The seeker of truth must first make sure what God supposed to be in actuality according to Vedas and Upanishads.+

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.

It is for every seeker who is seeking truth must first know what God supposed to be in actuality according to Vedas and Upanishads and reject all non-Vedic Gods to realize the Atman is real God.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter:~ All those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires, they worship many Gods. (7- Verse -20)

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

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

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedic religion never worshiped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jainism. 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 Brihadaranyaka Upanishad says: "He who worships the deities as entities entirely separate from the Self does not know the truth. For the Gods, he is like a pasu (beast)". (1. 4. 10)

All the Gods with form, name, and attributes are not God in truth. Religious Gods are based on blind faith or blind belief. God based on blind faith or blind belief are God in truth.

People worship God in various ways, not knowing the Truth. At different levels, at different epochs, in different lands, people have different conceptions of God. They have quarreled because they did not know the truth about God.

The conflict of opinions among mystics and religionists proves that all are imagining God as they like, not knowing God.

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme Spirit, has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. God cannot be seen directly by anyone. God 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."

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 in the Vedas.

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

Do not accept any other God other than Athma. The Athma is God in truth, Nothing is real but the Athma, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realizing God in truth. God in truth, is everywhere and in everything. Let these words be inscribed in your subconscious.

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

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 real God.

When Upanishad itself declares

Chandogya Upanishad : ~ Sarvam khalvidam brahma ~ All this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality.

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

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)

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

Sage Sankara’s Supreme Brahman (God in truth) 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.

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)."

Thus, Truth realization is Self-realization. Self-realization is God-realization. God-realization itself is real worship.

People are not aware of the fact that there is no individual God can exist, apart from the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

Without consciousness, the attributed Gods with name and form ceases to exist.

Religious Gods are based on blind faith or belief. Belief is not God in truth. Religious God cannot be considered as the cause of the universe because, the Soul, the ‘Self’ is the cause of the universe.

Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, it means the religious Gods are dependent on the Soul for their existence. God in truth is only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

No conceptual Gods can exist, apart from consciousness.

Even Bhagavad Gita says: ~ 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 as God other than consciousness.

People think that there must be a creator of this universe. If one thinks physical entity or ego as Self, then there is a creator, but if one thinks the Soul (consciousness) as the Self, then there is nothing exists other than the consciousness, which is the true Self.

If one objectifies and sees a universe, then he is bound to see many things besides himself and postulate a God, the creator. Body, God, and world rise and set together from, and into, the Soul, the Self (consciousness).

If God is apart from the Self (Soul or consciousness), then God would be Self-less, that is, outside existence, that is, non-existent.:~ Santthosh Kumaar