won't go. It can go only by an inquiry into the nature of the external world.

Sage Sankara says in the commentary on the 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 Orthodox Advaita without verifying all the facts from every angle. One has to reflect through reasoning over and over again without getting tired of the process.

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 duality. :~Santthosh Kumaar

One should not hold a God as the center of the existence without knowing ‘what God really is in actuality.+

People make God and their master or Guru as the center of their existence.  They are hallucinating about their idea of God and Master or Guru. Such people will never be able to overcome ignorance. 

The path wisdom is not suitable for those who believe in their religion their idea of God and faith in the physical Guru or Master. Such people must tread their own chosen path, which gives them satisfaction. 

By mixing up religion and the religious idea of God and trying to impose their religious idea of God will make them permanent prisoners of ignorance. 

One should not hold a God as the center of existence without knowing ‘what God really is' in actuality. 

Religion can never make you know God because it propagates Gods based on blind belief. Only an intense urge to know what God is supposed to be in truth can make you realize God in truth.  

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

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

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.

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 declares: 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)

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 to 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 the form, time, and space. To 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 God s. (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’ cognizes 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 consciousness and the consciousness is not different from the Soul, the Self, and the Soul is not different from the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. That consciousness appears as the diverse universe 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. The 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?”. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Self-knowledge or Bramha Gnana or Atma Gnana is not had by resorting to a Guru nor by the study of scripture.+

Yoga Vasistha says:~ Self-knowledge or knowledge of truth is not had by resorting to a Guru (preceptor) nor by the study of scripture, nor by good works: it is attained only by means of inquiry inspired by the company of wise (Gnani). One’s inner light alone is the means, naught else. When this inner light is kept alive, it is not affected by the darkness of inertia. 

A person who realized the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and all religious identity and live like a commoner. He never identifies himself as Gnani nor does he identify himself as superior to others. He only shares his knowledge with fellow seekers.

A Gnani never identifies himself as a Guru or a Yogi or someone disciple.  The one who accepts himself as a Guru or someone’s disciple is not a Gnani.

Ashtavakra Samhita: ~ "The man of knowledge (Gnani), though living like an ordinary man, is contrary to him and only those like him understand his state.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

Katha Upanishads: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. ( II -23-P-20)

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality.  You are the chosen one. Millions are searching for truth, but one in million will realize it.  If you are the truth seeker then you are, one from that million.   

No guru is needed to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Advaitic Gnana is given neither from outside nor from another person. Guru of everyone is only the Soul, the innermost ‘Self’ that is always revealing on its own

A religious guru or yogi is too enthusiastic to have everyone as his disciple, and he will push himself on others with his advice authoritative scriptural knowledge. Religious gurus or yogi wants to keep everyone in the domain of religion and yoga.

More than he wants to help people, he wants to help his ego. A serious seeker of truth will only use people and impose his inherited idea of religion and God on them, usually unintentionally because he,  himself is more unconscious than others of the ultimate truth.

A Gnani is not enthusiastic to have anyone as his disciple. He never identifies himself as a guru.  He does not impose his ideas on anyone. A Gnani sows the seed of Advaita by sharing  Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana and tries to guide the serious seeker and guides them. It is very difficult to identify a Gnani because he never claims himself to be a guru or teacher.

Most people are not aware of what they are really seeking. They start their pursuit with their inherited religious ideas and as they go deeper they will feel that religion and yoga are inadequate and useless in quenching their inner thirst.

A serious seeker will realize the fact that he is looking for something else, and he is now sure it is not ‘Self’-assurance,  the fulfillment of dreams, the fulfillment of social demands. He will realize the fact that religion and yoga are not meant to quench his inner thirst.

A Gnani dearly cares about the serious seeker but will stay aloof, he knows that if the seeker needs to be assisted by him, he will approach or rather be drawn to approach him. He has no ‘Self’-interest whatsoever and so anyone considered equally, for his love as anybody else, whoever comes, comes and if no one comes it is also fine.

Remember:~

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. 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 the consciousness.

Self-inquiry is to realize the ‘Self’ is not ‘I’ but the ‘self is the ‘I-LESS Soul’, which is present in the form of the consciousness.

Remember: ~

You are not the ‘Self.

You are bound by form, time, and space.

 You are bound by the experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

 You are never free because the world in which you exist is the product of ignorance.

It is not you who is in ignorance but it is the Soul, which is in ignorance of its own true nature.

When the Soul wakes up from its sleep of ignorance and remains in its own awareness the world in which you exist becomes one with Soul-awareness.

When ignorance vanishes through wisdom then the world in which you exist never again prevails as a reality.

The world in which you exist is created out of single clay. That single clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The Soul is the innermost Self. The Soul is not ‘I’. The Soul is the witness of the ‘I’ which appears and disappears.

The Soul is the only permanent thing and the ‘I’ is merely an illusion. If you do not understand this truth you will never be able to cross the ‘I’, which is the dualistic illusion.

The seeker has to make sure what is this ‘I’ supposed to be? The seeker has to make sure the unreal nature of the ‘I’ which comes and goes.

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.

Advaita is the true nature of existence. The ‘I’ hides the Advaitic reality. Realize the ‘I’ is merely an illusion created out of the consciousness, which is Advaita. The consciousness is Advaita because it is second to none. The world in which you exist is the dvaita (duality) is merely an illusion created out of the consciousness, which is Advaita. The Advaita (non-duality) is real and eternal the dvaita (duality) is merely an illusion.

Holding ‘I’ as the ‘Self’ is the cause of ignorance. Realize the ‘I’ is merely an illusion. Stop identifying the Self as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’. Till you identify the Self as ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ the Soul will remain in the cage of ignorance. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

For namesake, they have given a Vedic touch to the non-Vedic Hindu belief system.+

The religious Gurus are only a knower of the religious doctrines, not a knower of the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.  The Knower of the ultimate truth or Brahman or God is Brahma Gnani. A Brahma Gnani has realized the knowledge beyond the form, time, and space. Religion is nothing to do with Spirituality. 

Spirituality is the knowledge of the Spirit, which is beyond the form, time, and space. The knowledge or Spirit is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

Hinduism indulges non-Vedic beliefs such as idolatry, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priestcraft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, untouchability and child marriages. All these lack Vedic sanction, therefore; Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

When we bifurcate all the non-Vedic elements from the Hindu belief system, then we will be able to realize Vedas are nothing to do with the Hindu belief system.  For namesake, they have given a Vedic touch to the non-Vedic Hindu belief system.

All Hindu Gods are not Vedic God. The Vedas exclaim from time immemorial: ~

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.

The Vedas exclaim from time immemorial: ~              

Rig Veda, 1-164-146 :~Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti, Existence is One 

God is one and universal.

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

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul) 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)

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 (Gita 14.27)

The Upanishads say in effect that: ~ if you believe that the Soul is one and God (Brahman) is another you cannot understand Truth.

Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God there is no truth."

Religion advocates extreme asceticism. Asceticism is a waste of time. Religion is nothing but remaining in the false belief, dogmas, and superstition.  

Mundaka Upanishad:~  The rituals and the sacrifices described in the Vedas deal with lower knowledge. The sages ignored these rituals and went in search of higher knowledge. ... Such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death. Doomed to shipwreck are those who try to cross the sea of samsara on these poor rafts. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise In their own esteem, these deluded men Proud of their vain learning go round and round Like the blind led by the blind.

Sage Sankara says:~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. Thus, the rituals are meant for ignorant people.

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

~ This shows he was wearing the religious robe only for the sake of bread." Thus, it means those who are wearing religious robe for the sake of bread.

All the rituals based on the false belief of Gods will not yield any fruits and they are meant for the ignorant populace who are unable to grasp the God beyond the form, time, and space.

One of Sage Sankara’s missions was to wean people away from a ritualistic approach advocated by Mimamsakas and to project wisdom (jnana) as the means of liberation in the light of Upanishad teachings.

Sage Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the orthodox texts that combined rituals with wisdom (jnana_karma_samucchaya) more in favor of the Mimamsaka position came into vogue, projecting Sage Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine. 
Remember:~

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

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).

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 the 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?”. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar