The ancient peoples of India belong to the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma; therefore, they have nothing to do with present-day Hinduism.+

The ancient peoples of the Indus Valley of undivided India did not identify themselves as Hindu.

A Hindu idol or deity, or temple, has nothing to do with the Vedic religion. Vedic people ate beef. The Hindu practices of idol worship and temple worship ban beef-eating, which was introduced many centuries later.

As one peeps into the annals of religious history, he finds that Hinduism, which exists today, is not a continuation of the Vedic religion, and it has no real historical foundation. Hinduism is of a much later origin.

As per the researchers, the two faiths, the Hindu belief system, have drifted miles away from the Vedic faith, so the two seem to be two distinct faiths. It is not difficult to discover that there is no noticeable continuity of Hinduism from the religion of the Vedas.

The distinctive characteristics of the Hindu belief system cannot be traced in Vedic literature. Besides, although the Vedas are revered as sacred texts, there are many people in India who do not know what ‘belief in the Vedas’ means. In most cases, the acquaintance of the Hindus with the Vedas is limited to the few hymns that are recited in temples and household liturgies.

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 a large number of Gods and Goddesses, whereas in the Vedas, the God has been described as: -

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

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)

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

Thus, it refers to the formless and attributeless God, which is the Atman (Soul), the Self within the false experience.

Thus, it indicates clearly that all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imagination based on the false self. Thus, Atman or Soul, the Self, is God in truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar

All the religious Gods are based on blind faith ir blind belief, not God in truth. God in truth is Athma.+

All mantras are based on non-Vedic Gods. Non-Vedic Gods are imaginary Gods based on the false self (ego) within the false experience (dualistic illusion or the universe)

All the religious Gods are based on blind faith or blind belief, not God in truth. God in truth is Athma. All the mantras are based on the belief that based Gods are not in reality.

The 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)

The Gods of belief are personal and with form, names, and attributes, whereas the God in truth is impersonal and attributeless because God in truth is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.

How can the God of belief yield fruits when they are not Gods at all through repeating the names of God when the real God is nameless because the real God is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence?

Know what God is supposed to be in actuality.

Religious Gods are based on blind belief. God, based on blind belief, is not God in truth.

Realizing God in truth is real worship. Whatever is based on the false God yields no fruit. It is necessary to realize what God is supposed to be in actuality.

God is not physical. God 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)and matter (the world in which we exist) are one.

The 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 the 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 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."

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 nondual reality.

No mantras help to get rid of ignorance. All the mantras and rituals are meant for the ignorant populace, which strongly believes, the world in which they exist is a reality. For one who wants to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, the mantras will not help to realize the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

That is why Sage Sankara VC~.61. For one who has been bitten by the serpent of Ignorance, the only remedy is the knowledge of Brahman. Of what avail are the Vedas and (other) Scriptures, Mantras (sacred formulae), and medicines to such a one?

VC- v6~ 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

Sage Sankara goes on to say: ~A sickness not cured by saying the word “medicine.” You must take the medicine.

Liberation does not come by merely saying the word “Brahman.” Brahman must be experienced. Until you allow this apparent universe to dissolve from your consciousness until you have realized Brahman, how can you find liberation just by saying the word Brahman? The result is merely noise.

Until a man has destroyed his enemies and taken possession of the splendor and wealth of the kingdom, he cannot become a king by simply saying, “I am a king.”

A buried treasure is not uncovered by merely uttering the words: “Come forth.” You must follow the right directions, dig, remove the stones and earth from above it, and then make it your own. In the same way, the pure truth of the Atman is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya: ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

The Advaita is the nondual nature of the invisible and unborn Soul, the Self.+

Advaita means the invisible Soul, the Self, which is second to none. The invisible Soul, which is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

Consciousness is the ultimate truth, or Brahman or God in truth. Advaita is the nondual nature of God in truth. Advaita is God in truth. Advaita is the fullness of consciousness.

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

Vedas and Upanishads confirm that God is the invisible Soul, the Self, which 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 Bible says: ~ God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the Self. The 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 Bhagavad Gita says: ~ Brahmano hi pratisthaham Brahman (God) is considered the all-pervading consciousness which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material (Gita 14.27)

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).

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.

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

Jesus meant -Knowledge of the Spirit or God Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana (pearls) should not be given to the ignorant populace (pigs).

Advaita is universal. Advaita is not for sale. Do not buy Advaita from the spiritual supermarket. Advaita is the nondual nature of the invisible Soul, the Self.

The world in which you exist is created out of a single stuff. That single stuff is consciousness. Knowledge of the single stuff is Advaitic wisdom.

Advaitic truth is very simple, but it is very difficult to realize because you have accumulated mental garbage from different sources in the name of Advaita. Until you discard all the accumulated knowledge, you will never be able to realize the Advaitic truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.

The Advaita is the nondual nature of the invisible and unborn Soul, the Self shines on its own nondual awareness when Advaitic wisdom dawns.

The Advaita is the Soul is the cause and the support of all that exists as the world in which we exist.

The Advaita is present in the form of consciousness. Advaita is the root element of the universe.  : ~ Santthosh Kumaar 

The seeker has to discard all the accumulated knowledge and start afresh.+

All accumulated knowledge that is mental garbage is of no use in the quest for the truth.

that

The seeker must discard all accumulated knowledge and start afresh.

A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ through deeper thinking and reasoning helps to acquire Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana, or Atma Gnana.

Truth is very simple, but it is very difficult to grasp because of ignorance.

You have to realize the world in which you exist is created out of a single clay. And that single clay is the invisible Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Thus, you and your body and the world in which you exist are nothing but consciousness because they are merely an illusion created out of consciousness. A perfect understanding of ‘what is what’ is needed.

A Gnani can point at the sky, but the seeing of the star is the seeker's own work.

It is necessary to reflect on the same truth repeatedly until it becomes a reality. One needs to constantly reflect on the subject until one gets a firm conviction of 'what is what'.

Words of wisdom are needed until one gets a firm conviction of ‘what is what’. People need to read and hear the words to think, reason, and reflect deeply, and mentally reach the ultimate end.

The truth-seeker seeks only truth. The inner Sage will guide you with love. Your sincerity and seriousness lead you to your inner core. The sincere and serious seekers are not excluded.

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality. All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.

Katha Upanishads: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one, Atman reveals its own form. (II -23-P-20)

All the chosen ones will get freedom from experiencing the illusion (duality) as a reality. All the seekers of truth are chosen ones.

Millions are searching for the truth, but only one in a million will find it. If you are a truth seeker, then you are one from a million: ~ Santthosh Kumaar

Vedas bar human worship. There is no need for the seeker of truth to indulge in glorifying the Gurus and worship them as Gods.+

Vedas bar human worship. There is no need for the seeker of truth to indulge in glorifying the Gurus and worship them as Gods.

The seeker has to go beyond religion. Going beyond religion means, to go beyond the belief in religious God to realize the real God hidden by ignorance.

When one delves into the annals of history, it appears that the true Advaita expounded by Sage  Sankara and Sage Gaudapada was lost or distorted by orthodoxy, as their preaching and practice do not align. Orthodoxy talks of Advaita but their practice is dualistic. 

The orthodoxy is nothing to do with Advaita because they are based on the experience of birth, life, death, and the world whereas the Advaita is based on Soul, which is ever birthless and deathless and worldless.

There is no use of prostration to holy sandals of the Guru or indulging in Pada Pooja (feet worship) when the inner Guru is invisible Soul, the  Self’, which is ever formless, timeless and spaceless existence. 

The guru who identifies with his experience of birth, life, death, and the world, and the disciple who worships his guru’s body, will remain ignorant of the truth beyond the form, time, and space. Without getting rid of ignorance, they will never get freedom from experiencing the dualistic illusion as reality.

People think prostrating to a religious Guru, adoring which the worst poverty-stricken have turned out to be great possessors of wealth, and even the mutes have turned out to be great masters of speech, are ideas based on the dualistic perspective is meant for the ignorant populace, which accepts the world as a reality. From the standpoint of the invisible Soul, the Self, the world in which birth, life, and death take place is merely an illusion.

People think by prostrating to the physical Guru, which serves as the downpour of water to put out the fire of misfortunes, which removes the groups of distress of those who prostrate to them. The devotion to a physical Guru and grace with the valuable dominion of renunciation is the religious ideas. All the religious belief is nothing to with the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The devotion to a physical Guru and grace with the valuable dominion of renunciation is the religious idea.

A person who realizes the ultimate truth or Brahman will throw off his religious robe and his religious identity and becomes free from experiencing the illusory duality as a reality.

Why worship and glorify the GURUS and YOGIS when Vedas bar human worship: ~

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.]

Then why worship and glorify the GURUS and YOGIS (human form) in place of God when the Veda bars such activities, and it also warns people who indulge in such activities 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.:~ Santthosh Kumaar

Know why Hinduism is not a continuation of Santana Dharma.+

It is time for the Indian populace to realize Hindusim is not ancient Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion.

In Reality, Hinduism is not the ancient Vedic Religion or Sanatana Dharma. Hindus do not follow the Vedas.

People of Inda think Hinduism is Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion but it is not so.

As one peeps into the annals of religious history he finds that Hinduism which exists today is not a continuation of the Vedic religion or Santana Dharma, and it has no real historical foundation. Hinduism is of a much later origin.

According to the researchers, the Hindu belief system has drifted significantly away from the Vedic faith, making the two appear to be distinct faiths. It is not difficult to discover that there is no noticeable continuity of Hinduism from the Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma.

Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion has no founder whereas Hindusim has many founders.

Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion has no caste system whereas a group of castes and sects together is called Hindusim.

Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion has only one God whereas Hindusim has many gods.

Sanatana Dharma or Vedic religion bars human worship whereas Human worship is encouraged in Hinduism.

Hinduism, as a religion, incorporates all forms of belief without mandating the selection or elimination of any one single belief,“ It is a religion that has no single founder, no single scripture, and no single set of teachings.

Hinduism is not a continuation of Santana Dharma,

Hinduism seeks to preach and propagate.

Hinduism has no single founder or scripture.

Hindus are idol worshipers of a large number of Gods and Goddesses whereas in Vedas the God has been described as:-

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 idolized Gods."

In Vedas, God has been described as:-

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.

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

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 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 are 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 worshippers. 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." (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that:~

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship any thing which is part of the illusory universe.

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.)

Then why worship and glorify the non-~Vedic Gods in place of Vedic God when Veda bars such activities and it also warns people who indulge in such activities 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.:~Santthosh Kumaar

Buddha asked thrice, again and again. +

 

Buddha asked thrice, again and again. 

I have been working with many, many people, and sometimes they turn when the right moment was going to be; exactly before that moment, they turn away. And the mind is cunning enough; it can philosophize, it can say why you have turned away. Exactly at the moment when something was going to happen, you can turn away.

There is more possibility for you to turn away from that moment than from any other moment; it is unfortunate but it happens. You wait and wait and wait, and then the moment is nearing where the evaporating point can be reached, and suddenly you turn away. To resist that turning is very difficult. It is just like death reaching nearer, nearer, nearer, and seeing the abyss you turn away and run as fast as you can.

Remain alert. This misfortune happens to seekers; it can happen to you. Buddha passed through a village many times in his forty years of traveling.

One man used to come; he would listen for a few minutes then get up and go away. And this had become a habit; he never listened to Buddha for the whole time Buddha was speaking. He would come, that was certain, and whenever Buddha would come to the town he would wait for that man. He would come, that was certain.

He would sit and for a few minutes he would listen, then, respectfully bowing down to Buddha, he would go away.

Ananda once asked that man, “Why do you do this?”

The man said, “Sometimes this is the peak hour for my business, but I must come just to pay my respects; that’s why I come. But my shop is open and customers are there, and they will not wait. Enlightenment can wait; next time I will hear.” It happened again and again.

The day Buddha died he was near the village, and before his death, he said to Ananda, “That man has not come. This is exceptional — he never missed. He always missed in a sense but he never missed. He has always come, now he has not come.”

Then Buddha asked his disciples, “Do you have anything to ask — because soon I will enter into the final Samadhi, the final ecstasy, and then I will not be able to come back and answer you.”

They started weeping and crying but there was no question. And Ananda said, “We have asked everything, you have answered everything, and there is nothing. Our minds are blank just thinking that you are going to disappear.”

Buddha asked thrice, again and again. There was no question so he went behind the tree and closed his eyes, just to dissolve into the infinite, to leave the body, and then suddenly the man came.

He started fighting with the monks and said, “I must see him. This is the last time; I will not be able to see him again. For forty years I have been missing and I have a question to ask. I have never been able to ask it before because sometimes there was a marriage in my family, sometimes business was at a peak, sometimes I was ill or my wife was ill, and sometimes there were relatives staying. I always missed but now don’t prevent me.”

The disciples said, “It is not possible; now he is dissolving.”

Buddha came out from his ecstasy, from his final Samadhi. He came in front of the tree and he said, “Don’t prevent that man. He may have been foolish, he may have missed because of his ignorance, but I cannot be hard on him. I am still alive so let him come. No one should say that Buddha was alive and a man who had come begging was sent back.” Buddha said, “What have you come to ask?”

The man had forgotten the question. He said, “When I came, I knew, but now I can’t remember. Next time I see you I will bring the question.” … And there was going to be no next time. Buddha died that day, and that man must be wandering somewhere on this or some other earth, seeking a man who can answer his question. That man missed Buddha continuously for forty years.

You can miss me — always remember that possibility. But it will be because of you, not because of me; I am always ready.

Whenever you are ready I will hit you, but a deep surrender is needed; before that nothing can be done. You have to die, die as you are, so that which you really are can be born out of you. You have to die as an appearance so that the real can be born. You have to die on the periphery, so that the center evolves and comes out in its luminousness, in its full perfection. All hits are to destroy the seed so that the tree is born. Anything more? -Osho