When the ‘Self’ is not you but the ‘Self is the Soul, which is present in the form of the consciousness then what is the use of discussing the birth, life, death, and the world because the one, which is born, lives and dies is not the ‘Self.
The Soul is birthless and deathless because it is the ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.
You are the birth entity. Your existence is limited to form, time, and space. Your religion, your religious Gods your beliefs, your religious rituals and prayers, your race, your nationality are nothing to do with the Soul, the ‘Self’ because the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness itself is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God.
From the Vedic perspective, all your religious Gods are non-Vedic Gods based on imagination.
Religious Gods are based on blind faith or belief. Belief is not God. Religious God cannot be considered as the center because the Soul, the ‘Self’ is the center of all that exists.
Without the Soul the world in which you exist ceases to exist, which means the religious God is dependent on the Soul for his existence. God in truth is only the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.
Even 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. (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.
Even Brihadaranyaka Upanishad: ~ Brahman (God) is present in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.
In Manduka Upanishad Brahman and Atman are defined as the same:~ All indeed is this Brahman; This Atman is Brahman; God, this Atman has four steps/quarters.
While Brahman lies behind the sum total of the objective universe, some human minds boggle at any attempt to explain it with only the tools provided by reason. Brahman is beyond the senses, beyond the mind, beyond intelligence, beyond imagination.
Indeed, the highest idea is that Brahman is beyond both existence and non-existence, transcending and including time, causation, and space, and thus can never be known in the same material sense as one traditionally 'understands' a given concept or object.
Even 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: ~ 'Prajnanam Brahma'- Consciousness is the ultimate reality or Brahman or God in truth.
Do not accept any other God other than the Soul. The Soul is God in truth, Nothing is real but the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. Nothing matters but realize 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.
Brahman is merely a word to indicate the ultimate truth or God in truth. The ultimate truth itself is God in truth.
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)
That is why Sage Sankara:~ 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 of 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 realized. 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.”
Sage Sankara says:~ 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, which is buried under Maya and the effects of Maya, can be reached by meditation, contemplation, and other spiritual disciplines but never by subtle arguments.
The Atmic path is not for religious and yogic-minded people. Religious and yogic people must move on their chosen path. The Atmic path is only for seekers of truth who are seriously searching for the truth of their own existence.
Sage Sankara restrained himself parting the Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana to the mass and only a selected few. It was hidden from the people who were not qualified and receptive to it. Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana was not written down but was imparted orally to the chosen few.
Thus, religion was given to the mass, and knowledge of the spirit is given to only a selected few. Thus, we find traces of the knowledge of the spirit in the religious books in the form of parables.
Katha Upanishad says: ~ This Atman is attained by him alone whom It chooses. To such a one Atman reveals Its own form. (II -23-P-20)
Upanishads:~ Fools dwelling in darkness, but thinking they wise and erudite, go round and round, by various tortuous paths, like the blind led by the blind. (Upanishads Nikilanada - Ch II-5 P-14)
The Soul, the Self reveals ‘what is real’ and ‘what is unreal” when the seeker is receptive and ready. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar
