Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot come if anything is left out in inquiry. The whole universe must be included.+

Sage Sankara: ~ VC-  Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the Self, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not  even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (verses-6)

In spirituality the ultimate truth is God. The Atman is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is nothing to do with orthodox belief systems. Sage  Sankara is the only sage who has final authority on the Advaitic truth. The Advaitic truth is rational truth and scientific truth without dogma.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is not the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace that is unfit to grasp the highest truth.   The Advaitic orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

All sect-based beliefs are dualistic and unphilosophical nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman.  In spirituality the ultimate truth is God.  Thus, the Advaitic orthodoxy is a sect is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom of the Sage  Sankara. Advaitic orthodox sect is meant for the ignorant populace.

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

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals.  The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

Mundaka Upanishads:~ So called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really the truth?" (P.334 line 9)

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

Mundaka Upanishad~ “The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher is that which leads to Self-realization. The eye cannot see it; the mind cannot grasp it. The deathless 'Self' has neither caste nor race, neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this Self is infinite in the great And in the small, everlasting and changeless, The source of life.

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.

First realize the truth you are seeking is the Soul, the Self is hidden by the universe.

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

Hence, Sage Sankara says:~V.63 ~ "Without knowing and examining the external world, one can’t know the 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: ~ ‘What is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead to the final Goal. (Commentary on Vedanta Sutra)

The Soul, the Self which is formless as the cloudless and stainless sky.  The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness shines in everything and everywhere in the universe in which we exist.  The Soul is the cause of the illusory universe in which we exist and it itself is uncaused. 

The seeker has to move on in his search for the ‘Self’ hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.  The universe is present only when the illusory form, time, and space are present. Without the illusory form, time, and space the universe is non-existent.

The nature of the Soul is a silent, featureless one without attributes. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is not an object but is always the subject.

The truth is beyond form, time, and space. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana dispels ‘Ignorance’. The Self is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness; there the object has become one with the subject.  there is only unity in diversity.

 The consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The consciousness is ‘the one without a second’, the one which alone exists as the ultimate reality. 

The Soul remains in its own awareness. The illusion (mind) does not merge with the Soul because it never really separated from it.  The Soul remains the one without a second (Advaita). The Soul’s separation is an illusion, the result of ignorance which when dispelled, the hidden reality shines as formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The samsara (the universe in which you exist) itself is an illusion.  You are not the Self. You are part and parcel of the dualistic illusion.  The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. 

The Soul is the witness of the illusion (the universe in which you exist.  The universe appears as the waking or the dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).  From the standpoint of the Soul, the three states are one in essence.   

Remember:~

The man is blind because he is part of the dualistic illusion. None can see the Soul, the innermost Self in the dualistic illusion. Very few will be able to grasp the truth beyond the form, time, and space, the rest are immersed in the illusory experience of birth, life, death, and the world.

A person, who stamped his foot on the ground to refute to show the world, is real, ignore that in a dream he would do exactly the same--stamp his dream foot on the ground and assert it to be real. 

Advaita is very different from Buddhism. Advaita regards consciousness as permanent and all-pervading while Buddhists regard it as momentary. Madhyamikas regard that a non-existent entity can appear in perception like it does in the snake in the rope illusion.

You cannot live without the physical world; it is the basis of your life, so it must be the starting point of your inquiry. Things, not imaginations, must be the truth-seekers material.

Without knowing the nature of the world in which you exist, it is impossible to know the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. What is the use of trying to find our inner ‘Self’ before we understand the world, which confronts us?  You have to realize the fact that, this world that confronts 'you' is also consciousness. 

If you do not make his induction from facts from the world before you, then you are only drawing on your imaginations. By saying ‘‘Self’’ is like this, or like that." but it will be only your imagination.

You must inquire into the nature of the ‘I’ i.e. matter. Second, he must inquire into the nature of the Soul, the ‘Self’. To say the world in which you exist as an illusion without first examining them and inquiring into them thoroughly is to delude yourself.

This world is common to all of us, therefore you must begin our inquiry with it and not avoid it. It is only after you have inquired into the nature of the objective world, that you should inquire into who is the knower. If, however, you inquire into the knower before the inquiry into the world in which you exist, then it is mere mysticism.

‘What is the world?’ must precede ‘What is this I? in the Atmic path.

Look at everything in its essence because in everything there is consciousness.  You should not avoid them, do not shut your eyes to the world in which you exist; do not shut yourself away from the world which is as much consciousness, as anywhere else.

Those who are weak and those who are not sharp enough to grasp the truth beyond the form, time, and space advise others to be non-observant and to withdraw.  Soulcentric reasoning will help, not hinder your pursuit of truth.  There is no need to run away from worldly life in ascetic fear or shyness of them.

The yogi shuts his eyes against the world and then has the temerity to declare that he knows the world to be Brahman! Because he has not inquired into the world in which he exists, he knows nothing.  Yoga cannot remove ignorance. It is only a step. It removes obstructions.

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

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

Brihad Upanishad does not advocate Samadhi.

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot come if anything is left out in the inquiry. The whole universe must be included. Only when all is known can all be known to be but ideation. Hence,  yogis blotting all out in Samadhi cannot lead to Gnana. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

The garbage of the religious beliefs dogmas superstition is confounded with the human imagination.+

The garbage of the religious beliefs dogmas superstition is confounded with the human imagination. The great reality of the glory of the religious Gods is hyped and obscured by so much tinsel and commercialism.

Spirituality is not theology.  Advaita is not a philosophy but Advaita is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. Advaita is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana or knowledge of the Spirit or God in truth.

The word “Advaita” is one without the second.  Advaita essentially refers to the Atman and the whole existence. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space.

Theology is nothing to do with spirituality. Advaita is pure spirituality. The theological Advaita is nothing to do with the Advaitic wisdom, which is based on the Spirit the Atman. 

Theological Advaita is conceptual having its own doctrine is nothing to do with the Gnanic Advaita because Gnanic Advaita is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

Both approaches are not workable together because the theological Advaita is based on the birth entity (ego)   Gnanic Advaita is based on the Atman (Soul).

Thus, the theological Advaita has to be discarded without mercy to get Advaitic Gnana.  

“Advaita” is a term used variously to express the unity of reality.  Advaita is unity in diversity.  

The seeker has to begin by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?,   to establish in Advaitic reality by sheer reasoning alone.   The reasoning is the right way to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space. People must first know what is the truth? and what is untruth’.  

Sage Sankara’s wisdom is not teaching or philosophy but Advaita is the universal wisdom. Advaitic wisdom is neither a teaching nor a theory but it is mere guidance to those who are seriously seeking the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.  Grasp the ultimate truth at any time, any age, if the seeker has the spiritual maturity and capacity to grasp it. 

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 not-Self.

It really depends on his inborn natural capacity to understand and assimilate it.  Sage Sri, Sankara’s wisdom is a Self-examiner, to test oneself to discover how near to Gnana he has approached and what progress has already been made on the path, and what still remains to be done.  It sets up a criterion for Self-judgement.   There are millions in search of truth, but one in million will be able to grasp it.

Without Sage Sankara, there is no Advaita (nonduality).  Since it was mixed up with orthodoxy there is a lot of confusion. I am highlighting all the obstacles, which are blocking one from realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. There are so many non-dualistic masters of the east and also from the west who expound Advaitic or non-dualistic knowledge but none of them are helpful to reach the ultimate end.

One has to know and realize the Self is Soul and identify it as his true identity to find liberation from the bondage of the illusion of birth, life, death, and the world(duality).   The goal of our life is to find and realize the Self, which is hidden by ignorance. 

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

To come to a more precise understanding of what non-duality is or might mean, we must return to the original linguistic and philosophic backgrounds from which the word has been translated into English.

 If we limit a probe of the meaning of non-duality to Hindu Sanskrit literature, we find that the most frequently used term is “Advaita.

Advaita” is not a religious concept.  Advaita is the nature of the existence hidden by form, time, and space.   The seeker has to attempt to rule out from the start a false understanding of reality by perfect understanding of ‘what is what’.

The Advaita is hidden by the dvaita. Advaita is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Dvaita is the universe.

Advaita is basically a denial; it is literally the negation of the dvaita.  That means whatever remains by negating the universe by realizing the universe is created out of single clay and that clay is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, the hidden truth by dvaita uncovered. Consciousness is the cause of the universe and it, itself is uncaused. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Ashtavakra says: ~ “This is your bondage, that you practice Samadhi or meditation.+

Meditation is not the means to Advaitic Self-awareness. Realizing that form, time and space are one, in essence, leads to Self-awareness.

The meditator, mediation, and the world are created out of single stuff. That single stuff is the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness (Spirit).

The knowledge of the single stuff is Advaitic wisdom or Self-knowledge of Brahma Gnana.

Chandogya Upanishad:~One who meditates upon and realizes the 'Self' discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantram and meditation--all come from the Self.

By meditating on the ‘I’, the wisdom will not dawn because the ‘I’ itself is an illusion. The Soul, the Self is without the 'I'. Thus, a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’- leads to nondualistic Self -awareness.

Remember:~

Meditation is not a tool for Self-realization is not possible through meditation. All the physical-based mediation is only trying to imitate the nature of the ‘Self’ by indulging in meditation the ignorance will not vanish.

Without getting rid of the ignorance Self-realization is an impossibility because meditation does not help to realize the Self hidden by ignorance.

By sitting quietly observing with dispassion whatever arises is an imaginary peace and tranquillity, which is impermanent. Meditation does not free one from ignorance.

Ignorance will never vanish without Advaitic wisdom. Ignorance will not vanish without inquiring into the nature of the universe.

Ashtavakra says: ~ “This is your bondage, that you practice Samadhi or meditation.”

The Samadhi is based on the false ‘Self’ within the false experience.  When the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self’ is the Soul then what is the use of the Nirvikalpa Samadhi.   The Soul, the ‘Self’ ‘is the fullness of  consciousness.  The nature of the Soul itself’ is Samadhi.

What is the use of practicing Samadhi on the false ‘Self’ (you) within the dualistic illusion? 

The experience and experience and the world are one, in essence. That essence is consciousness.

The path of religion, 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 which is beyond form, time, and space.

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

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

Brihad Upanishad: ~   does not advocate Samadhi.

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

~ this indicates that yoga is not the means to ‘Self’-realization.  And yogic Samadhi is not non-dual ‘Self’- awareness.

Panchadasishows the impossibility of yoga arriving at a successful end to its practices. (P.509 v, 109)

The notion of  Self -realization through yoga, is not philosophic. Every yogi who shuts himself in a cave is not thereby freed from thinking. 

Yoga can lead only to temporary peace because the world is subject to change. Only ‘Self’- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana can yield Advaitic awareness in the midst of the form, time, and space. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Advaitic wisdom is meant for those who wish to go beyond the form, time and space.+

Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many Gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

 There are three kinds of aspirants:  ~  

1.       The ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices follow the religion.

2.        Middling intellect who desire peace and well-being follow the yogic path or meditation.

3.      The most advanced seeker who seeks to know the ultimate truth follows the Atmic path. The Atmic path with its emphasis on the Advaitic wisdom is meant for those who wish to go beyond form, time, and space.

Only through deeper self-search do beginners and intermediates gradually become aware ‘what is what’. Only after they have realized the fact that the ‘Self’ is not ‘I’ but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness,   they are  ready for the inner journey towards reality, which is beyond the form, time and space. 

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

If you are seeking truth you have to realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Sage Sankara says the world is an illusion, it includes birth, life, and death, which happens within the world.  Thus, the seeker's main aim is to mentally trace the formless substance of the illusion, which is also the witness of the illusion.

Sage Sankara 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, it proves that religion is not the means to ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Because Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is universal knowledge meant for humanity. Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana does not belong to any religion. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

My postings and blogs are meant only for those who are in the quest of the true existence. It is not suited for the religious believers.+

My postings and blogs are meant only for those who are in the quest for truth. It is not suited for religious believers.  

What is God in actuality? 

“Where is God?” 

People say how God is everywhere, but they do not know because they are holding their religious propagated belief in the religious idea of God. The religious propagated God is limited to a particular religion, community sect and creed cannot be universal. The believers of the other religion, community sect, and creed will not accept any other God as their own other than their inherited accepted idea of God. 

The world in which you exist is not separate from God because the world in which you exist is created out of God. God is not imagination whatever you think of God is imagination based on the false self within the false experience. 

The ignorance makes you have the firm conviction you are an individual separate from the world and the world that existed prior to you being born in it afterward. Till this conviction is there, you will never be able to accept any other truth than the dualistic truth based on the false self (you). 

It is necessary for the seeker of the truth to unfold the mystery of the ‘I’ by a perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ 

Do not believe in any Guru or any teaching. Do not search God in this world in which you exist, religion, scriptures, holy books, ashrams, or mountain tops because ignorance hides God. 

A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ unfolds the mystery of God. Religious Gods are mere beliefs. Belief-based Gods are not God in truth. 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 Self the world in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence. God in truth is only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

In Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ It has been said that God Supreme or Supreme Spirit. 

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

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) 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) 

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

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 is there is. 

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

There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishad, and Bhagvad Gita. And also there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of real God. 

That is why Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many Gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

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 other than consciousness a God. 

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. 

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

There are different grades of mindset, which is unable to grasp the God in truth. The Advaitic wisdom requires demands sharpness to grasp the truth which is beyond the form, time, and space. Just sitting mindless and imagining you are seeing God keeps you in the prison of the dualistic illusion. 

Realize the Soul, the Self is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness itself, is God. Consciousness is the cause of the world in which you exist. And the consciousness itself is uncaused. 

Thus, the truth realization itself is God-realization because the ultimate truth is Brahman or God. Self-realization is God-realization and God-realization itself is real worship. : Santthosh Kumaar 

All idolized Gods are not God in truth.+

Q: M. V.:~ Idol is not God but God is in idol also

Santthosh Kumaar:~ The idols are symbols of personal Gods with form and name and attributes.  All idolized Gods are not God in truth. Worshipping such gods keeps one permanently in the prison of ignorance.

God has to be realized not worshiped. All beliefs and worships, rituals are meant for the ignorant populace.  First, one has to realize what ‘God’ supposed to be is in actuality.

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. 

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

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

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

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

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.

God is not a part, but God is whole. God pervades everything and everywhere in the universe because the universe is nothing but an illusion created out of God.  Seeing God as the part is ignorance.

Sage Sankara:~  VC- Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture, let Gods be invoked through sacrifices, let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated---yet, without the realization of one‘s identity with the ‘Self’, there shall be no liberation for the individual, not  even in the lifetimes of a hundred Brahmas put together (verses-6)

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.

Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc (Yajurveda 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, 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.)

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 declares: "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) :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Vedic God is Advaita.+

The religion of the Veda knows no idols. It means the Vedic God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. That means Vedic God is Advaita.

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."

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.

In Vedas, God has been described as: ~

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

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

Rig Veda 1/164/46: ~ “They call him Indra, Mitra, Varuna, Agni, or the heavenly sunbird Garutmat. The seers call in many ways that which is One; they speak of Agni, Yama, Matarishvan.

Rig Veda 8/58/2:~ Only One is the Fire, enkindled in numerous ways; only One is the Sun, pervading this whole universe; only One is the Dawn, illuminating all things. In very truth, the One has become the whole world.

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

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the 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 worshiper 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.

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second.

Belief in multiple Gods, The worship of idols and the worship of images that are not God, The worship of sacred images, ancestor worship, pilgrimage, priestcraft, the belief in avatars or incarnations of God, the hereditary caste system on the grounds that all these lacks Vedic sanction.

Religious people indulge in 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 sanctions, therefore, Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

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

It is very difficult to talk to people about the ultimate truth or Brahman because everyone thinks he knows the ultimate truth or Brahman. This I know business is dangerous. And whatever his reached conclusion is second-hand stuff. Therefore, accepting accumulated knowledge without verification will lead the seekers to hallucinated realization based on the ego. One may have some flashes of truth when someone tries to indicate it through fewer words. But it takes nearer to truth, not realization

It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self.

Remember:~

Yajurveda says:~ 

Translation 1

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc).

They sink deeper into darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent." (Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Griffith pg. 538)

Translation 3

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, 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.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that:~

They sink deeper into darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc. (Yajurveda 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, 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.)

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols then why so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.

In India, the founders of different caste, sects, cults in the past introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless Gods with diverse rituals to the deities.

 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)

Yajur Veda says ~ “Those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of Vedas. Thus, devotion to such conceptual Gods and Goddesses are non-Vedic. by indulging in non-Vedic practices, one will remain ignorant. The main aim of Vedas is to acquire self-knowledge.

Therefore, all the add-ons and attribute-based knowledge, which are inferior, have to be bifurcated and excluded to know the ultimate truth.

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.

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 to know and realize the ultimate truth, which is Brahman.

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

If Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness then, it is necessary to realize, the consciousness as self, which pervades all the three states, to realize the fact that there is no second thing that exists other the consciousness. Thus, consciousness (Atman) is the ultimate truth (Brahman).

Sage Sankara’s notion of Maya, the cosmic illusion, which must be transcended in order to realize the truth of Brahman, which means the ultimate truth or God.:~Santthosh Kumaar