Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda.+

If people have believed in religiously propagated myths over thousands of years, the length of time does not prove them true.

Sage Sankara’s  Brahman or God in truth is impersonal. Worshipping of religious  Gods with form and attributes is meant for orthodox people who are ignorant and refuse to accept God in truth.

The Vedic religion is nothing to do with Hinduism because Hinduism indulges in non-Vedic activities that are barred Vedas, such as idol worship, ancestor worship, and worshiping human bodies in the place of God. The Hindu belief system is based on mythological stories and worships the mythological Gods which are merely myths from the ultimate standpoint.

The religion including orthodox Advaita is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman because they worship idols, human worship, and symbol worship and indulge in non-Vedic rituals barred by Vedas.

Prohibition of idol worship in Yajurveda: ~

Orthodox claims that idolatry in India does not mean anything horrible. Idolatry in no way helps undeveloped minds to grasp the spiritual truth.

It is the ignorant people who indulge in idolatry and rituals even though they are highly qualified with university degrees.

Yajur Veda – 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.

Yajurveda: ~ There is no image of God in truth. God in truth is unborn and eternal. (Chapter 32, Verse 3)

Yajurveda: ~ God in truth is nondual and pure" (Chapter 40, Verse) 

Yajurveda: ~ "They are entering darkness, those who worship the natural things (like air, water, fire, etc.), they are sinking more in darkness who worship created things." (Chapter 40, Verse 9)

Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

That is what Yajurved says: not to worship the things which are part of the falsehood.

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 than those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) [Yajurved 40:9]

Translation 2.

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti is intent." [Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith 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 [Yajurved 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." [Yajur Veda 40:9.]

The religion of the Veda knows no idols

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."

Therefore, there was no individual god or temples and worships in Vedic religion, which existed prior to Buddhism. Thus the individualized gods and temples must have been built later on when the worships of idols were introduced. Thus the Vedic religion which existed in the past was free from idol and nature worship and idol worshiping rituals.

Thus, the present-day worship of individual gods, created things, nature, and humans are against Vedic teachings, and it looks like it has been fabricated and introduced by priestcraft. Since it, has passed on from one generation to the next it is hard for the people to believe the truth of their own religion, because they are sentimentally and emotionally involved in it and they refuse to accept anything else other than their inherited beliefs. :~Santthosh Kumaar

What is God supposed to be in actuality?+

Bhagvan Buddha: ~ Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

What is God supposed to be in actuality?

“Where is God?”

People say how God is everywhere, but they do not know because they are holding their religious propagated belief of God. The religious propagated God is limited to a particular religion, community sect and creed cannot be universal. The believers of the other religion, community sect, and creed will not accept any other God as their own other than their inherited accepted idea of God.

The world in which you exist is not separate from God because the world in which you exist is created out of God. God is not imagination whatever you think of God is imagination based on the false self within the false experience.

Chandogya Upanishad: ~ 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.

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 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.

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)."

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 Bhagavad Gita: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham ~ Brahman (God in truth) 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 Self. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~  God is Supreme Spirit.

If God is Spirit, then how does man know God created the world? There is no proof. If man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? (i.e. were created).

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 the real God?

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

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

People who are saying ‘I AM GOD’ are hallucinating that they have become God. First, you must know what God is supposed to be in actuality.

Thus, truth-realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization. God-realization is real worship. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Yajurveda –God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.+

People are being conditioned by the religious myth, which has made them non-thinkers. People need to come out of the religious myth by realizing God in truth.

Rig Veda: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma': - Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.

God in truth is the Atman, the Self. Atman is present in the form of consciousness.

Do not accept any other God other than Atman nor worship other than Atman, which is ever nondual.

Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

Nothing is real but God. Nothing matters but love for God in truth. God in truth is everywhere and in everything.

God, in truth, is hidden by the illusory universe. God in truth alone is, and all else is an illusion.

Yajurveda –God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Even 1% of people will not show interest in the Atmic path. And the Atmic path is for those who have found the path of religion, the path of yoga, and all theoretical philosophy and scriptural studies inadequate and useless in quenching their inner thirst.

People are searching for remedies for their problems in practical life within the practical world. The path of love is very valuable in the practical world.

A Gnani follows the path of love in the practical world, and he loves the whole of humanity, but inwardly he is fully aware of the fact that the practical life within the practical world is part of the dualistic illusion.

Upanishads: - They alone in this world are endowed with the highest wisdom who are firm in their conviction of the sameness and birthlessness of Atman. The ordinary man does not understand their way. (Chapter IV — Alatasanti Prakarana 95-P-188 in Upanishads by Nikilanada)

Thus, self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana is meant only for those who have an intense urge and the courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth. Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get the firm conviction.

Seeing God implies duality. The universe in which we exist is a dualistic illusion.  The illusory universe, which appears and disappears, is not permanent. There is no use in placing faith in the belief of an individualized god, which is part of the illusory universe, and it is impermanent. It is better to abide in invisible consciousness, which is eternal. 

Realize that the experience of diversity is created out of a single stuff, which is consciousness. Consciousness is the ultimate truth, and the only ultimate truth or Brahman is God in truth. 

Self-awareness is what one should seek, not visions of an individualized God. It is only when the Mind is merged in its source, the soul or consciousness, that true knowledge of one's identity with ultimate truth or Brahman will dawn.

Sage  Sankara says: One must first know what is before him. If he cannot know that, what else can he know or understand? If he gives up the external world in his inquiry, he cannot get the whole truth.

Sage Sankara says: - VC- 63. Without causing the objective universe to vanish and without knowing the truth of the Self, how is one to achieve Liberation by the mere utterance of the word Brahman? — It would result merely in an effort of speech.

In the Brahma Sutras, Sage Sankara says: Brahman is the cause of the world, whereas in the Manduka Upanishad, he denies it.

This may be because, at the lower stage of understanding, the former teaching must be given, for people will get frightened as they cannot understand how the world can be without a cause, but to those in a higher stage, the truth of non-causality can be revealed.

As one goes deeper investigation, he finds:-

Sage Sankara founded his Advaita Vedanta either on reason independent of Sruti or on Sruti confirmed by reason." Sage Sankara's commentary on the Manduka Upanishad, II, 1: This [the unreality of duality] is borne out by the Srutis ... But it is possible also to show the unreality of the object world even from pure reasoning, and this second chapter is undertaken for that purpose.

Sage Sankara himself had often said that his philosophy was based on Sruti, or revealed scripture. This may be because Sage Sankara addressed the ordinary man, who finds security in the idea of causality and thus in the idea of God, and Revelation is indispensable to prove the latter. He believed that those of superior intelligence have no need of this idea of divine causality, and can, therefore, dispense with Sruti and arrive at the truth of Non-Dualism by pure reason.

Those who lack the intelligence to discriminate between formless witness [subject] and the three states (object) will not be able to grasp what is real and what is unreal. Both subject and object are consciousness, not the subject alone.

The truth can never change. The nature of the truth is, it can never be changed under any circumstances. It may be misrepresented. It must apply to the whole of existence, to the whole of the universe. It is in the object [three states] alone that one has all changes, as deeper analysis points out.

The subject remains unchanged. The subject [formless witness], as such, remains immortal. It can never die for it changes. The body and world are objects and go, but the subject or knower of the body and the universe can never go. Seeker has to take this principle as his guiding thread, and the non-dual truth becomes easy to grasp. The formless witness can never be subject to the changes of the object; it is unchanged. The mistake usually made is that the subject becomes an object, or that the object is the subject.

If one wants to have an absence of contradictions, the absence of duality, there must be one entity, one being. If one has experience which is an object [mind], there is a contradiction between subject and object, for "mind” is an object.

The duality is a reality from the standpoint of the false self [ego or body as Self]. The duality is the mere illusion on the base of the true self, which is formless consciousness. This understanding comes only to the serious seeker, who has a real urge to know the ultimate truth, which is beyond all the teachings and teachers. There is neither teaching, nor a teacher, nor a student in the realm of truth.

Different paths will not converge to the same Ultimate Reality because they are based on the false self. They are not the different stages on the same path.

People fight about the differences and greatness of their chosen paths, but only through  Advaitic wisdom realize the ultimate reality or Brahman.: ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

The path of wisdom is the soulcentric path. Egocentric knowledge is not of any use in the path of wisdom.+

The path of wisdom is the soulcentric path. Egocentric knowledge is not of any use in the path of wisdom. In the soulcentric path, there is no scope for argument because all the arguments are based on egocentricity.

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.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC In the dream state, even though there is no contact with the outside world, the Soul alone projects the entire dream universe of enjoyer, enjoyment, etc. Similarly, the waking state is no different. All this world of pluralistic phenomena is an illusory projection.

Chandogya Upanishad:~ One who meditates upon and realizes the 'Self' discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the Self.

Sage Goudpada: ~ “To establish the truth of Non-duality by sheer reasoning alone. He begins by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?" etc, because that is the right way to discuss or teach. People must first know what they are talking about. (Mandukya Karika)

The argument is useless so long as the ultimate truth is unknown, and the argument is equally useless when the ultimate truth or Brahman has already been known. Advaitic Wisdom is not custom-made stuff to feed different mindsets according to their likes and fancies.

You are the birth entity. The one, which is born, lives, dies in this world, is not the Self, because the Self is the invisible Soul, which is birthless and deathless.

If you are not the ‘Self’, then all the argument and understanding of the truth is based on intellectualism.

If you want to realize the truth, which is beyond the form, time, and space, then you have to learn to view and judge the truth on the base of the invisible Soul, which is the Self, to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed. Only an intense urge to know the truth, humility, sincerity, and patience are the only qualifications to realize God in this very life and in this very world.

Till you make sure intellectually the Self is not within you but the Self is hidden within the world, in which you exist, and the world, in which you exist, is nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness, it is difficult to become soulcentric. :~ Santthosh Kumaar

When ‘I’ disappears, there is nonduality. Nonduality is the fullness of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space.+

If the ‘I’ prevails as reality, then the world in which you exist prevails as a reality. If the world in which you exist is a reality, then the dualistic illusion is experienced as a reality

Perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ helps you to overcome ignorance (I). Until ‘I’ is there, ignorance is present.

Until ignorance is there, you will not be able to unfold the mystery hidden by the ‘I’.

That is why Bhagavad Gita: ~ ‘The permanent (consciousness) is always there, only the transient ‘I’ comes and goes. (2.18)

The ‘I’ hides the truth of the whole.

Bhagavad Gita: ~ “You must first see the ‘I’ as illusory before you see others as illusory. ~ CH.2 v.16

First, you must make sure the ‘I’ itself is illusory because the ‘I’ is not permanent.

The seeker has to find for himself the truth of his true existence and to come to a fuller and deeper understanding and realization of the truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

The purpose quest for truth is to first find out what is the untruth to realize the truth and discard the untruth.

Do not try to get rid of the ego; you will never succeed in getting rid of the ego. Think in a different direction.

The ego exists only in the domain of form, time, and space.

The form, time, and space exist only when the mind exists.

The mind exists only when the universe exists.

The universe appears only when the waking appears. The waking appears only when the ‘I’ appears. Remember The ‘I’ disappears in deep sleep. There is no form, time, and space when ‘I’ disappears. There is no mind when ‘I’ disappears. There is the universe when the ‘I’ disappears. There is no waking when the ‘I’ disappears.

Remember:~

‘I’ appears means the duality appears.

The duality appears means there is a division of form, time, and space.

If there is division in the form, time, and space means there is diversity in the unity. Remember ~ When ‘I’ disappears, there is nonduality. Nonduality is the fullness of consciousness without the division of form, time, and space. The fullness of consciousness means unity in diversity. Unity in diversity in consciousness is Advaita. Consciously becoming aware of the Soul in the midst of diversity (waking) is Self-awareness or Brahmic awareness.

If you desire Self-realization, but you still say 'I', and if you feel the Self is the ‘I’, you are not a wise seeker. You are simply ignorant. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Swami Vivekananda: ~Realization comes from being certain that Brahman is real and everything else is unreal.+

Sage Sankara says: - VC-162- “There is no liberation for a person of mere book-knowledge, howsoever well-read in the philosophy of Vedanta, so long as one does not give up the false identification with the body, sense organs, etc., which are unreal.

First, realize the Self is not you, 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.

Sage Sankara: ~ VC In the dream state, even though there is no contact with the outside world, the Soul alone projects the entire dream universe of enjoyer, enjoyment, etc. Similarly, the waking state is no different. All this world of pluralistic phenomena is an illusory projection.

Chandogya Upanishad:~ One who meditates upon and realizes the 'Self' discovers that everything in the cosmos-- energy and space, fire and water, name and form, birth and death, mind and will, word and deed, mantrams and meditation--all come from the Self.

Sage Goudpada: ~ “To establish the truth of Non-duality by sheer reasoning alone. He begins by defining "What is real?" "What is unreal?" etc, because that is the right way to discuss or teach. People must first know what they are talking about. (Mandukya Karika)

Consciousness is the only reality in which the universe exists, to which the universe belongs; from which the universe has emerged, which is the cause of the universe, and which itself is uncaused. Thus, the universe is nothing but consciousness. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

The relationship and love, hate, happiness, and misery of the practical life within the practical world are a reality within the dualistic illusion. +

The relationship and love, hate, happiness, and misery of the practical life within the practical world have nothing to do with the invisible Soul, the Self, because the world in which you exist is merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul or consciousness.

The relationship and love, hate, happiness, and misery of the practical life within the practical world are a reality within the dualistic illusion.

From the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the 'Self, they are merely an illusion created out of the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The invisible Soul is present in the form of consciousness. The invisible Soul, the Self, is beyond form, time, and space and beyond birth, life, death, and the world.

Thus, rest in consciousness by recognizing it as our innermost self, which is God. And realize the practical life within the practical world is a mere mirage created out of consciousness.

Consciousness is the ultimate truth, and the ultimate truth is God in truth.

Whatever is bound and whatever is free are one in essence. That essence is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Within the illusion, the invisible Soul is bound by form, time, and space. In reality, the invisible Soul, the Self, is free from the bondage of form, time, and space because it is an ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

You cannot think beyond form, time, and space without a perfect understanding of what is what.

Without knowing ‘what is real?’ and ‘what is unreal? ’It is impossible to realize the truth that is hidden by the ‘I’.

The seeker must realize how this ‘I’ is an illusion and on what standpoint the ‘I’ is an illusion.

The invisible Soul, the Self, reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal' when the seeker is receptive and ready.

It takes time for the seeker to gain the perfect understanding of ‘what is truth’ and ’what is untruth’.

It takes time for the invisible Soul, the Self, to wake up from the sleep of ignorance, and it takes time for one to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.: :~ Santthosh Kumaar

All that God propagated by religion is nothing but Gods based on blind faith or blind belief based on mythology.+

All that God propagated by religion is nothing but Gods based on blind faith or blind belief based on mythology. 

There is nothing so absurd that men have not worshipped in religion; every imaginable face has been given to God. If God is the creator, then it is foolish to worship anything as God from his creation because the creation is apart from God.

Every religion has its own idea of God. Thus, every religion is based on the false self. Whatever is based on the false self has to be a falsehood. Thus, the idea of God of any religion is an imagination based on the false self.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~  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 in truth is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. According to the Vedas, God neither has any image nor does God reside in any particular idol or statue. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God pervades all beings and all directions.

Mythological Gods and Goddesses based on blind  belief.   God, based on blind belief, is not God in truth. The belief implies duality. 

From the ultimate standpoint, duality is merely 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 merely a superstition. Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement.

All the mythological Gods are worshipped in the form of idols. The belief system that propagated ideas of many Gods and Goddesses, Bhakti is the only way to God, is simply trying 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 is most irrational and giving them a divine outlook. Mythological stories are a myth. Whatever is based on myth is merely 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  God in truth.

Through deeper self-search, one gains a new understanding of certain dogmas. Ideas injected by religion about the literal heaven where people are immersed in pleasure, in a literal hell where people suffer, are fables.

God is not up there to judge and decide our good and bad deeds. All the mythological stories and mythological Gods are religiously injected fables.

Hell is merely a metaphor for the isolated soul, which, like all souls, ultimately will be united in love with God.”

The seeker of truth must remember the fact that religion is not spirituality. The religion is based on the ego, which is the false self (ego) within the false experience (waking). Spirituality has nothing to do with religion.

Spirituality is based on the Spirit, which is present in the form of the invisible  Soul, the  Self.

The Vedas are based on the Spirit because they hold God as the Spirit.

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.

Vedas and Upanishad confirm that the invisible Soul, the  Self, is present in the form of the Spirit or the consciousness.

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)

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the INVISIBLE  Soul, the  Self. The INVISIBLE  Soul is present in the form of consciousness. 

From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there.

Even the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God in truth) is the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

There is a clear-cut idea of God in the Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita. And also, there is a clear-cut idea of what not to worship as God in place of the real God. Thus, it proves from the  Vedic perspective that the Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods.

Vedas says never accept another God in place of the Atman, nor worship other than the Atman.

.

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.

India takes pride in being the descendants of the Sages of truth who gave the Advaita the ultimate truth. The Advaitic truth is the truth beyond form, time, and space.

All the mythological Gods' existence is a myth. Such Gods can exist only within the dualistic illusion. Thus, the existence of such Gods is illusory.

Mythological Gods and Goddesses are based on the belief. The belief is not in God. The belief implies duality. From the ultimate standpoint, the duality is merely 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 merely a superstition. Mythology was introduced in the past for the ignorant masses. It has to be discarded as one progresses in his spiritual advancement.

Swami Vivekananda: This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind, does not befit you. The Soul, the Self, is infinite, deathless, and birthless. Because the Self is infinite Spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. ... Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. Self is the entire world. Who can help you?

Mythology breeds superstition, blind belief, and senseless rituals, and is most irrational and gives them a divine outlook.

Swami Vivekananda: ~ If superstition enters, the brain is gone. Superstition is our great enemy, but bigotry is worse.

Mythological stories and religious fables, yet are taken seriously by pundits. All these stories are a reality within the dualistic illusion. The waking experience is a dualistic illusion. Thus, whatever belongs to the dualistic illusion is bound to be a falsehood. In reality, there is no duality because there is only Oneness.

That the ancient sages had miraculous occult power and books relate stories of their feats, are fairy tales meant for children and those whose minds had not developed.

That is why 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. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Spirituality is based on the invisible Soul, the Self.+

Many believe spirituality and religion are interconnected, but it is not. Religion is based on the false self (ego) and it is limited to the false experience (universe), while spirituality transcends race, religion, gender, language, and nationality, and the universe.

Spirituality is based on the invisible Soul, the Self. From the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the Self, the universe in which we exist is merely an illusion:

Jesus said: ~ Do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew -7:6)

He meant Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana (pearls) should not be given to the ignorant populace (pigs)

Jesus really said? To the multitude, he said, “God is in heaven; try to go there,” and to reach that end, he said to overcome certain temptations and sufferings.

To his followers, he said, “God is everywhere; try to see Him,” and gave explanations to that effect.

To the close circle of apostles, he said, “God is in me and in you too,” and actually revealed this to them.

Why did Jesus say different things? Owing to the time and the persons, according to their readiness to listen and understand. What Jesus meant was to leave all and follow him; that means to know him, see him, and experience him.

The teachings that are being followed by Christians are not the real teachings that Christ gave. The priests have altered his words, added to his teachings, and spoiled them.

Jesus said: ~ Seek and ye shall find. Knock the doors shall open to you.

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Gospel Thomas logian 22: - Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, “These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.”

They said to him, “Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom?”

Jesus said to them, “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female is female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter the kingdom.”

Santthosh Kumaar: ~ This above passage is Jesus’s version of Nonduality or Advaita. When one realizes that the mind (matter) and the invisible Soul (Spirit), the Self, are one, in essence, there is no place for duality.

Without the duality, the universe ceases to exist. Without the universe, your existence within the universe is merely an illusion.

There is scope for two because everything is created out of a single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness or Spirit.

Till one thinks he is an individual separate from this world, he remains in the realm of duality. The duality is the product of ignorance. When the Advaitic wisdom dawns, then ignorance vanishes. When ignorance vanishes, then the duality never remains as a reality.

God in truth, is not physical. God in truth is present in the form of the Spirit. The Spirit is the cause of the world, and the Spirit itself is uncaused.

From the standpoint of the Spirit, the form, time, space, and name are merely an illusion.

The Spirit alone is real and all else is an illusion. In reality, the Spirit (God in truth) and matter (the world in which we exist) are one. :~ Santthosh Kumaar