Perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ helps to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

All accumulated knowledge is mental Garbage is no use in the quest for truth. The seeker has to discard all the accumulated knowledge and start afresh.

A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ through deeper thinking and reasoning helps to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

You are not the ‘Self’. You are bound by birth, life, death, and the world. Without realizing ‘what the ‘Self’ is supposed to be, simply saying ‘I AM THAT’ shows are merely imagining the ‘Self’. 

Your knowledge is based on imagination is not Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, the 'Self'.

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. 

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

The form, time, and space are connected to the ‘I’.

The experience of the birth, life, death, and the world is connected to the ‘I’.

The waking experience is connected to the ‘I’.

The dream is connected to the ‘I’.

The universe in which you exist is connected to the ‘I.

The mind is connected to the ‘I’.

The Self is not the ‘I’.

The ‘I’ hides the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The ‘I-LESS Soul is permanent because it is formless, timeless and spaceless existence.

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

Why are you struggling to find out who you are? You will never find the answer if you get stuck to the ‘I’. Find out ‘what is this ‘I’, which appears and disappears. What is that is aware of the coming and going, of the ‘I’?

Without realizing ‘What is this ‘I’?,  you will never be able to realize the mystery of the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is the most intoxicating stuff. Those who use the word ‘I’ for the ‘Self ‘will never be able to cross the threshold of the dualistic illusion.

The ‘I’ based teachings will not transport the seeker to the ultimate end of understanding.

The ‘I’ is the cage for the Soul. ‘I’ is the cause of ignorance. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the only weapon to get rid of ignorance.

The ‘I’ based teachings will not transport the seeker to the ultimate end of understanding. Perfect understanding of ‘what is this ‘I’ leads to the realization of the truth beyond the form, time, and space.

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. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

The word, “dharma “found in the karikas, which means Atma in Advaita Vedanta.+

In Tattireya Upanishad:~ "satyaM vada. dharmaM cara." Speak the truth, practice dharma. Now if you want to practice dharma, you should first know what it means. (1.11.1)

~ The word, “Dharma “is found in the karikas, which means Atma in Advaita Vedanta.

Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Sage Sankara: ~ "Though I wear these robes of a Sanyasin, it is only for the sake of bread." (Select Works of Sage Sri, Sankara" also his commentary on Brihad)

Thus, the above passage proves that all those who were the sanyasin robes are wearing them for the sake of bread belong to the religion; they are nothing to do with the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. There is no need to criticize and condemn the gurus, yogis,  and swamis because they are needed for the welfare of the ignorant masses in the dualistic world. 

There is no need to condemn the religion, the concept of God, and scriptures or indulge in criticizing the religious Gurus, but there is a need to highlight how they become a hindrance in realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman. 

Deeper Self-search reveals the fact that the body is not the Self. The religion is based on the body as the Self because it speaks of birth, death, and rebirth whereas the Self is birthless and deathless because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.  

Ignorance is the cause of experiencing birth, life, death, and the world as reality. Once the ignorance is dropped then one becomes aware of ‘what is the truth?‘, and what is the untruth?. 

All the conceptual divisions were invented by Gurus of their orthodox attitude. Where do all these concepts end? Why should confusion be created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the garbage of superstition and dogmas but goes straight to the Source from which ‘I’ arises concepts end? Why should confusion be created and then explained away? Fortunate is the man who does not lose himself in the garbage of superstition and dogmas but goes straight to the Source from which ‘I’ arises.

Ignorance is the cause of experiencing the duality (universe or waking) as a reality. Thus eradicating ignorance is necessary. And this is possible only through Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.   

Thus, there is no other road to freedom other than Gnana.  There is no other entrance other than Gnana.  The ignorance will vanish only when the nondual wisdom dawns. Detachment to attachment is impossible without the Advaitic wisdom. 

Only when one realizes the fact that the Self is not the form but the Self is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence then only it is possible to detach the ‘Self’ from the false attachment. 

That is Sage Sankara, in Bhaja Govindam says: One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

The Advaita does belong to any religion. Advaita belongs to the whole of humanity.  The Advaitic wisdom is universal,  irrespective of any religion of faith one belongs to. Religion is not the means to Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.  Sage  Sankara’s Advaita minus orthodoxy is true Advaita. 

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

Sage  Sankara: ~ VC- Neither sacred baths nor any amount of charity nor even Hundreds of pranayamas* can give us the knowledge about our own Self.  The firm experience of the nature of the Self is seen to proceed from inquiry along the lines of the salutary advice of the wise. (13)

The ‘Self’ is the formless, timeless, and spaceless Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. The world in which we exist is created out of the formless, timeless, and spaceless stuff. That stuff is consciousness.  When the world,  in which you exist, is created out of consciousness, then everything is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.  

The Soul is hidden within the illusory form, time, and space, but it is without the form, time, and space.  The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Reason as means to Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+

The truth is beyond the scriptures and egocentric intelligence. Thus, in order to grasp, assimilate and realize the Advaitic truth the seeker to employ soulcentric reasoning faculty. The reason as a means to Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.
 
That is why Sage Sankara says in the commentary in Vedanta-sutra that what is accepted without a proper inquiry will not lead a person to the final goal. On the contrary, such acceptance will result only in evil, in something which is detrimental to our spiritual progress.

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

There is no need to study the scriptures. One has to self-search for the truth and realize it without the scriptures. And then when he reads the scriptures he becomes aware the scriptures are also saying the same thing but everything is misinterpreted. 

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

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

That is why Sage Sankara says: ~ VC ~58. Loud speech consisting of a shower of words, the skill in expounding the Scriptures, and likewise erudition - these merely bring on a little personal enjoyment to the scholar but are no good for Liberation.

59. The study of the Scriptures is useless so long as the highest Truth is unknown, and it is equally useless when the highest Truth has already been known.

60. The Scriptures, consisting of many words are a dense forest that merely causes the mind to ramble. Hence, men of wisdom should earnestly set about knowing the true nature of the Self.

61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

62. A disease does not leave off if one simply utters the name of the medicine, without taking it; (similarly) without direct realization one cannot be liberated by the mere utterance of the word Brahman.

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

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Reason as a means to reality. (Chap.18 verse 37)

In chap. 10 of the  Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: ~ I cannot save you, but I can give you Buddhi (reason). (chap. 10)

In chap. 10 of in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says: ~ "I have given you the most secret teaching, now reflect over it all" Krishna plainly says reflect, think. (Verse 63 of Chap. 18)

Mundaka Upanishad says: ~ Both states are harmful and take you away from the path of inquiry into truth. (Page 234)

Ashtavakra Gita: ~ It is not the absence of Buddhi (Reason) that can grasp Advaita but the man who possesses the highest intellect. Brains are necessary. Such a man, by merely hearing the truth mentioned will know it. (Page~ 224). 

There is no need for any philosophy in pursuit of truth because they take the seeker nearer to the truth, but they create more doubts and confusion.

 
Sage Goudpada: ~ To establish the truth of Nonduality by sheer reasoning alone. He begins by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?" etc, because that is the right way to discuss or teach. People must first know what they are talking about. (Manduka Karika)

The reasoning is interpretable in two ways. The egocentric interpretation is to apply it only to the waking experience. The soulcentric interpretation is to apply it to the three states. The latter leads to a final settlement of the problems because it takes all data into consideration. 

As we keep digging deeper and deeper, the truth will shine as pure awareness in the midst of the duality (waking).:~Santthosh Kumaar 

We have one key from Sage Sankara and to be applied to every statement or assertion or speculations.+

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

Emptiness is the nature of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Emptiness is the fullness of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space.

We have one key from Sage Sankara and to be applied to every statement or assertion or speculations: It is “Is this true?” “Where is the proof?”

Opinions belong to scholasticism, not to philosophy. Vedanta has no use for opinions.

Sage Sankara has declared Advaitic truth centuries back.  The seeker has to reach the inner destination with soulcentric reasoning.    Until one mentally reaches the final conclusion and the conviction of the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space, the Advaitic wisdom, will not dawn. 

Without realizing the fact that, the Self is not the ‘I’ but the Self is ‘I-LESS Soul, the truth will not reveal. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman.  

The Soul, which is present in the consciousness, is real and eternal and all else is a myth, which Sage Sankara declared as the world is myth Brahman alone is real.

It is no use arguing Bhagavan Buddha is wrong or Sage Sankara is right, but the seeker has to find out where he is going wrong in his understanding of the nondualistic or Advaitic truth, what is blocking him to realize the truth propagated by the great Sages of the past.  The seeker has to find out what are the obstacles?

Some say, that without the Sunyavada, Advaita philosophy could not have come into existence because Advaita starts from where Sunyavada ends. That is why they say it is the extension of Buddhism. If Advaita existed prior to Buddha, he would not have advocated Sunyavada at all because Advaita is final and the ultimate truth.

Since the Buddhist and the Vedic scriptures have been passed down by hearing, they were written down only relatively late so one wouldn't know whether to rely on the times they give. Also, a lot depends on the translation. Each 'Sloka' or sutta is open to many layers of interpretation.

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 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 for this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason. 

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman is Nirguna (without the Gunas), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without attributes), and Akarta (non-agent). He is above all needs and desires.

Sage Sankara says:~  "This Atman is Self-evident. This Atman or Self is not established by proofs of the existence of the Self. It is not possible to deny this Atman, for it is the very essence of he who denies it. Atman is the basis of all kinds of knowledge. 

The Self is within, the Self is without, the Self is before and the Self is behind. The Self is on the right hand, the Self is on the left, the Self is above and the Self is below".

Satyam-Jnanam-Anantam-Anandam,  are not separate attributes. They form the very essence of Brahman. Brahman cannot be described because the description implies a  distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than He.

The objective world-the world of names and forms has no independent existence. The Atman alone has real existence. The world is only phenomenal.

Sage Sankara was the exponent of the Advaitic truth. His wisdom  can be summed up in the following words:~

Brahma Satyam Jagat Mithya,

Jeevo Brahmaiva Na Aparah

Brahman alone is real, this world is unreal; the Jiva is identical to Brahman.

The critics who declare Sage Sankara's philosophy as negative (because of his Neti, Neti) do not know that this is applied only to the witnessed (three states), the critic ignorantly believes that it is also applied to the formless witness (Soul). The seeker should never negate the formless witness, only the witnessed.

Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with the Advaitic orthodoxy.  The orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace whereas wisdom is meant for those who are seeking the higher truth.

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the Jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

There is a need to do deeper Self-search to know the true essence of Advaitic wisdom propounded by Sage Sankara, and Sage Goudpada and the emptiness of Bhagavan Buddha.

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara says that Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in Mandukya he denies it. This is because he says that at the lower stage of understanding, the former teaching must be given, for people will get frightened as they cannot understand how the world can be without a cause, but to those in a higher stage, the truth of non-causality can be revealed.

Brahma Sutras, i.e. "Vedanta Sutras" by Badarayana, are intended for those of middling intellects, not for those who have the best brains:  it is a semi-theological, semi-philosophical work; it starts with the assumption that Brahman exists.

The opening sentence is "All this is Brahman." But nobody knows or has seen Brahman.

If one says "All this is gold" and shows a piece of gold, the words are understandable. Suppose one has never seen gold. Then what is the use it becomes meaningless when the object indicated is seen by none.

Hence, the Brahma Sutra opening is equivalent to "All this is Brahman". Both have no meaning so long as they are not understood if we take them as the data to start from. It is for this reason, the Brahma Sutra is intended for theological mindsets because it begins with dogma although its reasoning is close. For it starts with something imagined.

The critics who declare Sage Sankara's philosophy as negative (because of his Neti, Neti) do not know that this is applied only to the witnessed (three states), the critic ignorantly believes that it is also applied to the formless witness (Soul). The seeker should never negate the formless witness(Soul), only the witnessed(I).:~Santthosh Kumaar 

Imparting the Advaitic wisdom to the unprepared mindset would be ‘equivalent to giving sermons to the stone statues.+

Advaita is universal. Advaita is not for sale. Do not buy Advaita from the spiritual supermarket. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the innermost Self. The world in which you exist is created out of single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Knowledge of the single stuff is Advaitic wisdom. 

Advaitic truth is very simple, but it is very difficult to realize because you have accumulated mental garbage from different sources in the name of Advaita. Until you discard all the accumulated knowledge you will never be able to realize the Advaitic truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. 
The Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the 'Self' shines on its own awareness when wisdom dawns. 

The Advaita is the Soul is the cause and the support of all that exists in the world in which we exist. Advaita is the nature of God, the innermost Self. 
The Advaita is present in the form of consciousness. Advaita is the root element of the universe. From the Advaita, the universe comes into existence. In the Advaita, the universe resides. And into the Advaita, the universe is dissolved. The Advaita is the parent of all that is there.

Katha Upanishad says:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking themselves wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Ch~ II-5 P-14)

Those who indulge in the perverted argument from their own standpoint and opinion are not seeking the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.  They just want to exhibit their accumulated knowledge accumulated from here and there.  They think what they know is the ultimate truth.

They think whatever they propagate is the ultimate truth. The question never occurs to them, “Is what I know really the truth?:

Those who assert the world is reality are still in the elementary stages of the preliminary analysis. The world is a reality within the waking experience, but the waking experience is merely an illusion. In the same way, the dream world was a reality within the dream experience. The dream became unreal when the waking took place. In the same way, the waking becomes unreal when Advaitic wisdom dawns.
Remember:~ 

When the Self is not you, but the Self is the Soul. The yoga is based on you. You are the false self within the false experience. The Soul is the Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. If the Self is not you then what the use of arguing about yoga is, which is based on the false self (you) within the false experience (waking).

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

Imparting the Advaitic wisdom to the unprepared mindset would be ‘equivalent to giving sermons to the stone statues.

Everyone is not ripe enough to understand and assimilate the Nondualistic or Advaitic truth. Some people want to exhibit their intellectual wealth, but it has no value in the pursuit of truth.

The seeker must have enough patience, humility, and an intense urge to know the truth. Arguments and provocation will not yield truth. Perfect understanding of ‘what is what ‘leads to the realization of Nondualistic or Advaitic truth.

As the seekers' understanding of ‘what is what ‘grows, gradually the seeker gets a glimpse of truth. Whatever is based on the waking entity is a falsehood and whatever is based on the formless Soul, the Self is real and eternal. 

Thus, it is necessary for the seeker of truth to make sure the waking entity (ego) is not the Self but the Self is formless Soul in order to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

The seeker has to have an inner urge to know the truth seriousness, patience, and humility in order to reach the ultimate end of understanding. A man of truth will not indulge in an argument he keeps his distance with such a mindset. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

People do not understand the meaning of Brahman worship their belief as real God.+

People think God is somewhere, up there, monitoring every act of the people, guiding the lost and uplifting the poor. God is the one who punishes the evil and rewards the benevolent.

Some people even claim of seeing them in stone idols or some conceptual belief, in inanimate or living things. Is it our faith that makes us believe that there is some supreme power above us or is it a reality, that can never be answered?  

Until this conviction is there one is in the grip of the dualistic illusion. The dualistic illusion keeps one in ignorance of our true existence.  Therefore, there is a need to verify the fact that the ‘Self ‘, is not you but it is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. 

 When you become aware of the fact that, the ‘Self’ is the Soul, then you realize the fact that whatever is known, seen, believed, and experienced on the base of the false self is an illusion.

You are the false self within the false experience.  You are not the Self because you are the birth entity whereas the Soul, the innermost Self is birthless and deathless.  The Soul is birthless and deathless because it is the ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, you and your experience of the world and your religion and your religious God and your accumulated knowledge is false knowledge because the waking experience is merely an illusion.

God is not he or she God is the Spirit. Do not physicalize God's worship. Such worship of non-Vedic Gods is barred by Vedas. All God with forms and attributes are not God in truth.

When Upanishads and Vedas say, “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. 

Remember:~

There is neither Shiva nor Shakti but only consciousness. Consciousness is God in truth.  All belief-based Gods are not God in truth. 

The Vedas talk about Brahman which refers to the ultimate truth or ultimate reality. The consciousness is the ultimate truth, therefore, the consciousness is Brahman and Brahman is God.

Vedas do not permit idol worship. All the idols are of the Puranic Gods priests are referring to the Puranic Brahma as God they are ignorant of the God in Vedas even though they speak of Vedas.

People do not understand the meaning of Brahman worship their inherited blind belief based God as real. 

Realize what God suppose to be 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.

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.

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

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says:~ "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)

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."

Hindus are idol worshipers of the large numbers of Gods and Goddesses whereas Vedas declare God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman.

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.

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 realizing 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. 

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)

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

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

Thus, Atman the Self is God. Thus,  Self-realization is real worship. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get realization.

Hindus are idol worshipers of the large numbers of Gods and Goddesses whereas Vedas declare God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman.

Chandogya Upanishad Chapter: ~ ekam evadvitiyam ~ God is only one without a second. (6- Section- 2- Verse- 1)

According to Vedas the Atman the Self is God.

Shiv is not Vedic God. All the God s and Goddesses with form, name, and attributes belong to Hinduism, not of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

God and Goddesses are religious concepts. Whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person within the dualistic illusion (world) is a falsehood.

Thus, it refers to a formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the innermost ‘‘Self’’ within the false experience. Thus, it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false self’.  Thus, Atman or the Soul, the innermost Self is God.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshiped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains. There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme  Self i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

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

The Vedas as a body of scripture contains many contradictions and they are fragmentary in nature. For Hindus, scriptures like the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas are more attractive and appealing than the Vedas. And also the Gods and Goddesses they worship differ considerably from the Vedic ones. The collection of hymns called Vedas that are written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries does not seem to have much significance for the Hindus.

Yajur Veda 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." (Yajurveda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates: ~They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc. 

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."

Rig Veda says God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman, then why believe and worship anything else in place of real God.

Thus, Atman is the 'Self'. is God in truth. Thus, the Self -realization is real worship. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get realization.

To acquire  Self -knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the seeker has to realize his inherited religion is adulterated in the past and it becomes a great obstacle is realizing the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

The seeker's aim is the search for the ultimate truth or Brahman. The search to find the non-dualistic or Advaitic truth that in actuality never was lost, only hidden.

Upanishad aspiration is best expressed in the following sutra: ~

Om Asato ma sad gaMaya, tamaso ma jyotir gaMaya, mrityor ma aamritaam gaMaya. Shanti, Shanti, Shanti

OM Lead me from ignorance to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Peace, Peace, Peace" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. (1/3/28)).

Religion was coherent because it had a transcendent individualized God as a central doctrine, whereas in the realm of truth individualized God cannot be considered as the center. After all, the Soul and the Self is the center of all that exists.

First, one should not hold a God as the center of existence without verification. Both the theist and atheist are theories, with nothing to do with ultimate truth or Brahman. 

Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship  God 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.

If God is the formless 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 Soul is the Goal. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. :~Santthosh Kumaar