It is true that some of Buddha's disciples misunderstood and misinterpreted him.+

Buddha also holds that this world which changes from moment to moment is not real, it is only a reflection, and the thing of which it is the reflection alone is real. 

Buddha was not an atheist. He never denied reality. There is nothing in his words or teaching to show that he considered truth to be non-existent, like the horns of a hare. He could not have held the foolish view that something came out of nothing. It is true that some of Buddha's disciples misunderstood and misinterpreted him. His idea was that the truth which cannot be designated by a name or described is words, and of which one cannot even say whether it exists or non-extent, is like non-existent. The idea is quietly in agreement with the view of the Upanishads.

An object which cannot even be talked about, is, for all practical purposes, as good as non-extent. But it is not non-existent in the sense that the son of a barren woman is non-existent. This subtle idea, Buddha's contemporaries, and even his disciples fail to catch. In one passage the Buddha says clearly: Srmana Gautama was an atheist. It is the annihilation of the non-existence of truth that he teaches. So will people attribute to my atheism, which is not mine? So will they ascribe me to the theory of non-existence, which again is not mine?

From these similar statements of Buddha, it is clear that he was not an atheist. All philosophers old and new, arrive at the same point. 

 

Orthodox Advaita (monosim) is inevitable; the people of thoughtful temperament cannot find peace and quietude until they do so. Moksha (liberation) is in the realization of oneness with God. 

They speak of God Goddesses, devotion, and devotees, only in an inaccurate way only from the standpoint of dvaithi. After realizing oneness with God, there is no distinction between God and devotee, and the word "devotion" has no meaning. :~Santthosh Kumaar