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 are written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries and 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 in 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." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)
So, 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.
God exists prior to the appearance of form, time, and space. Form, time, and space cease to exist as a reality when wisdom dawns. Thus, the Gods and Gurus have no place in the domain of the Advaitic reality. Advaita is the nature of the Soul, which is the real God. Thus, Self-realization is the only way to God-realization.
By worshipping the religious Gods and Gurus one will not get Self-realization or God-realization.
The Soul, the inner Guru reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready.
The Upanishad says: ~ 'The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals are not the means to Self–Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, then why anyone should indulge in it. The religion, concept of individualized god and scriptures are the greatest obstacle to realizing non-dual truth or Self-realization because they are based on false Self. The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper, inquiry, analysis, and reasoning, and assimilate and realize it.
Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God in truth) is impersonal, Nirguna (without Gunas or attributes), Nirakara (formless), Nirvisesha (without special characteristics), immutable, eternal, and Akarta (non-agent). God is above all needs and desires. God is always the Witnessing Subject. God can never become an object as God is beyond the reach of the senses. God is non-dual, one without a second. God has no other besides it. God is destitute of difference, either external or internal. God cannot be described because the description implies a distinction. God cannot be distinguished from any other than God. In God, there is not distinction between substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constituted the very essence or Svarupa of God, and not just God's attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sankara is impersonal.
God is neither male nor female because God is non-dual. God is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself. Athma is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.
All Gods with forms and names are a reality within the dualistic illusion or Maya. the real God is hidden by the dualistic illusion or Maya. the dualistic illusion is present in the form of the universe (I).:~Santthosh Kumaar
