Until you discard religion you will never be able to realize the Advaitic truth,which is hidden by the universe, which is a dualistic illusion or Maya.+

People in India identify Advaita and Dvaita as their religious traditions inherited from their ancestors. No one questions their validity because it is considered blasphemy to question their religion, their Guru, and Godmen or the pundits.

Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara is pure spirituality. Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with religion and yoga and philosophies. All Advaitic teachings of the Gurus of the east and west are not Advaitic wisdom of Sage Sankara.

Advaita is universal. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the 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 religion you will never be able to realize the Advaitic truth, which is hidden by dualistic illusion or Maya.

The Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the Self shines in its own awareness when wisdom dawns.

The Advaita is the Soul is the cause and the support of the illusory universe in which we exist. Advaita is the nature of Consciousness, which is God in truth.

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 is.

People who are attached to their religious code of conduct and trying to preach Advaita, that is mixing the individual life, and the concept of God and all mixed up hotchpotch religious doctrine and feed the seeking people are themselves not aware of the fact that the individuality and their worldly life is part of the illusion.

Religion is based on the blind belief-based Gods whereas Spirituality or Adyathma is based on the Athma the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.

Religion should be discarded in order to realize the real God hidden by ignorance. Religion is regarded as sacred and real by the common people, by the wise as false, and by the political class as useful.

Religion preaches that God is one and the ways to God are many. It simply tries to lead them to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self.

Religion is based on the false self (ego) and false experience (world) thus; all religious beliefs are a falsehood.

Everyone likes religion because it belongs to the world of sentiments and emotions. Religion changes as it appeals to different emotions. One will find at one pole the nude Sadhu is admired; at the other, the gorgeous life-styled Godman is revered. Belief in religious prohibitions arises out of fear of God's punishment.

The man himself suggests that there must be a God. It is an auto-suggestion. To say that one knows God exists always implies he must also exist always. It would be correct to say at this point, he does not know about the existence of God because God's existence depends on the individualized belief

People magnify every minor coincidence or every petty fact where yogis or Good men were concerned, and they see the miraculous or esoteric significance therein.

Religion is “believers Truth”; spirituality is “ the ultimate truth is seeker's truth.” This means a believer takes his feeling of truth whereas the seeker of truth takes his reasoned judgment, which will be the same under test everywhere in the universe.

The position of the seeker of truth is this: he has not seen God. He does not know his 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.

Each sect concocts a God to suit its own purposes. Belief in such concocted Gods is a great hindrance in the pursuit of truth. The man himself suggests that there must be a God. It is an auto-suggestion. Prayers and sacrifices belong to a premature stage of development. When no answers come to prayers to their God based on blind belief, then doubt arises about the existence of such God. Belief in religion weakens as man pays more attention to the facts of his practical life within the practical world.

People who argue that truth is only in their religion are vain logicians based on mere ideas, and imaginations. Religions that say "If one follows the religion they will go to heaven, while others “go to hell," are stories invented on the base of false Self within the false experience.

Religious truth is not the ultimate truth because it always shows a contradiction. A contradiction arises because a different person's interpretation may disagree with others.

Remember:~

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)

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.

Rituals prayers and ceremonies of different religions and cults are not a tool for Self-realization. They keep one in the cage of ignorance.

Attachment to the rigid devotion to the religious beliefs of God limits one to think within the framework of the illusory division of form, time, and space.

Diverse beliefs of religion and its diverse idea of God create divisions between one religion and another. The rituals and ceremonies become an obstacle to realizing the religious God one believes and worships is not God in truth. Religion becomes an obstacle to realizing the real God hidden by ignorance.

The seeker of truth is keener to realize the ‘Self hidden by the dualistic illusion. The seeker of truth has only one desire and longing — that of union with the Soul or God in truth.

A seeker is never entangled in with the religion, rituals, yoga, and physical Gurus and never allows himself to be overpowered by any attachment emotions and sentiment

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.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (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 ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth.

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.

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

Remember:~

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. belief is not God in truth. Religious God cannot be considered as the cause of the universe because the Soul, the ‘Self’ is the cause of the universe.

Without the Soul, the Self the universe in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence. God in truth is only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

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

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

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

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

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from the Self does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

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

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

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

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

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

As indicated in ISH Upanishads: ~ “By worshipping Gods and Goddesses you will go after death to the world of Gods and Goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent there is wasted because if you were not there you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of Gods and Goddesses, you cannot do that, and thus, you go deeper and deeper into darkness.

It clearly indicates that: -If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorify the religious Gods, Goddesses, and Gurus to go into deeper darkness. Instead, spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal. :~Santthosh Kumaar

Religious people are unaware Soul itself is God according to Vedas and Upanishads, which they hold as holy and sacred.+

God in truth is not a religious God you believe and worship, God in truth is non-dual existence. 

The religious Gods are manmade. Every religion has its own idea of God. God should not be worshipped but realized right in this very life, not in the next life or next world.

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

God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in Spirit and in Truth.

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.

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

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"

Yajurveda says if one worships what is not God in truth: ~

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 is 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 that: ~ They sink deeper into ignorance those who worship sambhuti. Sambhuti means created things

Those who worship matter in place of the Spirit, which is God in truth are enveloped in still greater ignorance, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time."

Remember:~

The Hindus believed in polytheism, believing all of their Gods to be separate individuals, which was introduced much later by the founders of Hinduism which contains diverse beliefs caste, and creed.

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols and Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas then why so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic Gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes. Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

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: ~ '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.:

Thus, it clearly indicates that God is without form and attributes and is ever free.

Vedic Gods, hardly have any significance in the present-day Hindu belief system. The Gods and Goddesses important to the Hindus of today are Ram, Krishna, Kali, Ganesh, Hanuman, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, and the respective consorts of the last three, namely, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, and Shakti. None of these deities figured prominently in the Vedic pantheon and some of them are clearly non-Vedic.

Even 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 other than consciousness a God.

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

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

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

Mythreyi Upanishad 2:26:~ “ All those who desire to have salvation should worship God in Spirit and Truth.

Isa Upanishads indicate:~ By worshipping 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 toward Self-knowledge, which is the main goal.

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 known as Brahman and not that which people here worship.

Kena Upanishad ( Chapter I:~ That which cannot be heard by the ear, but by which the hearing is perceived-That alone is known 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.

In Manduka Upanishad Brahman and Atman are defined as same:~ सर्वं ह्येतद् ब्रह्मायमात्मा ब्रह्म सोयमात्मा चतुष्पात् / sarvam hyetad brahmaayamaatmaa brahm soyamaatmaa chatushpaat –

Manduka Upanishad, verse-2

Translation:~

Sarvam(सर्वम्)- Whole/All/Everything; hi(हि)- Really/Just/Surely/Indeed; etad(एतद्)- This here/This; brahm(ब्रह्म)- Brahm/Brahman; ayam(अयम्)- This/Here; aatmaa(आत्मा)- Atma/Atman; sah(सः)- He; ayam(अयम्)- This/Here; chatus(चतुस्)- Four/Quadruple; paat(पात्)- Step/Foot/Quarter

Fragmented Verse:~ सर्वम् हि एतद् ब्रह्म अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म सः अयम् आत्मा चतुस पात् / sarvam hi etad brahm ayama aatmaa brahm sah ayam aatmaa chatus paat

Simple Meaning:~

All indeed is this Brahman; This Atman is Brahman; God, this Atman has four steps/quarters.

While Brahman lies behind the sum total of the objective universe, some human minds boggle at any attempt to explain it with only the tools provided by reason. Brahman is beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond intelligence, beyond imagination. 

If God is the Soul then why accept anything else other than the Soul as God because the Soul is the cause of the world in which we exist. From the standpoint of the Soul, the world in which we exist is an illusion.

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ The Self is indeed Brahman (God), but through ignorance, people identify it with intellect, mind, senses, passions, and the elements of earth, water, air, space, and fire. This is why the Self is said to consist of this and that and appears to be everything.

First, Mundaka - Chapter 2 (10):~ Ignorant fools, regarding sacrifices and humanitarian works as the highest, do not know any higher good. Having enjoyed their reward on the heights of heaven, gained by good works, they enter again this world or a lower one.

In religion, there is no freedom to believe other than what it preaches. Religious people consider mythological stories as truth and not believing in mythological Gods is irreligious.

The mythological God can exist within the domain of duality. From the Advaitic perspective, the duality is merely an illusion. Thus, whatever belongs to illusion is bound to be a falsehood.

Religion declares one must believe that there is no other God but God propagated by the particular belief system.

The seeker has to deny the existence of such God based on blind belief because the first one must realize what God really is.

People find some of the religious doctrines very illuminating. People who renounce the world and become a monk or sanyasi leaves it all behind to find the truth of their true existence.

People think the events that happened in the mythological stories really happened the way they are described and hallucinate about these stories.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ The masses in India cry to sixty million Gods and still die like dogs. Where are these Gods?

Swami Vivekananda: ~ If religion and life depend upon books or upon the existence of any prophet whatsoever, then perish all religion and books! Religion is in us. No books or teachers can do more than help us to find it, and even without them, we can get all truth within. You have gratitude for books and teachers without bondage to them and worship your Guru as God, but do not obey him blindly; love him all you will, but think for yourself. No blind belief can save you, work out your own salvation. Have only one idea of God - that God is an eternal help.

Some saints introduced the multiple ideas of God with attributes and attributeless Gods are non-Vedic because Yajur Veda says: ~ Those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of Vedas.

It clearly indicates that: -If the human goal is to acquire the Self -Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorifying the conceptual Gods and Goddesses to go into deeper darkness. Instead, spend that time moving forward towards the Self -knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, which is one’s prime goal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Hinduism has a multiplicity of Gods and Goddesses. Hinduism abjures all divides and separates. It contains different beliefs, dogmas, and practices.+

 

The word 'Hinduism' has become a common word in the modern world. The real fact is that words like Hinduism, Hindu, etc. never appear in any of the ancient scriptures! So to know our religion, the first step is to know what dharma means 

Swami Vivekananda says: - The word Hindu is a misnomer; the correct word should be a Vedantins, a person who follows the Vedas.

 The word 'Hinduism' has become a common word in the modern world. The real fact is that words like Hinduism, Hindu, etc. never appear in any of the ancient scriptures! So to know our religion, the first step is to know what dharma means.

The ancient peoples of the Indus Valley of undivided India were not identified themselves as Hindu.

Hindu idols or deities or temple is nothing to do with the Vedic religion. Vedic people ate beef. The Hindu practices of idol worship and temple worship ban on beef eating were introduced many centuries later.

As one peeps into the annals of religious history he finds that the Hinduism which exists today is not a continuation of the Vedic religion, and it has no real historical foundation. Hinduism is of a much later origin.

As per the researchers, the two faiths the Hindu belief system has drifted miles away from the Vedic faith so the two seem to be two distinct faiths. It is not difficult to discover that there is no noticeable continuity of Hinduism from the religion of the Vedas.

The distinctive characteristics of the Hindu belief system cannot be traced in the Vedic literature. Besides, although the Vedas are revered as sacred texts, there are many people in India who do not know what ‘belief in the Vedas’ means. In most cases, the acquaintance of the Hindus with the Vedas is limited to the few hymns that are recited in temples and household liturgies.

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 a large number of Gods and Goddesses whereas in Vedas the God has been described as:~The Vedas exclaim from time immemorial: ~ Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti, Existence is One. 

The ancient peoples of India belong to the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.  Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is nothing to do with present-day Hinduism.

People are being conditioned by the religious myth which has made them a non-thinker. There is a need for people to Come out of the religious myth by realizing God in truth. 

Hinduism has a multiplicity of Gods and Goddesses. Hinduism abjures all divides and separates. It contains different beliefs, dogmas, and practices.

Vedic religion or Sanatan Dharma emphasizes Self-realization. Vedic religion or Santana Dharma has no founder or a Supreme head or individual leadership or hierarchy. There is no supreme middleman who can canonize a human into a saint, by the unsuspecting masses. It is a movement based on principles or evolved over time code of Dharma. 

It is a relentless pursuit of truth, flexible to suit all situations. Hinduism is identified with different founders, different beliefs, and different times of history.

Temple worships were not of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is the world's oldest religion got lost in the diverse castes, beliefs, ideology, theories, and philosophies of Hinduism

The question arises as to what is Santana Dharma. It can safely be said that it is the Vedic religion based on Vedas alone. Hinduism as we find it today is not a pure Vedic religion, but it mixer of different ideologies accepted by people from time to time. Thus, Hinduism is a hotchpotch mixer of many ideologies.

Hinduism is not a religion, it is a way of living for different castes and creeds following their own regional cultures and traditions in different parts of India. All the so called Hindus are divided by caste, sub-castes, and creeds within Hinduism. Thus, the real Santana Dharma, or Vedic religion is no longer in existence in its ancient grandeur as it was prior to Buddhism and Jainism.

As one goes deeper into the annals of the religion one becomes aware of the fact that Santana Dharma has no beginning. Nobody can say when it started. It is without a beginning and so without an end. It is eternal and everlasting. That which has a beginning, has also an end, as all beginnings have an end also.

Santana Dharma has no founder. All religions are known by their founders or prophets, but this is not the case with Santana Dharma. It neither has any prophet to begin it, nor any book or authorized scripture told by the prophet who got a revelation.

If the Santana Dharma has no founder but all so-called Hindu religions are known by their founders or sages, therefore, Hinduism cannot be the ancient Vedic or Santana Dharma. Thus, it proves that the religions founded by the Sages after the 8th century onwards are not the ancient Santana Dharma or Vedic religion.  

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

The DaVita, Vedanta borrows the concept from Abrahamic religions, such as Eternal Damnation [of certain souls destined to hell forever] which goes against the belief of most Vedanta schools, which state that soul attains liberation. 

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

Remember:~

St. Thomas is said to have come to India to spread Christianity in the first century AD. It first spread among the people of the Malabar coast and in areas near present-day Madras.

There is a total discontinuity in the concept of God before and after the entry of St, Thomas.  As one goes in deeper into the annals of religious history then we become aware of the fact that the Vedic Gods were personifications of Nature and their worship essentially sacrifices to these Natural Forces to appease them.  All of a sudden by the first century, we encounter Vedantas.  Vedanta literally means “End of the Vedas,” though it is today interpreted as "the essence of Vedas."

Vedantas, which appeared as theological discourses, present a supreme Godhead, “Para Brahman’.  Such an idea was not even remotely conceivable in the Vedic context.  

New Gods like Maheshwar and Vishnu appeared.  The concept of Maheshwar.  Vishnu means Sky or Heavens.   Vishnu simply means God of the Heaven lies or the one who pervades everything.   Then we have the concept of incarnation – God taking flesh in human form to save humanity.  All these suddenly appeared after the entry of St, Thomas.

This was also the time when most of the Vedic gods passed into oblivion. Their place was taken by the trinity of gods, with Brahma as the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer. It is believed that when evil is rampant, various incarnations of Vishnu enter the world of men to save them. Krishna is one such 'avatar'. 

There are many contradictions, Brahma Vishnu and Maheshwar are the three main Gods but they are one. Brahma is the creator of this universe (Generator), Vishnu is responsible for the smooth conduct of the same (sustainer), & Maheshwar is the Destroyer! But if you go, and read Vishnu Purana, he is characterized as the supreme power.

Further, due to many castes and sub-castes prevailing in the society, some more rules and principles were added for the benefit of these priests. Can you imagine how would you get rid of the sin you committed by killing a cat? You will have to make a golden cat weighing equal to the dead cat and hand over this golden cat to the priest chanting for the purification of the individual soul! Hinduism is different from the Vedic religion.

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

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

God in truth is the Atman, the Self. Atman is present in the form of consciousness.

Do not accept any other God other than Atman not worship other than Atman.

Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything.

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

Yajurveda ~ chapter- 32:~ God is  Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions. Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

All the Gods and Goddesses worshipped in the temples are non-Vedic Gods.

The Vedas exclaim from time immemorial: ~ Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadanti, Existence is One.- Rig Veda, 1-164-146.

God in truth is one and universal.

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

In Vedas,  God has been described as: ~

Sakshi (Witness)

Chetan (conscious)

Nirguna (Without form and properties).

Shuddha (pure)

Buddha (omniscient)

Mukta (unattached).

All the above-mentioned description is the nature of the Soul (Atman). The Self is Ataman. Atman is present in the form of consciousness. Atman is present in the form of consciousness (Spirit) and is God in truth.

So, it clearly indicates that God is formless thus there is no scope for a form-based God. The religion and its ideas of Gods, and its theories of karma, heaven, hell, papa, Punya, rebirth, and reincarnation are based on the false Self (ego), within the false experience (waking). Therefore, they are meant for lower mindsets, they are of no use for those who are seeking higher truth as indicated in the scriptures.

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

Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham - Brahman (God in truth) 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."

There is no second thing that exists other than consciousness. Consciousness itself is God in truth.

No conceptual God can exist, apart from consciousness. People are not aware of the fact that there is no individual God that can exist, apart from the Soul, which is in the form of consciousness. 

Thus, the Soul or the consciousness is the  Self. If there is no consciousness, then there is no body, no ego, no universe, no religion, and no conceptual God. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

Detachment from the illusory universe. Attachment to the Soul, the Self hidden by the illusory universe leads to nondualistic reality,+

 

Detachment from the illusory universe. Attachment to the Soul, the Self hidden by the illusory universe leads to nondualistic reality,

Attachment to the Soul, the ’Self’, and detachment from the ‘I’’(world) is the key to freedom and salvation.

Every one of us is attached to the 'I', which holds the whole experience of diversity. And diversity makes us prisoners of duality. The 'I' which appears and disappears as the mind is impermanent.

Why the 'I', does not disappear even after inquiry, even if one knows intellectually 'I' am not the body?

If 'I', is not the body, what is 'I', without the body?

How can 'I', remain as 'I', without the body?

Where 'I', disappeared in deep sleep?

What is it that knows, the appearance and disappearance of the 'I'?

When the 'I' is impermanent, what is it that permanent Which knows the appearance and disappearance of the 'I'?

How can one remain as 'I', when it is impermanent and judge the eternal truth, which is not the 'I'?

The seeker of the truth has to find what is eternal and what is impermanent to decide whether the 'I' or duality is permanent or the Soul, the witness of the 'I', is permanent? to overcome the illusion and establish into the non-dualistic reality.

Remember:~

Avadhuta, the one who has cast off all concerns and obligations, is the typical knower of wisdom. He does that in a highly unconventional manner. He has no use for social etiquette; he has risen above worldly concerns. He is not bound by sanyasi dharma either. He roams the earth freely like a child, like an intoxicated or like one possessed. He is the embodiment of detachment and spiritual wisdom.

Avadhuta Gita describes him as ~

Having renounced all, he moves about naked. He perceives the Absolute, the All, within himself.

The Avadhuta never knows any mantra in Vedic meter or any Tantra. Ashtavakra Gita describes him in a similar manner

The sage sees no difference between happiness and misery, Man and woman, Adversity and success. Everything is seen to be the same.

The Sage is not conflicted by states of stillness and thought. His mind is empty. His home is the Absolute.

Knowing for certain that all is Self, The sage has no trace of thoughts Such as “I am this” or “I am not that.”

The sage who finds stillness is neither distracted nor focused. He knows neither pleasure nor pain. Ignorance dispelled, He is free of knowing. .: ~ Santthosh Kumaar