Upanishad indicate:~One cannot reach the nondual destination by glorifying God and Goddesses and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness.+

Sage Sankara says: ~ 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 the description implies the 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.

God in truth is a formless, timeless, and spaceless existence. Thus according to the Vedas God neither has any image nor God in truth resides in any particular idol or statue. God in truth cannot be seen directly by anyone. God in truth pervades all beings and all directions.

From the Vedic perspective, Lord Krishna has been just a Mahan yogi and not God himself. Because in the Bhagavad Gita it says: ~

The Bhagavad Gita: ~ 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)

One must remember that for all periods the Vedas are the final goal and authority, and if the Puranas differ in any respect from the Vedas, the Puranas are to be rejected without mercy. i

If you feel Puranas say something and the Vedas say something else, reject the Puranas and believe in the Vedas. The Puranas are just a myth.

Advaitic wisdom is the end of the illusory dualistic knowledge, the goal of every seeker.

Sage Sankara says:~

 Let erudite scholars quote all the scripture,

Let Gods be invoked through sacrifices,

Let elaborate rituals be performed, let personal Gods be propitiated

~ “and without the realization of the Soul as the Self, there shall be no freedom from ignorance. 

All the Advaita teaching and teachers of the East and West are based on the dualistic perspective. All the dualistic Advaita propagated today are commercialized by religious, yogic, or intellectual toppings. 

All commercial-grade Advaitic teachings are dualistic and lead to hallucination based on imagination. They buried the real Advaitic wisdom under labyrinths of hotch-potch accumulated knowledge from different sources. 

They are conceptual and intellectual divisions invented by the Gurus mixing religion; yoga and intellectualism through their excessive analysis and propagated as Advaita.

Fortunate is the seeker who does not lose himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, but indulges in deeper self-search and realizes the ‘Self’ hidden by the dualistic illusion. 

That is why Sage Sankara said:~ Talk as much philosophy as you like, worship as many gods as you please, observe ceremonies, and sing devotional hymns, but liberation will never come, even after a hundred aeons, without realizing the Oneness.

There is no need to study Advaita Vedanta or any scriptures for Self-realization.

Upanishad says: ~ “The human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge and they indicate the personal Gods, scriptures, worship, rituals, yoga, are not the means to Self –Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana, then why anyone should indulge in it.

The religion, concept of individualized God, belief in physical Gurus; scriptures are a great obstacle to Self-realization because they belong to the dualistic illusion.  The seeker needs to mentally transcend the dualistic illusion into a non-dualistic reality.

The seeker of truth has to search for the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, through deeper Self-search, and assimilate and realize it.

Sage  Sankara gave religious, ritual, or dogmatic instruction to the ignorant populace but Advaitic wisdom only to the few who could rise to it. Hence, the interpretation of his writings by commentators is often confusing because they mix up the two viewpoints. Thus they may assert that ritual is a means of realizing Brahman, which is absurd. 

Sage  Sankara: ~ ' Action (karma)  cannot destroy ignorance, for it is not in conflict with or opposed to ignorance. Knowledge does verily destroy ignorance as light destroys deep darkness. ~ Atma Bodha

Sage  Sankara:~ VC- 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 (verses-6)

The liberation cannot be the result of good works, for Sruti itself declares that there is no hope for immortality by means of wealth.  (Verses -7)

Veda addresses itself to two kinds of audiences - the ordinary ones who desire the transitory heaven and other pleasures obtained as a result of ritual sacrifices, and the more advanced seeker who seeks to know Brahman.

Thus, the Purva mimam. sa, with its emphasis on the karma kanda of the Vedas, is meant for the first audience, to help lead its followers along the way. However, the Vedanta, with its emphasis on the jnana kanda, is meant for those who wish to go beyond the dualistic illusion.

That is why Sage Sankara, indicated in Bhaja Govindam says: ~ (Jnana Viheena Sarva Mathena Bajathi na Muktim janma Shatena) - one without knowledge does not obtain liberation even in a hundred births, no matter which religious faith he follows.

Then it is no use going a roundabout way, trace the Brahman which is the formless substance and witness of the universe, which is in the form of mind.  By tracing the source of the mind or universe one will be able to realize the Brahman.

Thus, Self-knowledge is meant only for those who have an intense urge, and courage to accept the truth with humility and reject the untruth. Since people start comparing with their scriptural knowledge, it becomes impossible to assimilate and realize the non-dual truth.   Therefore, there is no need to convince anyone other than our own selves to get a firm conviction. 

So they clearly indicate rituals and theories are not meant for those who are searching for higher knowledge or wisdom.   The path of wisdom is the only means. 

Isa Upanishads indicates that: ~ “By worshipping Gods and Goddesses and going to the world of Gods after death is of no use.  The time one spends in ritualistic practices is wasted; one can spend the same time moving forward toward Self-knowledge, which is the main goal. 

One cannot reach the nondual destination by glorifying God and Goddesses and by doing that, one goes deeper and deeper into darkness. It surely indicates the fact that the seeker of truth has to drop worshiping God and Goddess to get Self-knowledge. : ~Santthosh Kumaar