There is need not to doubt that people saw Shiva, Jesus, etc. That they saw visions may be an undeniable fact. But the question is “Was what they saw the Truth?+

Mystics see Gods and Goddesses in their visions according to their own inherited religious conditioning and parental grooming.  

The seeker of truth should not start with the idea of God.  The seeker does not know whether there is God or not. There is no proof.  The seeker needs proof of God's existence.

 There is a need not to doubt that people saw Shiva, Jesus, etc. That they saw visions may be an undeniable fact. But the question is “Was what they saw the Truth?" They no doubt had a such vision but they never stopped to inquire if their visions are true.

After years of effort glorifying Christ when Christian closes his eyes and Christ comes to him.

After years of effort glorifying Krishna when a Hindu closes his eyes and Krishna comes to him.

After years of effort glorifying Buddha when a Buddhist closes his eyes and Buddha comes to him.

After years of effort glorifying  Mahavira when a Jain closes his eyes and Mahavira comes to him.

Christ doesn’t come as a Hindu; Mahavira doesn’t come to a Christian. Buddha doesn’t come to a Jain: only the image projected in the subconscious will come. The image became almost solid. It became so real from constant repetition, from continuous remembering, that it seemed projected deity was standing in from of him. No one was standing there.

Wherever is projected is merely an illusion created out of consciousness. Any experience is possible only within the domain of form, time, and space. Whatever belongs to the form, time and space is merely an illusion.  The illusion is created out of single stuff and that single stuff is the consciousness. The knowledge of the single stuff is Self-knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

In reality, consciousness alone exists without the division of form, time, and space. There is no second here, no other. From the standpoint of the Soul, form, time and space are merely an illusion.  The seeker has to take all the facts, and then proceed to examine and analyze, how far is it true?”

To talk of seeking God is as meaningless as saying "seeking dog". It is only a hollow word. One must know God in truth. 

Remember:~

Sage  Sankara: ~ ‘How do you know that God who tells about himself in meditation or mysticism is truthful? He may tell you a lie! His statements must, therefore, be tested.

Supposing a mystic has a vision, which experience is true, but he must prove that it is really what it purports to be and that he is not deluded.

Both real and unreal, seen and unseen, trance and activity are nothing but an illusion created out of consciousness, whereas mystics wrongly divorce one from the other. It is absurd to think that anything can be left out of consciousness.

In the Advaitic perspective, Anubava means the actual realization of the ‘Self’ hidden by the universe.  The experience implies duality. The experience, the experiencer, and the world are present in the domain of duality.  

From the standpoint of the Soul, the Self, the experience, and the experiencer and the world are merely an illusion. When the Soul wakes up from the sleep of ignorance, it remains in its own awareness. In Self-awareness,  the experience, the experiencer, and the world are one in essence. Thus, there is unity in diversity.

The Soul, the Self cannot be experienced because it is ever formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.    The experience is possible only in the domain of form, time, and space.  Realizing the form, time and space leads to Self-awareness.  In Self-awareness, there is a oneness in the midst of the dualistic illusion or Maya. 

How do the mystics know they have experienced God? There is proof they have seen God? Many mystics say they know it from experience but the experience implies duality.  The mystics' experience is dualistic but God is nondual because God is formless, timeless, and spaceless existence.  Mystics’ knowledge is based on the dualistic perspective whereas Gnanis' knowledge is based on the nondualistic perspective.

Mystics' approach is more practical, and they stuck with the reality of the world, they take it as real. That is why all the confusion.

The look of an object will depend upon the medium through which the observer views it. In fact, our mental and intellectual conditions determine the world, observed and experienced. The commoner viewing the world will see differently from a Gnani viewing the same world. Each one interprets the world that they see in terms of their existing knowledge. The commoner sees everything based on the ego, therefore, experiences birth, life, death, and the world as a reality, whereas a Gnani sees everything as consciousness and he is fully aware of the fact that, there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul or consciousness. Thus, all egocentric knowledge has to be bifurcated to realize the ultimate truth, which is hidden by the illusory form, time, and space.

The world in which we exist is nothing but an illusion created out of the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

The whole universe is nothing but the Soul. Therefore, there is no second thing that exists other than the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness.

It is not as if something that was not consciousness suddenly becomes consciousness. Rather, "knowing the truth” means the removal of ignorance about one's own existence as the consciousness. Thus, to "know the truth” is to "be the consciousness."

Consciousness is ever-present. Without consciousness, the world, in which you exist ceases to exist.   Consciousness is Self-evident. It is not established by extraneous proof. It is not possible to deny consciousness, because it is the very essence of the one who denies it. Consciousness is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. Consciousness is everything. Consciousness is the ultimate truth or Brahman.

The Soul, the Self which is formless as the cloudless and stainless sky.  The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. Consciousness shines in everything and everywhere in the universe in which we exist.  The Soul is the cause of the illusory universe in which we exist and it, itself is uncaused. 

Remember:~

A mystic can never make you know God. Only an intense urge to know what God is supposed to be in truth can make you realize God.  The Soul, the ‘Self is the Infinite God. 

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

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 in truth) is in the form of the Athma, and it is indeed Athma itself.

The Vedas confirm God is Atman or Spirit, the  Self.

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

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)

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 besides it. It is destitute of difference, either external or internal. Brahman cannot be described, because 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.

Advaita is the nature of the Soul, the Self. Advaita is the Soul itself. Advaita is the Soul, which is God in truth. Advaita is another word for God, which is second to none

Those who indulge in the perverted argument on their own standpoint and opinion are not seeking the truth, which is beyond form, time, and space.  They just want to exhibit their accumulated knowledge accumulated from here and there.  They think what they know is the ultimate truth.

Only Advaitic wisdom helps the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the Soul or  God in truth. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar