Advaita or nonduality is ever present. Dvaita or duality is impermanent. Dvaita or duality appears as ‘I’. ‘I’ itself is ignorance.+

Advaita or nonduality is ever-present.  Dvaita or duality is impermanent.  Dvaita or duality appears as ‘I’. ‘I’ itself is ignorance.

Advaita is the reality hidden by the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is the dualistic illusion.  The dualistic illusion is present in the form of the mind. The mind is present in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or dream (duality) and disappears as deep sleep (nonduality).

 Until you discard the ‘I’, which is ignorance you will never be able to realize the Advaita the only reality hidden by the ‘I’, which is present in the form of the form, time and space.

There is nothing that exists prior to consciousness. The ‘I’ cease to exist without consciousness. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

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

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the Self, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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

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

The seeker has to find for himself the truth of his true existence and to come to a fuller and deeper understanding and realization of the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

 The purpose quest for truth is to first find out what is the untruth to realize the truth and discard the untruth. 

Do not try to get rid of the ego you will never succeed in getting rid of the ego. Think in a different direction.  The ego exists only in the domain of the form, time and space.

The form, time, and space exist only when the mind exists.

The mind exists only when the universe exists.

The universe appears only when the waking appears.

The waking appears only when the ‘I’ appears.

Remember

The ‘I’ disappears in deep sleep.

There is no form, time and space when ‘I’ disappears.

There is no mind when ‘I’ disappears.

There is the universe when the ‘I’ disappears.

There is no waking when the ‘I’ disappears.

Remember

‘I’ appears means the duality appears.

The duality appears means there is the division of form, time and space.

If there is division in the form, time and space - means there is diversity in unity.

Remember ~

When ‘I’ disappears there is nonduality.

Nonduality is the fullness of the consciousness without the division of the form, time and space.

The fullness of consciousness means unity in diversity.

Unity in diversity in consciousness is Advaita.

Consciously becoming aware of the Soul in the midst of diversity (waking) is Self- awareness or Brahmic awareness.

If you desire Self-realization, but you still say "I,” and if you feel the ‘Self’ is the ‘I’, you are not a wise seeker. You are simply ignorant. Glorifying ‘I’- centric’ Gurus and their teaching will lead one to hallucinate nothing else. : ~Santthosh Kumaar

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is the pure Vedic essence of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.+

As we peep into the religious history of India:~

A great majority of Hindus are not in contact with their religious history therefore, they believe their inherited beliefs as the ultimate truth.

Hinduism is based on myths and thus, the people of India are unaware of the facts of their inherited religious history. The Vedic Culture and Vedas are complete in themselves but Hinduism which is a non-Vedic belief system with all its ritual and conduct-oriented practices has been contributed largely by the orthodox priests to suit their convenience!

Vedas are in the Vedic language which was a high-class language. Rig Veda (excluding chapters II and X) were written before the Christian Era in Vedic language. Vedic language is not Sanskrit. It is the same language in which the Zoroastrian Scripture Zend Avesta is written – a form of Persian language. All the other scriptures of India are written in Sanskrit.

These include Rig Veda Chapter II and X and the Upanishads, Brahmanas, Puranas, and the Vedantas. These were written during the Christian Era after the Thomas ministry. As the use of this language diminished, it became a tough language for the commoners.

The priests, who were supposed to be an expert in this language, translated it into the Sanskrit language and manipulated the meanings in time, and gradually, all the practices changed.

The DaVita, Vedanta borrows the concept from Abrahamic religions, such as Eternal Damanation (of certain Souls destined to hell forever) which goes against the belief of most Vedanta schools, which states that Soul attains liberation.

It looks like the creator-creation theory is also borrowed from Abrahamic religion and on the base new belief system has been introduced giving it a Vedic outlook and propagating all non-Vedic rituals and worships by someone in the past.

The vast ocean of Vedic religion or Santana Dharma was consistently steady and calm for a very long period. It appears that as a consequence of the rage of the Buddhist revolution it got suddenly disturbed and flowed down to us in disorder. Even today Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has not recovered from the onslaught of Buddhism and Jainism and is not able to settle in people's hearts in its original form in the same old measure.

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 sanctions, therefore, Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

All Hindu Gods are non -Vedic Gods. The Vedas exclaim from time immemorial: ~

 Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~,  God os 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.

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 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 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 a 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 robes for the sake of bread.

All the rituals based on the false belief in religious 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 Sri, Sankara as the rallying force of the doctrine.

Supreme Court of India:~ Hinduism, as a religion, incorporates all forms of belief without mandating the selection or elimination of any one single belief,“ It is a religion that has no single founder, no single scripture, and no single set of teachings. It has been described as Santana Dharma, namely, eternal faith, as it is the collective wisdom and inspiration of the centuries that Hinduism seeks to preach and propagate,” ---Hinduism has no single founder or scripture: SC, The Times of India (Delhi) Dec 17, 2015

The Vedic system did not have a castes system. The caste system was a fake created in the name of Hinduism. This non~Vedic belief system called Hinduism has created hatred in the low caste Hindu for the higher caste.

Conclusion: ~ Sage Sankara gave ritual, karma, and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect which is followed by the Hindus of today is dualistic. Many founders of sect and caste and groups of Hinduism were introduced with different scriptures different non-Vedic Gods and Goddesses and rituals.

Hinduism is nothing to do with Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom, which is nondualistic. Those who want to acquire self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana have to drop all the non-Vedic beliefs, which is the hindrance in the path of wisdom.

Sage Sankara's wisdom is nothing to do with Hinduism. Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is the pure Vedic essence of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

This is information is for the seekers of truth to help them to drop what is not needed to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Religious Gods are not God in truth. One must know what God suppose to be in truth.+

Religious Gods are not God in truth. One must know what God suppose to be in truth. There is a difference between the religious concept of God and the truth about God.

Religions place God as diverse ideas and beliefs.  Every religious believer has a different idea of God. Every man has a different idea of the real.  There is a need to accept verify the facts about the religious Gods before accepting anything as God.  There is in religion the element of imagination and sentiments. The ordinary man is happy because the religion gives him satisfaction, and pleases his taste.

Every sect and creed concocts a God to suit its own purposes. Belief in such concocted Gods is a great hindrance in pursuit of truth.  The man himself’ suggests that there must be a God. It is an auto-suggestion. Belief in religion weakens as the man pays more attention to the facts of his practical life within the practical world.

An honest e seeker of truth says that he has not seen God. He does not know Gods capacities, what God can do, and what God cannot do. Therefore any statement he might make about God would only be a lie. 

The seeker of truth does not wish to tell a lie. Therefore, he does not accept God nor deny Him; he simply refuses to make any statement about God because he wants to discover what is supposed to be God.  Without verification, he does not want to accept anything as truth. 

Every sect and creed concocts a God to suit its own purposes. Belief in such concocted Gods is a great hindrance in pursuit of truth.  The man himself’ suggests that there must be a God. It is an auto-suggestion. Belief in religion weakens as the man pays more attention to the facts of his practical life within the practical world.

Spirituality is a new religion. Advaita is pure spirituality. Advaita is truth beyond the form, time and space. Advaita is the Spirit.  The Spirit is the universal God and God of the whole of humanity.

Do not believe God as a separate entity. Realize God is the cause of the existence of the universe in which we exist. God should not be worshipped but realized right in this very life, not in the next life or next world.

Remember:~

Vedas say God is Supreme Spirit has not an idol or the material shape because God is ever formless, timeless and spaceless existence. God cannot be seen directly by anyone.  God pervades all beings and all directions.

Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda: ~

Yajur Veda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. He cannot be seen directly by anyone. He pervades all beings and all directions.

Yajurveda: ~ There is no image of God in truth. God in truth is unborn and eternal. (Chapter 32, Verse 3)

Yajurveda: ~ God in truth is nondual and pure." (Chapter 40, Verse) 

Yajurveda: ~ "They are entering darkness, those who worship the natural things (like air, water, fire, etc.), they are sinking more in darkness who worship created things." (Chapter 40, Verse 9)

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Yajurveda: ~ "They are entering darkness, those who worship the natural things (like air, water, fire, etc.), they are sinking more in darkness who worship created things." (Chapter 40, Verse 9)

Yajur Veda 32:3:~The Supreme Spirit that pervades the universe can have no material representation, likeness, or image.

 

The idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.  All idolatry Gods are based on Puranic concepts.

There is no scope for belief-based God because the belief is not God.  The religion and its ideas of Gods are based on the false ‘Self’ (ego), within the false experience (waking). Thus, whatever beliefs based on the false ‘Self’ is bound to be a falsehood. 

Ishopanishad says ~ “They are steeped in ignorance and sunk into the greatest depth of misery who worships the matter, instead of the All-Pervading God and those who worship things born of matter like trees, animals, man, etc. are sunk deeper in misery."

Religion can never make you know God because it propagates the belief as God. Only an intense urge to know what God supposed to be in truth can make you realize God.  

The Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God. 

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

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

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

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

People, who worship the  Gods based on blind belief, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.

Vedas itself says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship.

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

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas God is nondual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.

When Upanishads and Vedas declare that, “God is in the form of the Athma, and God is indeed Athma itself” then why 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 in truth) 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.
Remember:~ 

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 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?” .

Kena Upanishad (6) Chapter I: ~  “That which cannot be apprehended by the mind, but by which, they say, the mind is apprehended-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (7) Chapter I:~  That which cannot be perceived by the eye, but by which the eye is perceived-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (8) Chapter I:~  That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the hearing is perceived-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad (9)- Chapter I:~ That which cannot be smelt by the breath, but by which the breath smells an object-That alone know as Brahman, and not that which people here worship.

Gods or no Gods has nothing to with the spiritual path. The spiritual path is the inner (mental) path.  Your path is your own.  The Soul the ‘Self’ is real God, not the objectified God you worship in the world. No one can walk your path for you.

When the Soul, the ‘Self’, relates its identity with the waking entity (ego or you) and the waking world then it remains in ignorance of its own formless and nondual nature.

It is because of the inborn conditioning or samskara one remains ignorant of the Soul, the ‘Self’, which is beyond form, time, and space.   Identifying itself’ as a person perceiving the world it becomes attached to them…

Sage Sankara exclaims, ‘Soul is unattached, its pure awareness isn’t identified with any labels, it isn’t attached to anything it is not entangled with anything at all…’

As the seeker realizes that the Soul, the Self is not the ‘I’,   he must, again and again, reflect and realize this truth.

The Soul, the ‘Self’ is eternal, it is nondualistic awareness, and it is completely free of all bondage of the diversity because it is ever formless, eternal and it is the whole.  The Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness, is forever undecaying and indestructible…

The seeker has to remember this truth and constantly reflecting on it, and gradually he will find the Soul start becoming disengaged and separate from all ‘identities’. And when the Soul, the  ‘Self’ will re-emerge into this world of labels and identity, then it will l find itself’ becoming detached and disinterested in the illusory world of name and form…

Nothing touches the Soul, the ‘Self’; it is not tarnished by any feelings or impulses.  It is not attached to anything at all.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Self-Realization is Truth -Realization. Truth- Realization is God -Realization.+

When one becomes aware of the fact that, all the three states are unreal on the base of the Soul, the innermost Self, then he becomes aware of the fact that whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a reality within the waking experience as a person is merely an illusion. 

Thus, his experience of the world and belief in religious God is merely an illusion from the standpoint of the Soul, which is the true Self.  Thus, it is necessary to learn to view and judge the three states on the base of the Soul, the 'Self to realize the fact that all the three states are illusory. 

Only after realizing the three states are illusory one can say the world is an illusion, not until then.  

Remember:~

Religion dogmatically assumes God's existence which is based on individual perception. One has to realize the fact that whatever is based on individuality is bound to be an illusion. Thus the physical body and the experience of the world and belief in religious Gods are part of the illusion. In reality, no second thing exists other than Atman. Thus Atman alone is a reality that is a formless substance and the witness of the illusion (three states). 

All God's appearance through vision is a mere hallucination from the standpoint of the Soul, which is the true Self.  Thus all the claims about the appearance of god are not truthful on the base of the Soul as the Self.  Even if God appeared to anyone cannot be taken as real since the waking experience itself is unreal. 

Thus, whatever is based on the individual and the world is bound to be a reality within the illusory waking experience. The waking experience is impermanent, which appears and disappears. The permanent is the formless substance and the witness of the three states. 

No doubt the mystic had a vision, but it is his individual experience within the illusory experience (waking).  Wherever there is individuality there is duality. Wherever there is an experience of duality the unreality is bound to exist as a reality. Therefore there is a need for careful observation to assimilate what is real and what is unreal to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The Seeker has to consider the waking/dream/astral is also a vision.  The question is, what is it that witnesses these visions (waking/dream/astral).  One gets deluded if he views and judges the reality on the base of the waking entity, which is limited to waking experience alone. When one does not know the truth, he can only guess, imagine, hence doubts and questions, and discussions arise. 

People say God is light, or God is light within.  Some people think God is energy and they are separate from that energy. Some contend that God is sound and say, they hear the divine sound, the sound inside in their meditation. Some say God is a fragrant smell and that beautiful scent comes in their meditation as the presence of God. All these differences of opinion, they can be endless, show mutual contradiction and general error, that is lack of certain truth. The seeker has to realize the fact that if one sees a Light he is seeing it as a person, a person is the cause of duality, and therefore there is no reality in his claim. 

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. 

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. 

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 within the universe in which you exist, God in truth is without the universe in which you exist.

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

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~  God is Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. 

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

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

Vedas itself says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship.

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

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshipper and the worshiped, whereas God is nondual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as apart.

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

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

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

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.

The consciousness is ever-present. Without consciousness, the world, in which you exist ceases to exist. Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny consciousness because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Consciousness is everything. Thus, consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God. 

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

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.

Third Mundaka - Chapter 1 (8):~ Brahman (Self) is not grasped by the eye, nor by speech, nor by the other senses, nor by penance or good works. A man becomes pure through the serenity of intellect; thereupon he beholds the 'Self' which is without parts.

Yajur Veda:~  "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.)

"Na tasya pratima asti"
"There is no image of Brahman."[Yajurveda 32:3]

"Ekam evadvitiyam"
"Brahman is One only without a second." [Chandogya Upanishad 6:2]

"Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah."
"Of Brahman, there is neither parents nor lord." [Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]

"Na tasya pratima asti"
"There is no likeness of Brahman." [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]

"shudhama poapvidham"
"Brahman is bodiless and pure." [Yajurveda 40:8]

"Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam."
"His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye." [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]

All this is referred to as Atman the innermost Self. Atman is the ultimate truth or Brahman. The ultimate truth or Brahman itself is God. Thus the Atman which is in the form of consciousness is God. Thus Self-Realization is Truth-Realization. Truth-Realization is God-Realization.  

Only through deeper inquiry, analysis, and reasoning on the base of the soul as a self, one become aware of the fact that the individual gods propagated by religions do not exist in reality.  God is impotent, incompetent, or lacking in intelligence--if he exists! However, all Religions are nothing but imaginations, because religion and its idea of god are a reality only on the base of ‘I’, which is the false self.

No one can know God other than his inherited belief.  If anyone performs worship and meditation on God, it is only he who is worshiping/meditating his inherited belief. The belief is not God. 

When the believer and his experience of the world are part of the illusion, then whatever he believed within the illusion is bound to be an illusion. Thus, the seeker must make sure of the fact that ‘I’ is not the self, to assimilate and realize the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

Isa Upanishads indicates that: By worshiping gods and goddesses and going to the world of gods after death is of no use.  The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is the main goal.

One cannot reach the non-dual destination by glorifying gods and goddesses and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness. It surely indicates the fact that the seeker of truth has to drop the worshiping god and goddess to get Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. :~Santthosh Kumaar