Sage Sankara: ~ All this universe which through ignorance appears as of diverse forms, is nothing else but Brahman.+

Realize the ‘Self’ is not you but the Soul. This is the truth. Realizing the Soul is God, is your mission.  The Soul is the cause of the universe and it itself is uncaused.  

The universe is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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)

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.

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ The universe rises from the Soul, the Self like bubbles from the sea. Thus, know the Self to be One and in this way enter into the state of dissolution."

The world, in which you exist, is an illusion. The illusion is created out of the Soul, the innermost ‘Self.’ The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.  The one which exists with or without the illusion is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  Consciousness alone is.

The Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God there is nothing to renounce the seeker has to get rid of the ignorance. Ignorance is present in the form of the ‘I’.

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

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 in order to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

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

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self. 

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’.  The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

This ignorance can be removed by acquiring Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.+

Ish Upanishad declares ~ “Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge and have thus committed suicide. 

Those people who have neglected the attainment of ‘Self’-knowledge and have thus committed suicide, as it were, are doomed to enter those worlds after death. This is a condemnation of people who do not try to attain ‘Self’-knowledge.

We think of our practical life within the practical world as a reality but it is not so, because the world in which we exist is an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  The Soul is the subjective reality.  The world in which we exist is an object to the Soul, which is the formless subject.

That subjective experience need not be proved or disproved. However, all the confusion it created because of ignorance of the subject hidden by the object. This ignorance can be removed by Advaitic wisdom.

The world in which we exist is both real and unreal. It is real because it is a manifestation of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, but is unreal, in the sense, that it is not absolute and eternal like consciousness itself.

The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, cannot be negated and that which is beyond contradiction.

The dualistic reality is limited to form, time and space.   From the standpoint of the Soul, the form, time, and space are one in essence.  

Until ignorance is there the form, time and space prevail as a reality.  Ignorance will prevail till you hold the “‘Self’’ as the ‘I’.  if there is no ‘I’  then there is only the Soul, the witness of the coming and going of the ‘I’.

You have got stuck up with the Gurus and their ‘I’ based teaching.  You will never be able to cross the prison of the ‘I’ because you are immersed in worshipping the Gurus instead of completing your journey. Such worship, devotion, and reverence to Gurus will never allow you to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.  

‘I’ is the cause of all contradiction whereas the truth you are seeking is beyond all contradictions. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is infinite.

 There are two dimensions of reality.  The dualistic and nondualistic reality, it does not mean they are two orders of reality. They are only two perspectives. Whatever that is there is real and is unaffected by our views.

Remember:~

 The dualistic reality is merely an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness is the non-dualistic reality. 

The Soul which is caught up in ignorance; encounters the dualistic illusion (form, time, and space). However, the Soul, in reality, is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.  

The Soul is infinite. The infinite ‘Self’, is perceived as limited to form, time and space.   The illusory form, time, and space are superimposed on the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  In reality, the form, time, and space are made of the same clay, which the consciousness.  Thus the consciousness alone is real and eternal and the form, time, and space are merely an illusion.

You are being an individual-in-the-world you are unaware of the fact that the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘‘Self’ is the Soul, which is the cause of the world in which you exist. Thus, the ‘‘Self’’ is not an individual because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

The Soul is originally a pure, transcendental consciousness is taken it is due to ignorance that hides the Soul, the ‘Self’ that the individual fails to see the nexus between the Soul and the world in which he exists.

That nexus indicates the oneness underlying the subject-object, inner-outer distinctions. All that is required is to remove the error and the Soul will shine on its own accord.

The water in the pond is clear and undisturbed. One can see the bottom of the pond through its still water. When, however, pebbles are thrown into the pond, the water in it is disturbed and the bottom of the pond becomes no longer visible. That bottom, however, is there all the time and it remains unchanged, no matter whether the surface water is disturbed or not. The water in the pond is the transactional world. The bottom of the pond is the transcendental reality. The disturbance created is ignorance.

Remember:~

The seeker has to mentally recognize subjective and objective reality.  The objective reality is merely an illusion from subjective reality.  The objective reality never exists from the standpoint of subjective reality. The subjective reality is the fullness of consciousness.  

Objective reality is merely an illusory division of form, time, and space created on subjective reality.

The objective reality is superimposition over the subjective reality.  The objective reality (world) seems as real, but it actually is unreal.

The superimposition of the illusory form, time, and space on the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the cause of ignorance. When the ignorance is removed through Advaitic wisdom than the illusory division form, time and space never again prevail as a reality same way as the dream never becomes a reality when the waking takes place.

The superimposition of the illusory form, time, and space become one with the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

By constantly repeating ‘I THAT”   ‘I AM THIS Who AM ‘I, without realizing what is this ‘I’ supposed to be in actuality, the ignorance becomes more and more deep-rooted, Then it becomes impossible to come out of the prison the intoxication of the ‘I’.

The Soul is the not ‘I’, but the Soul is the witness of the ‘I’. The ‘I’, which appears and disappears is not permanent. The Soul, the Self is eternal. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will dispel the clouds hiding the path to Liberation.+

Just the way Light destroys the Darkness. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana will dispel the clouds hiding the path to Liberation.

Humility, patience seriousness, sincerity, and an intense urge to realize the truth of his true existence will help the seeker to remove all the obstacles and show the path to liberation.

The Soul, the ‘Self’ is hidden by ignorance. Through Self-knowledge the ignorance vanishes. The Soul remains in its own awareness without ignorance. In self-awareness, the Soul shines as the fullness of consciousness, without the illusory division of form, time, and space.

The Soul, which is the fullness of the consciousness alone, is eternal. Self-knowledge removes ignorance. Self-knowledge removes the knowledge of the individual. Thus, the Soul loses the apparent hold of ignorance upon itself. And it frees itself from experiencing the dualistic illusion as a reality~ that is Liberation.

From the standpoint of the Soul, there is no such thing as internal or external.  Within the dualistic illusion, you create your own set of impressions and experiences and you accept the dualistic illusion as reality.

A personal realization of the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space,   is independent and convincing evidence.

People’s individual experiences cannot be disputed, because the experience they went through was real to them; though that may not be real, from an absolute standpoint.

The seeker has to make a distinction between the dualistic perspective view and the non-dualistic perspective of the worldview to realize ‘what is the truth’ and ‘what is untruth’.

From the dualistic perspective, the world in which we exist is a reality.

From the non-dualistic perspective, the world in which we exist is an illusion. 

Thus, it is necessary to realize on what standpoint the world in which we exist, is reality and on ‘what standpoint the world in which we exist is an illusion. 

Because you hold the Self’ as ‘I’ you are misled, All this because you are stuck up with some gurus and their teaching as ultimate. There is no Guru whose teaching takes you to realize the Advaitic truth expounded by Sage  Sankara.

Never use the word ‘I’ or ‘I AM’ for identifying the Soul, the  Self because the ‘I’ represents ignorance, illusion, physicality, and duality.

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

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 in order to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space

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

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self.

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 'I' as real because some Gurus have propagated the Self is the ‘I’. is no need to convince such a mindset. The seeker of truth accepts only the truth nothing but the truth.

That is why Sage Sankara says: - VC-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.

People refuse to accept anything other than their Gurus words. For them, their Gurus words are the ultimate truth. They do not accept anything else other than their accepted truth. There is no need to convince such a mindset.

Such a mindset is not fit to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. The seekers of truth accept only the truth nothing but the uncontradictable truth. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

“God created the world is an absolute lie.+

In reality, there is no scope for creator and creation because there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  

 Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~   God is  Supreme Spirit.

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

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 (Gita 14.27)

If God is the 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 is there is. 

No one has seen God creating the world. No one can claim that he was the first Knower of the creation.  How can anyone he knows God created the creation when he himself is the part of the creation? 

People talk about God created the creation as if they were present when God was creating the creation.  So people who wrote creation and creator theory existed prior to God creating the creation.

There got to be at the very beginning of the creation someone or other who was the very first knower of the creation.  There cannot be something ‘known’ in the absence of a ‘knower.’ 

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie; nevertheless, you will find Sage  Sankara (in his commentary on Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary, Sage Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy.

A number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic and self-contradictory because they also begin by assuming Brahman.  Few Upanishads prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof but still, they are very confusing and vague.

The causality and creation, but these are for religious people only.  Religion is only for those who are unable to understand truth beyond form, time, and space. Religion is not final. It only gives satisfaction to the populace. The Self - knowledge is for the whole of humanity to free them from experiencing the birth, life, death, and world as reality.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, or revealed scripture.  This may be because Sage Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus, in the idea of God—and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter.  He believed that those of superior intelligence, have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Advaita by pure reason. 

People of small intelligence follow religion and believe that God created the world. However, how do they know that He did so? When a pot is created, one can see both pot and its maker, but not in the case of the world.

The seeker has to begin his analysis with the world first, not with the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The world in which you exist, consciousness is the finality. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth, Brahman, or God in truth.  The universe is merely an illusion created out of God in truth.    

In reality, the illusion and God are one in essence.  Thus, consciousness, God is one without the second. Those who are stuck with the creator & creation theory will not be able to realize God in truth.

A Gnani sees the world in which he exists as consciousness." However, to know this, they must study be examined. 

Remember:~ 

Sage Sankara: ~ “ 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 not-Self.

Till you think you are an individual separate from the world and the world that 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.

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. 

Remember:~ 

The creator and creation theory is based on the dualistic perspective. From the ultimate standpoint, the duality is not a reality. From on non-dualistic perspective, there is neither creation nor creator because the duality is merely an illusion. The cause and effect theory holds good only when one views and judges the worldview on the base of false Self (ego or you) as the real Self and the false experience (waking) as a reality.

When (you) learn to view the three states on the base of the Soul, which is true Self then he becomes aware of the true fact t that there is nothing that exists other than the Soul, which is in the form of consciousness. Consciousness pervades in everything and everywhere in all three states. The nature of the three states is consciousness. In the absence, of the three states consciousness alone exists as formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

The people who believe in God as a creator will not be able to cross beyond the barricade of experience of duality. They get stagnant in believing duality or physical existence (universe) as a reality.

The seeker has to realize first ‘what the Self is in actuality? Then only it is possible to overcome this dualistic illusion (universe).

Without realizing the fact that, the Self is not you, it is impossible to realize the Advaitic truth which is hidden within the form, time, and space.

One who is stuck with his accumulated knowledge from here and there and accepts them as the ultimate truth is not receptive to receiving Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The Seeker has to verify from every angle through soulcentric reasoning and accept the only uncontradicted truth. The spiritual truth cannot be contradicted. Religious truth is individual, not universal.

The idea of God as a creator holds good theoretically. This idea of God is introduced by the organized religion and rulers in the past, to keep the populace in their control by conditioning the mass mindset, to be, to believe, to behave, and live in the society by strictly following its ethics and code of conduct. But this idea of God becomes the biggest obstacle to the pursuit of truth because one is unable to cross the threshold of the dualistic illusion (universe).

When the dualistic illusion is accepted as a reality then the birth, life, death, and the world will prevail as a reality. Thus, one thinks whatever one has seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person as a reality, without realizing the world in which he exists is merely an illusion. 

In Self –awareness,  there is neither the creator nor the creation because the creator and creation are one, in essence.

The world, in which you exist, is created of single stuff. That stuff is consciousness. Therefore, the diversity within the consciousness is merely an illusion. There is no second thing other than consciousness. Hence, it is nondual.

On the non-dualistic perspective, there is nothing exists, nothing ever existed; nothing will ever exit other than consciousness.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices.+

             The rituals and the sacrifices do not free the Soul from the cage of ignorance. 

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.

Sage Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go.  (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

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

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

Sage Sankara:~  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)

Liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality through wealth.  (Verses -7)

Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and tradition and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on the belief of God does not reach God.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace.

Belief in God without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance. 

All worship and the ceremonies rituals performed on the base of non-~Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits.  Deeper self-search reveals the fact that worshiped, the worship and worshiper, and the world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual formal observance have long since set in. 

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

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 pointed out that rituals could in no way bring about wisdom, much less Moksha. He asserted while the rewards of the rituals are not a matter of direct realization, wisdom which is the fruit of Vedanta is based on immediate and personal realization; one need not have to wait for the reward nor one be in doubt whether the reward would or would not come.

This was in sharp contrast to the position taken by Mimamsakas who asserted that rituals alone would lead one to higher levels of attainment. Further, the deities would reward only those entitled to perform the rituals alone. The entitlement involved the caste, creed, and other parameters.

Sage Sankara criticized severely the ritualistic attitude and those who advocated such practices. However, the 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. His followers might have found Sage Sankara’s mission a hard task and therefore compromised the liberating wisdom with the performance of rituals.

Sage Sankara says: ~ “The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.  

Sage Sankara:~ As regards the rituals, Sage Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the 'Self' has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal Self and identifies the ‘Self’ with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. -  (11)  Adhyasa Bhashya 

Sage Sankara:~  This ignorance (mistaking the body for Self) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person. (11.1) Adhyasa Bhashya 

Sage Sankara:~In short, the person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sri, Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is Avidya, an error that can be removed by Vidya.- (11.2)  Adhyasa Bhashya 

Sage Sankara: ~Sage Sri, Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma Vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the Self which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.  (12) Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the innermost Self is verily Brahman (God), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body that is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise.  

It is clear that the liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality through wealth

Religious rites and rigid ceremonies were passed down from one generation to the next as a practice or set customs and tradition and performed automatically with blind faith. Such worship based on the belief of God does not reach God.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace.

Belief in God without knowing God in actuality holds the worshiper more firmly in the grip of ignorance. 

All worship and the ceremonies rituals performed on the base of non-~Vedic Gods will not yield any fruits.  Deeper self-search reveals the fact that worshiped, the worship and worshiper, and the world are merely an illusion created out of consciousness.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual formal observance have long since set in. 

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual are meant for the ignorant populace. In the Atmic path, the seeker has to discard what is not needed to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space.

Religious rites and ceremonies, yagnas and homa-havans, or any other forms of ritual formal observance have long since set in. 

Remember:~ 

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)

Physical & mental discipline such as Karma, Mantra Yoga, and Yajna, Puja Japa Blind devotion to deity or Guru is not the tool for liberation or freedom from experiencing the dualistic illusion as a reality. It is a dualistic cult including Advaitic orthodoxy propagates this discipline. Such disciplines and codes of conduct have no value if one is seeking ultimate truth or Brahman to get Nondualistic Self-awareness. 

Mysticism, scriptural knowledge, penance based Scholasticism are the great hindrance to ‘Self –realization. Inherited blind belief with corresponding actions based on scriptures, worship, ritual faith that imply certain mental and physical discipline, or scripture supporting the belief, faith, creed, ritual, theological knowledge personal or opinion leads to hallucinated knowledge. All these become a great hindrance to grasping, understanding, assimilating, and realizing the Advaitic or non-dual truth.

Scriptural mastery including ancient Sastras, Tarka, and Samkhya disciplines to support Karmas & belief Bhakti Argument & interpretation with the help of logic, grammar, etc.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: "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)

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

The rituals, which are practiced in Hinduism, are not Vedic rituals and the Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods. Because: ~

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

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)

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 the real God.

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

God is not physical. God is present in the form of the Spirit. The Spirit is the cause of the world and the Spirit itself is uncaused.

From the standpoint of the Spirit, the form, time, space, and name are merely an illusion. The spirit alone is real and all else is an illusion. In reality, the spirit (God) matter (the world in which we exist) is one.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness (Spirit), 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 (Spirit) 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 Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists. 

Thus, it proves that all the attributed Gods are imagination because their existence is limited to the illusion because only in illusion, there is scope for imagination and diversity. Diversity is an illusion. 

The illusion is created out of a single substance, which is consciousness. Thus, consciousness alone is real and eternal. Thus, whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as real within the illusion is bound to be a falsehood. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar