Whenever one talks about God, he refers to his belief. Hence, any idea of God that he forms is entirely based on his belief. The belief is not God.
The Soul, the Self, is God in truth. And God has no reality apart from the Soul, the Self. Hence, religious believers are unable to give proof of their God and are merely hallucinating based on their inherited beliefs. The truth is hidden by the universe.
Thus, one must realize the whole universe is created out of the soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit. And the Spirit is God in truth.
The Upanishads say in effect that: ~ If you believe that you are one and God is another you cannot understand 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 consciousness is the true Self. If there is no consciousness, then there is no physical body, no ego, no universe, no religion, and no conceptual God.
Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God, there is no truth."
People think that there must be a creator of this universe. If one thinks physical entity or ego as the Self, then there is a creator, but if one thinks of the Soul as the Self, then there is nothing that exists other than consciousness.
If one objectifies and sees a universe, then he is bound to see many things besides himself and postulate a God, the creator. The Body, the idea of God and the world arise and set together from, and into, the soul or consciousness, the innermost self. If God is apart from the ‘Self ‘, then He would be Selfless, that is, outside existence, that is, non-existent.
Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahman is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material. (brahmano hi prat sth ham, ( 14.27)
Yajurveda – 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.
Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)”,
Mythreyi Upanishad 2:26 says: ~ All those who desire to have salvation without taking several births, should worship God in spirit and truth.
Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness (Spirit), 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 (Spirit) which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.
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.
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 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 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 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 the 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 Sag Sankara is impersonal.
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)."
Thus, truth realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization. God- realization itself is real worship. :~Santthosh Kumaar
