The seeker of truth must know the difference between the religious God and the Spiritual God.+

The seeker of truth must know the difference between the religious God and the Spiritual God. Religious Gods with forms and names belong to dualistic illusion whereas the Spiritual God is the Spirit.

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

The Bible says: ~ “God is a Spirit, and they that worship God must worship God in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

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.

In Spirituality, the ultimate truth is God. The Atman is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.

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.

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

When Bhagavad Gita says, God is considered the all-pervading consciousness (Spirit) which is the basis of all the animate and inanimate entities and material then nothing has to be accepted as God other than consciousness.

Lord Krishna says Ch ~V: ~ “Those who know the ‘Self’ in truth.". The last two words (tattvataha) are usually ignored by pundits, but they make all the difference between the ordinary concept of God and the truth about God.

The dualistic worship of "God” is only for the ignorant populace. The God in truth is only Atman, the ‘Self’. In reality, there is no duality, no differentiation. Only Atman exists.

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (Spirit), the ‘Self’.

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.

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:~ Prajnanam Brahma: - Consciousness is the ultimate reality.

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

Chandogya Upanishad says: ~ 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.

Hindus assert their religion is monotheistic, even though they honor many Gods, including Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer. Hindus claim these various Gods are all manifestations of the oneness of the universe. Hindu religious practices vary from place to place, but they frequently include yoga, physical and mental discipline to harmonize body and Soul, and ritual bathing.

Belief in multiple Gods, The worship of idols; the worship of images that are not God, The worship of sacred images, ancestor worship, pilgrimage, priestcraft, the belief in avatars or incarnations of God, the hereditary caste system because all these lack Vedic sanction.

Hinduism indulges non-Vedic beliefs such as idolatry, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priestcraft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, untouchability, and child marriages. All these lack Vedic sanction, therefore, Hinduism is not an Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

Realizing the universe is created out of single stuff and that single stuff is the Soul which is present in the form of consciousness leads to non-dualistic or Advaitic Self-awareness. Self-awareness is freedom or Moksha. Moksha is unity in diversity in the midst of duality.

It is very difficult to talk to people about the ultimate truth or Brahman because everyone thinks he knows the ultimate truth or Brahman. This I know business is dangerous. And whatever his reached conclusion is second-hand stuff. Therefore, accepting accumulated knowledge without verification will lead the seekers to hallucinated realization based on the ego.

One may have some flashes of truth when someone tries to indicate it through fewer words. But it takes nearer to truth, not realization. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar