The seekers of truth have to follow the Atmic path to realize the Athma the ‘Self’ is the real God. The Atmic path is the Vedic path because Vedic God is Athma.
The Vedic religion or Santana Dharma emphasizes Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization. God- realization itself is real worship.
The Vedas do not talk about idol worship; the followers of Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma never worshipped idols. Thus all the Puranic Gods which are of the form and attributes are not Vedic Gods.
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 idolized Gods."
Hinduism is not Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. Hindus do idol worship, while Vedas bar idol worship.
The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshipped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jainism.
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. All these 60 million Gods are non-Vedic Gods based on their beliefs.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad declares: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from him does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)
The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the ‘Self’.
Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the ‘Self’. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)
Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.
Rig Veda declares God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of the real God.
Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God there is no truth."
When Upanishad itself’ says: ~ Sarvam khalvidam brahma ~ all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality (Chandogya Upanishad).
The 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)
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.
From the Vedic perspective, mythological Gods are not Vedic God because Rig Veda says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman."
That is why 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.
All Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practices barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at different times, whereas the Vedic religion, or Santana Dharma is ancient and has no founder.
Hinduism is not Vedic religion or Santana Dharma. Hindus do idol worship, while Vedas bar idol worship.
Yajur Veda indicates that: ~
They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc (Yajurveda 40:9)
Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, and 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.)
Then why worship and glorify the non-~Vedic Gods in place of Vedic God when Veda bars such activities and also warns people who indulge in such activities 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.
Sage Sankara: ~"That which permeates all, which nothing transcends and which, like the universal space around us, fills everything completely from within and without, that Supreme non-dual Brahman (God in truth)."
One must remember that for all periods the Vedas are the final goal and authority, and if the Puranas differ in any respect from the Vedas, the Puranas are to be rejected without mercy.
If you feel the Puranas say something and the Vedas say something else, reject the Puranas and believe in the Vedas. The Puranas are just a myth.
Even Sage Sankara says: ~ Supreme Brahman (God) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal and Akarta (non-agent). It is above all needs and desires. It is always the Witnessing Subject. It can never become an object as it is beyond the reach of the senses. Brahman is non-dual, one without a second. It has no other besides it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described, because description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just its attributes. The nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.
God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. Thus according to the Vedas God neither has any image nor God resides in any particular idol or statue. God cannot be seen directly by anyone.
From the Vedic perspective, Lord Krishna has been just a Mahan yogi and not God himself. Because in the Bhagavad Gita says: Brahman (God in truth) is considered the all-pervading consciousness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar
