Without realizing what God suppose to be in actuality what is the use of the praying and worshiping God.+

If people have believed a false thing over millions of years, the length of time does not prove it true. Without realizing what God suppose to be in actuality what is the use of praying and worshiping God.

God in truth is not what you believe and worship. Worshiping inherited belief is ignorance. If people have believed a false thing over millions of years, the length of time does not prove it true.
Prayers and sacrifices belong to a premature stage of development. However, when no answers come to prayers, the struggle for existence presses man, and doubt arises again. Faith in religion weakens as man pays more attention to the facts of life and this world. 

The reason is the common ground for whole humanity in the modern age, whereas the appeal to scriptural relations reaches only the sects. Those who argue that truth is only in their religion are vain logicians, depending on mere ideas, speculations, and imaginations. 

Search for truth is searching to know God in truth. If you search for the ‘Self’  then you will find only the Soul. If you search for truth then you will find only the Soul. If you search for God you will find only the Soul. If you search for love you will find only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, the Soul is the Goal. The Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness, is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

God is not he or she God is the Spirit. Do not physicalize God's worship. Such worships of non-Vedic Gods are barred by Vedas. All God with forms and attributes are not God in truth.

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.

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 God s. (7- Verse -20)

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "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)

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 the large numbers of Gods and Goddesses whereas Vedas declares God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman.

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.

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 that God is Atman, then why believe and worship anything else in place of real God.

Thus, Atman the Self is God. Thus, Self-realization itself is real worship. ‘Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get realization.

Hindus are idol worshipers of the large numbers of Gods and Goddesses whereas Vedas declares God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman.

Chandogya Upanishad Chapter: ~ ekam evadvitiyam ~ God is only one without a second. (6- Section- 2- Verse- 1)

According to Vedas the Atman the Self is God.

Shiv is not Vedic God. All the Gods and Goddesses with form, name, and attributes belong to Hinduism, not of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

God and Goddesses are religious concepts. Whatever is seen, known, believed, and experienced as a person within the dualistic illusion (world) is a falsehood.

Thus, it refers to formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the innermost ‘‘Self’’ within the false experience. Thus, it indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false ‘‘Self’’. Thus, Atman or the Soul, the ’Self’’ is God.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshiped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains. There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme ‘‘Self’’ in i.e. Atman or Soul but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

It indicates clearly all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self.

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 is written in praise of certain deities by poets over several centuries 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 worshipers. 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." (Yajurveda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates: ~

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, 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.)

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda declares God is ‘ONE’ and that God is Atman, then why believe and worship anything else in place of real God.

Thus, Atman the Self is God. Thus, ‘‘Self’’-realization is real worship. ‘‘Self’’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is necessary to get realization.

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 seeker's 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" (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (1/3/28)).

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

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

Remember:~

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

 If you seeking the truth then you must set yourself free of all backgrounds, of all cultures, of all patterns of thinking and feeling. Even the idea of being a man or woman or even human should be discarded because the Self is not you but the Soul. 

All the attributes are merely an illusion. It is the Self that is in illusion and it is the self that has to gets free from the bondage of the illusion. The illusion is present in the form of the mind. The mind is in the form of the universe. The universe appears as waking or dream and disappears as deep sleep. The individual experiences of birth, life, death and the world are within the waking experience. The dream is a parallel waking experience and waking is a parallel dream. 

Deeper self-search reveals the fact that the Self is neither the waking entity nor the Self is the dream entity but the Self is formless Soul, which witnesses the coming and going of the three states in succession without the physical apparatus. This has to be mentally grasped and assimilated to realize the formless Soul, the Self is nothing to do with the three states. From the standpoint of the three states, the three states are merely an illusion. 

The practical life within the practical world, which is present as the waking experience, is merely an illusion. If waking experience is merely an illusion then the individual experience of birth, life, death, and the world is merely an illusion. 

If the experience of birth, life, death, and the world are merely an illusion, it means the form; time, and space are mere illusion. 

If form, time and space are mere illusion, it means the past, present, and future is merely an illusion. 

Thus the seeker must realize the fact that form, time, and space are one, in essence, to realize the three states are one in essence. That essence is consciousness. Thus all the diversity is created out of formless consciousness. Thus no second thing exists other than the Soul, the Self. 

The seeker of truth has to constantly reflect on the subject to get a firm conviction of the truth. The seeker has to reflect on the same truth again and again until it becomes reality. One needs to constantly reflect on the subject until he gets a firm conviction of what is what.:~Santthosh Kumaar 

• 
  

First, the seeker has to realize the ‘Self’ is not 'I' but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness.+

Self-realization is not just a matter of literal or intellectual understanding, but as something that is to be grasped and realized by the individual in his/her own personal realization.

Yogic practices will not help in acquiring Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. Yogic practices help only in repertory stages to be calm, to have patience and humility, and keep away unwanted thoughts.  

Yoga is no the means to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana because yoga is based on the chakras, which are within the body whereas the Soul, the Self has no chakras because it is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

Sage Sankara said:~ Neither by the practice of yoga nor philosophy, nor by good works nor by learning, does liberation come, but only through the realization that Atman and Brahman are one in no other way. (1) Vivekachoodamani v 56, pg. 25

The practice of yoga is not recommended for seekers by Sages of truth.

Sage Sankara in the commentary to "Brahma Sutras: ~  " "The highest beatitude is not to be attained by Yoga." (Sacred Books of East Series page 298 Vol.1.) he also says Samadhi is the same as sleep (p.312) - This indicates that yoga is not the means to Self-realization.  And yogic Samadhi is not nondual Self-awareness.

Sage Sankara says: - Yoga is not the means of liberation (page 132-133 - Commentary on Brihadaranyakopanishad.

Yoga can yield only the duality, because, everything that one can do or practice becomes a vanishing 'known.' It yields relative truth based on imagination, which is true from the physical viewpoint of view, not the non-dual truth, which is the ultimate reality.

The essence of Mundaka is: Do not be satisfied with rituals, yoga, etc. which are good in their own way but inquire. Into what? Brahman and Atman are things you can never see. So do not inquire into them. Inquire into the world around you, which you can see. Science tells you it is passing away every second. Everything is dying repeatedly. Where is it going? Thus you follow up your inquiry into what you can lay your hands on. How can you inquire into Atma which you cannot see? So first we deal with the known and seen, this inquiry leads up to the unknown in the end.

 Belief in Yoga is a self-hypnotic condition from which it is extremely difficult to escape.

The yogis say only yoga alone leads to Self-realization.

The seeker  has to investigate “Why Yoga is right and other paths can't give truth?" Or how is one to know that Yoga leads to the final truth?"

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaitic wisdom) 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 truth and have no time for it. (Gita –Chap- IV-v.2)

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says:~ "This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas: the force of the word this is to point this out.

Lord Krishna describes some of the other yogas but devotes this chapter separately to Gnana Yoga. So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence Gnana got lost. That is why Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Krishna points out that yoga must see "Brahman in action."

Gita Chap.IV: "He who achieves perfection in Yoga finds the Self in time." This means that after his yoga is finished, he begins the inquiry into ultimate truth, and in due course, this inquiry produces the realization of the universal spirit as the result.

 It is important to remember that Moksha is not a result of yogic ritualistic practice.   The seeker has to be equipped with requisite qualities such as patience, humility ability to focus one's concentration in an intense manner, an ability to discriminate between the Real and the non-Real, and an intense urge for liberation.

First, the seeker has to realize the ‘Self’ is not 'I' but the ‘Self’ is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Mentally hold on to the Soul and mentally reduce the world in which you exist as consciousness by realizing the world in which you exist is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness. 

Swami Vivekananda: ~Jñāna Yoga is divided into three parts. First: hearing the truth--that the Atman is the only reality and that everything else is Maya. Second: reasoning upon this philosophy from all points of view. Third: giving up all further argumentation and realizing the truth. This realization comes from being certain that Brahman is real and everything else is unreal. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Bhagavad Gita says:~ “Just because one is born to a Brahmin doesn’t automatically make him a Brahmin. But he has more chances of becoming a Brahmin by acquiring or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.+*****

Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom is nothing to do with his Advaitic orthodoxy.

The Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace. The Advaitic orthodoxy has to be dropped if one has chosen the path of wisdom.   Those who propagate the Advaitic orthodoxy as the means to ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana are propagating ignorance.   Those who choose the path of Advaitic orthodoxy have chosen the path of ignorance.

It is time for the educated orthodox to wake up to realize Sage Sri, Sankara’s wisdom is the only wisdom in this world,  which helps to get rid of the ignorance.

Bhagavata clearly says in 7.11.35 that: ~

yasya yal laks?an?am? proktam? 

um? so varn?? bhivya�jakam 

ad anyatr? pi dr?? yeta

at tenaiva vinirdi?et

~Means: - “Just because one is born to a Brahmin doesn’t automatically make him a Brahmin. But he has more chances of becoming a Brahmin by acquiring ‘Self’- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. ‘Self’- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is the only qualification of Brahmin to become a Brahmin. If a person born to a non-Brahmin who acquires ‘Self’- knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana possesses he/she should be immediately accepted as a Brahmin.”

The orthodoxy is a great hindrance in pursuit of truth because it makes the inborn samskara or conditioning (I or I AM)   stronger and deep-rooted. Till this inborn conditioning prevails it is impossible to grasp, assimilate and realize the non-dualistic truth. The orthodoxy is egocentric and egocentricity is a great obstacle in the path of truth.  

The orthodoxy indulges in all non-Vedic rituals and because of add-ons and adulteration and such rituals lead one nowhere and it is a waste of time and effort.   

Thus orthodoxy is not for those who are seeking truth nothing but the truth.  Mixing orthodoxy and preaching non-duality is a foolish venture.  By worshipping Gods and chanting mantras of individualized God the ignorance becomes stronger. It is very difficult to get rid of the belief of a person God which is deep-rooted in everyone who accepted the Advaitic orthodoxy to get ‘Self’-realization.

Rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for the Brahman or ultimate or wisdom.   All the orthodox Advaitins indulge and immersed themselves in ritualistic oriented lifestyle and preach theoretical philosophies which are an obstacle in realizing the Advaitic truth.  Many chose these orthodox scholars as their Gurus. But these Gurus are good to learn the conceptual Advaita meant for those Orthodox who believe their conduct-oriented lifestyle leads to liberation.  But those who are seeking the truth have to do their own homework in order to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge.

That is why Goudpada says:~  the merciful Veda teaches karma and Upasana to people of lower and middling intellect, while jnana is taught to those of higher intellect.

Thus, orthodox-based Advaita is not meant for those seeking ultimate truth or Brahman but orthodoxy is meant for people of lower and middling intellect.  Those who are seeking Advaitic truth have to drop orthodoxy in order to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The priests preach indulge in rituals to chant mantras thinking these mantras will yield fruits. Those who follow the priests blindly follow what priests and pundits prescribe will never be able to grasp Sage Sankara’s Advaitic wisdom.

Advaitic Orthodox tradition and parampara are nothing to do with Sage Sankara’s wisdom. Advaitic orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant populace.  Thus, it is not a path of wisdom.

Sage Sankara page 482: On Gnani: ~ "The knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life…his signs are not manifest, nor his behavior." 

Sage Sankara: ~ The Knower of the Atman or the knower of Brahman or Brahma Gnani.

When the knower of Brahman (Gnani) wears no signs it means he does not identify himself as Guru or yogi or teacher or Swami because a Gnani sees the form, the time and space are one in essence. Thus, there is unity in diversity in his realization.

Sage Sankara says the knower of Brahman wears no signs. Gives up the insignia of a monk's life then it is of no use of renouncing the worldly life, and become and sanyasi or monk or Sadhu to acquire ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Brahma Gnana. 

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.

According to Advaita Vedanta, the Veda addresses itself’ to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman. Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the Gnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond such transient pleasures.

Advaitic Orthodoxy is meant for the ignorant and ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices

The Advaitic orthodoxy follows the system of pancayatana puja, where Vishnu, Siva, Sakti, Ganapati, and Surya are worshipped as forms of Saguna Brahman.

In some sources, the concept of the pancayatana is replaced by the notion of shanmata, which adds Skanda to the above set of five deities. The worship is done both on a daily basis and on specific festival occasions.

Questions of who is superior, Vishnu or Siva, which are very popular among many groups of Hindus, are not relished by Advaitins. Some of the Gurus declared the accomplished jivanmukta, "you cannot see the feet of the Lord, why do you waste your time debating about the nature of His face?"

That said, Vishnu and Siva, the Great Gods of Hinduism, are both very important within the Advaita tradition. The sanyasis of the Advaita order always sign their correspondence with the words "iti Narayanasmaranam ". In worship, Advaitins do not insist on the exclusive worship of one devata alone.

As Brahman is essentially attributeless (nirguna), all attributes (Gunas) equally belong to It, within empirical reality. The particular form that the devotee prefers to worship is called the ishta-devatA. The ishta-devatas worshipped by Advaitins include Vishnu as Krishna, the Jagadguru, and as Rama, Siva as Dakshinamurti, the guru who teaches in silence, and as Candramaulivara, and the Mother Goddess as Parvathi, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati. Especially popular are the representations of Vishnu as a Saliagrama, Siva as a linga, and Sakti as the Sri-yantra. Ganapati is always worshipped at the beginning of any human endeavor, including the puja of other Gods.

The daily sandhyavandana ritual is addressed to Surya. The sanyasis of the Advaita sampradaya recite both the Vishnu Sahasranamam and the SatarudrIya portion of the Yajurveda as part of their daily worship. In addition, "hybrid" forms of the Deities, such as Hari-Hara or Sankara-Narayana and Ardhanarisvara are also worshiped.

There is another significant distinction between worship in the Advaita tradition and other kinds of Hindu worship. Dvaita insists that the distinction between the worshipper and God, the object of worship, is ultimately transcended and that the act of worship itself’ points to this identity. This should not be confused with the doctrine of dualistic Saiva Siddhanta schools, which call for a ritual identification of the worshipper with Siva, for the duration of the worship. The identity of Atman and Brahman is a matter of absolute truth, not just a temporary ritual identification. Most Vaishnava schools of Vedanta hold that the distinction between the worshipper and God, the object of worship, is eternally maintained.

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)

Remember:~

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 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 the description implies a distinction. Brahman cannot be distinguished from any other than It. In Brahman, there is not a 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.

The ultimate truth or Brahman must be independent of religion, that in Sage  Sankara himself’ the Saguna Brahman or a personal God is the only a part of the phenomenal (if not illusory) world, and the Nirguna Brahman is the only reality and has nothing to do with religion.  

Sage  Sankara pokes fun at ascetics and points out that all their austerities do not cause desires to go (Altar Flowers" Page 205, v.2 P.207 v.4)

The Brahma Sutras together with Sage Sankara's commentary thereon do not contain the higher wisdom. They are intended for those who are incapable of thinking rationally.

Sage Sankara's commentary on the Brahma Sutras is not on a philosophical basis, but on an orthodox and mystic basis, with an appeal to the Vedas as the final authority.

In Brahma Sutra Sage Sankara takes the position that there is another entity outside us, i.e. the wall really exists separately from the mind. This was because Sage Sri, Sankara explains in Manduka that those who study the Sutras are orthodox minds, intellectual children, hence his popular viewpoint to assist them. These people are afraid to go deeper because it means being heroic enough to refuse to accept Sruti, and God's authority, in case they mean punishment by God.  A Gnani says the scriptures for children, but the wise seekers will think rationally.

In Brahma Sutras Sage Sankara takes for granted, assumes that a world was created: He there mixes dogmatic theology with philosophy.

That God created the world is an absolute lie, nevertheless, one will find Sage  Sankara (in his commentary on Vedanta Sutras) clearly says this! He has to adapt his teachings to his audience, reserving the highest for philosophical minds.

The text of Brahma Sutras is based on religion, dogmatism, but in the commentary Sage Sri, Sankara cleverly introduced some philosophy. If it is objected that a number of Upanishads are equally dogmatic because they also begin by assuming Brahman, only a few Upanishads do not but prove Brahman at the end of a train of proof.

Scholars' translation of Brahma Sutras in Sacred Books of East must be read cautiously as he has not understood its highest sense, e.g. for Advaita, they wrongly put "Unity" instead of “Non-duality."

Sage Sankara gave religion and scholasticism and yoga no less than philosophy, to the seeking world. He was great enough to be able to do so. His commentary on Mandukya is pure philosophy, but many of his other books are presented from a religious standpoint to help those who cannot rise up to philosophy.

Orthodoxy is the home of mysticism and deification that is why they are not keen on the rational truth. Thus, Sage Sri, Sankara is Gurus to the religious followers and he is a great Gnani to the seeking world.

Sage Sankara says:~ The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards are therefore addressed to an ignorant person.  

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)."

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. 

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 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 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). 

Lord Krishna confesses that the oldest wisdom of India (Advaita wisdom) 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 truth and have no time for it. (Gita ~ Chap ~IV~ v.2)

Why is the word Yoga used in so many different senses in the Gita? Because there are grades and the highest demands concentrated brains, not sitting mindless and imagining you are seeing God.

In Gita Chap.IV where Lord Krishna says: ~ “This yoga has been lost for ages" the word yoga refers to Gnana yoga, not other yogas: the force of the word this is to point this out.

Lord Krishna describes some of the other yogas but devotes this chapter separately to Gnana Yoga. So one sees even in those ancient days people did not care for Advaita; they wanted religion; hence Gnana got lost. That is why Krishna calls it "the supreme secret." Krishna points out that the yoga must-see "Brahman in action."

Gita Chap.IV:~ “He who achieves perfection in Yoga finds the ‘Self’ in time." This means that after his yoga is finished, he begins the inquiry into ultimate truth, and in due course, this inquiry produces the realization of the universal spirit as the result.

Understanding what is God is not so easy. Religious people can only imagine God based on their beliefs.

That is why 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.

No dualities, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

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

It proves that the all-pervading Atman, which is present in the form of consciousness, is God.   Thus worshipping the form-based Gods is meant for the ignorant populace who are incapable of realizing the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space. 

Thus, truth realization is ‘Self’-realization. The ‘Self’-realization is God-realization.  God-realization itself is real worship. '

Sage Sankara:~ (11) As regards the rituals, Sage Sri, Sankara says, the person who performs rituals and aspires for rewards will view himself in terms of the caste into which he is born, his age, the stage of his life, his standing in society, etc. In addition, he is required to perform rituals all through his life. However, the ‘Self’ has none of those attributes or tags. Hence, the person who superimposes all those attributes on the changeless, eternal ‘Self’ and identifies ‘Self’ with the body is confusing one for the other; and is, therefore, an ignorant person. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are therefore addressed to an ignorant person. -Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ (11.1) This ignorance (mistaking the body for ‘Self’) brings in its wake a desire for the well-being of the body, aversion for its disease or discomfort, fear of its destruction, and thus a host of miseries(anartha). This anartha is caused by projecting karthvya(“doer” sense) and bhokthavya (object) on the Atman. Sankara calls this adhyasa. The scriptures dealing with rituals, rewards, etc. are, therefore, he says, addressed to an ignorant person.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara:~ (11.2) In short, a person who engages in rituals with the notion “I am an agent, doer, thinker”, according to Sage Sankara, is ignorant, as his behavior implies a distinct, separate doer/agent/knower; and an object that is to be done/achieved/known. That duality is avidya, an error that can be removed by Vidya.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ (12) Sag Sankara affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality, drives home the point that Upanishads deal not with rituals but with the knowledge of the Absolute (Brahma Vidya) and the Upanishads give us an insight into the essential nature of the ‘Self’ which is identical with the Absolute, the Brahman.-Adhyasa Bhashya

Sage Sankara: ~ Atman, the innermost ‘Self’ is verily Brahman (God), being equanimous, quiescent, and by nature absolute Existence, Knowledge, and Bliss. Atman is not the body that is non-existence itself. This is called true Knowledge by the wise. 

Sage Sankara, in Bhaja Govindam, says:~ (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - One without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Thus, it proves that religion is not the means to ‘Self’-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana. 

The karma theory is merely a religious and yogic fable. 

Sage Ramana Maharishi, J. Krishnamurti, Nisargadatta Maharajah, all died of cancer-type illness. It does not make any difference if they died of cancer or not of cancer or any illness. Even Lord Krishna died a painful death. 

The death is certain; the cause of death is irrelevant to a Gnani. When the ‘Self’' is birthless then it is deathless A Gnani is unconcerned about death because he is fully aware that the illusion is only a passing show.

The karma theory is nothing to do with birthless ‘Self’. Thus, people’s painful death cannot be taken as evidence because the ‘Self’ is ever birthless and deathless because it is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. 

The karmic account is never-ending because one has to be born again and again to reap his good or bad karma carried forward one life to the next. The karma theory is merely a religious and yogic fable. :~Santthosh Kumaar