Sage Goudpada says :~ Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.++****

You are trying to purify the mind,  but you fail to realize the mind itself impure because it is merely an illusion. First, you realize ’what is this mind?  

You and your experience of the world together is the mind. When the mind disappears,  then the Soul, the Self’ shines.  

When you realize the’ mind’ and the soul are one in essence, then the mind merges in the Soul.   The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness is the cause of you and the world,  but it itself is uncaused. 

Avadhuta Gita:~ “The Atman cannot be purified through the practice of the six limbs of the yoga, or through the annihilation of the mind, or through the instruction of a teacher. The Atman is the Reality Itself and It is Purity Itself."

Lord Sri Krishna himself says that he can do nothing to make a man intelligent straight away. The adepts give Prasad, blessing, initiations, mantrams, etc. only to confer temporary peace of mind, to help one to get rid of worries, but not to confer Gnana. The capacity to receive it must first be inborn in man by evolutionary degree.

Sage Goudpada says that: - The merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect while Jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Ish Upanishad: ~

MANTRA 10

Vidya and Avidya both are hindrances to Self-knowledge, but Vidya is even worse than Avidya. The word Vidya is used here in a special sense; here it means worshipping gods and goddesses. 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 spend 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.

Avidya is Karma and, therefore, a hindrance. You perform Avidya - i.e., you perform Agnihotra and other sacrifices. This is a roundabout way of purifying the mind, and it is also groping in the dark. But it may not have as heavy a toll on your time and energy as the other.

Ishopanishad:~  "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, idols, etc. are sunk deep in misery." 

The Religious believers constantly quarreling with one another claiming that their religion is superior to other religions. They haven't the intelligence to understand that in reality there is nothing exist other than the universal God, which is present in the form of the spirit.  The spirit is the innermost self.

The ultimate truth is One and universal. All people are seeking the same Truth..... Everyone is going toward the ultimate goal. They will all realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God if they have sincerity and longing to realize it

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana makes one perfect to explain the truth, which is beyond form, time,  and space. 

Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana cannot be attained by the study of the scriptures and intellectual understanding or by bookish knowledge.  Therefore,  there is no use of studying the scriptures and other scriptures in order to acquire the non-dual wisdom.  That is why Buddha rejected the scriptures, and even Sage Sankara indicated that the ultimate truth lies beyond religion, the concept of god, and scriptures.

Scriptures are being added from time to time. This process will go on. There is the final authority among them? One contradicts the other: duality reigns supreme.

I quote scriptural citation only after verification reality and proved the truth, to point out that the scriptures teach the same thing. If one quotes them before having demonstrated truth, then it is scholasticism.

There is only one Reality to be known, the same for all seekers, but the ways to it, are hidden by the religion.  Self-discovery is the only way, towards non-dual Absolute without any religious doctrines, which will help the seekers to unfold the mystery of the illusion in which we all are searching the truth of our true existence. :~Santthosh Kumaar 

Religious People think that in the age of Kaliyuga, a person gets Moksha by indulging in the ritualistic path.***

All God propagated by belief systems are nothing but imaginations.  There is nothing so absurd which men have not worshiped in religion, every imaginable face has been given to God.  If God is creator then it is foolish to worship anything as God from his creation because the creation is apart from the God. 

Every belief system has its own idea and conviction of God.  Thus,  every belief system is based on the false Self.  Therefore, whatever is based on the false Self,  has to be  a falsehood? Thus, the idea of God of any belief system has is mere imagination based on the false Self.

In Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~   It has been said that God Supreme or 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.

God is formless, timeless and spaceless existence. According to the Vedas God,  neither has any neither image nor God resides in any particular idol or statue. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

 Mythological God and Goddesses based on the belief. The belief is no God. The belief implies duality. From the ultimate standpoint duality is mere an illusion. Thus, whatever one sees, knows, believes and experiences within the dualistic illusion is bound to be an illusion.

Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is mere a superstition.  Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progress in his spiritual advancement. 

All the mythological Gods are worshiped in the form of idols.  The belief system which propagated ideas of many Gods and Goddesses Bhakti is the only way to God is simply tries to lead the people to darkness with its dogma and idea of many Gods, which is apart from the Self.

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief and senseless rituals and most irrational and gives them divine outlook. Mythological stories are myth. Whatever is based on myth is mere a superstition.  Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded if one has to realize the  ultimate truth or Brahman or real God.

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  other than consciousness a God. 

Lord Krishna Says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know me 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 dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

The Vedas confirms God is Atman (spirit), the innermost Self.

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)

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 real God.

Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God there is no truth."

When Upanishad itself declares: ~   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). 

Sage Sri, Sankara’s 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 beside it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described because description implies distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not the distinction of substance and attribute. Sat-Chit-Ananda constitutes the very essence or Svarupa of Brahman, and not just Its attributes. The Nirguna Brahman of Sage Sri, Sankara is impersonal.

Sage Sri, 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) ~ that thou art."

Sage Sri, Sankara:~  VC 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 (verses-6)

Religious People think that in the age of Kaliyuga, a person gets Moksha or salvation from bondage the cycle of rebirth by indulging in the ritualistic path. 

The  Ritualistic path is meant for those who were illiterate and most of the highly educated are   the largely illiterate in the field of spiritualism today. 

Mundaka Upanishad says: ~ 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.

When Sages themselves found rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the sea of samsara, of birth and death and ignored them and they the Mundaka Upanishad further suggest that such rituals are unsafe rafts for crossing the realm of duality those who try to cross The realm of duality on these poor rafts are  Doomed to shipwreck are. Ignorant of their own ignorance, yet wise in their own esteem, these deluded people (pundits) proud of their vain learning go round and round like the blind led by the blind.

Therefore, if one wants to acquire Atma Gnana or Brahma Gnana or Self- Knowledge or knowledge of consciousness one has to drop all ritualistic and orthodox baggage to move forward in their pursuit of truth. 

Isa Upanishads indicates that:  The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the  same time moving forward towards Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, which is the main goal.

Mundaka Upanishad condemns rituals.  The Para or Higher knowledge is the knowledge of the Supreme Being while the Apara or Lower Knowledge is that of following sacrificial rites and ceremonies. (1/2/ 1 – 6)

Mundaka Upanishads:~ So-called spiritual pundits and learned are called children because a child takes whatever it thinks as truth. The question never occurs to children “Is what I have seen or thought really  the truth?" (P.334 line 9)

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (our true Advaita philosophy) has been lost: people misinterpret and falsify it today as they did then. It is not yoga but the philosophic truth. But nobody knows it. The teachers of philosophy and leaders of mysticism or religion do not want to inquire into the truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

Mundaka Upanishad~ The study of the Vedas, linguistics, Rituals, astronomy and all the arts can be called lower knowledge. The higher is that which leads to Self-realization. The eye cannot see it; mind cannot grasp it. The deathless Self has neither caste nor race, neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet. Sages say this Self is infinite in the great And in the small, everlasting and changeless, The source of life.

Meher Baba said: ~   God is your innermost Self. Do not search for God outside of you.  Let these words be inscribed in your heart. Nothing is real but God. Nothing Matters but love for God. God is everywhere and does everything. God is beyond us and is everything. God alone is and all else is  an illusion.

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 sanction therefore Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

All Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practice barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at  a different time, whereas the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma is ancient and has no founder.

 Hinduism is not Santana Dharma or Vedic religion.  Hinduism is not a religion. Rather it is a group of religions found within India that share common beliefs while still remaining very different.

Hinduism it is not a religion but more a way of life. The term "Hinduism" is used for labeling the entire Indian people.

To be considered an orthodox Hindu one need only accept the authority of Shruti, however, there is no universal agreement among Hindus what constitutes Shruti. Vedantins consider the Vedanta, i.e., the Upanishads as Shruti but also include the Bhagavad-Gita and Brahma Sutras as authoritative.

 For some Vaishnavas, the Bhagavata Purana is to be considered Veda. Some consider the Tantras are considered Veda. Thus, we find that there is ample scope for different philosophies and practices under the very broad umbrella of Hinduism.

Thus, 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.    

The Seekers 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" (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (1/3/28)).

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

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