None can say exactly when the Vedic people became Hindus because neither the name Hindu nor its major beliefs and practices existed in the Vedic times.+

Upon close examination we discover that the religion of the Vedas was not the religion of the Hindus, nor were the Vedic people Hindus, nor will the Hindus of today approve the replacement of the term ‘Hinduism’ with ‘Vedic Religion’.

None can say exactly when the Vedic people became Hindus because neither the name Hindu nor its major beliefs and practices existed in the Vedic times. To this, one must add the marginal place the Vedic gods occupy in today’s Hindu pantheon. In addition, as we have seen, the Vedas themselves are not attractive to most of today’s Hindus as sacred texts. The Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Puranas, and Manusmriti, may have more to do with the Hinduism of today than the Vedas.

Thus, it is clear that there is no direct ancestry of modern Hinduism traceable in the Vedas, though it does have some influence on it “The Vedic corpus reflects the archetypal religion of those who called themselves Vedic Sanatana, and which, although it contributed to facets of latter-day Hinduism, was nevertheless distinct”.

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols then why so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic gods. Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes. 

Someone introduced the concept of many God with attributes and attributeless Gods when Yajur Veda says: -   those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of Vedas. 

Nowhere in the scriptures is there any reference of Hindu and  Hinduism.  The Hindus believed in polytheism, believing all of their Gods to be separate individuals, which were introduced much later by the founders of Hinduism which contains diverse beliefs caste, and creed. 

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols, then why so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic gods. 

Why these conceptual Gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.

Who introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless Gods, when Yajur Veda says: ~ those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God, are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conducts in the name of Vedas. 

It clearly indicates that: -If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorify the conceptual gods and goddesses to go into deeper darkness. Instead, spend that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is one’s prime goal.  

Since it is eternal and infinite, it comprises the only truth. The goal of Vedic religion, through the various yogas, is to realize that the consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman.

The Vedic pantheon of gods is said, in the Vedas and Upanishads, to be only higher manifestations of Brahman. For this reason,- "ekam sat" (all is one), and all is Brahman.

Upanishads say: that the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana and they indicate the personal gods, scriptures, worship, and rituals 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 and scriptures are the greatest obstacle to realizing Advaitic truth or Self-realization because they are based on ego, which is the false self.  Therefore, one has to search the ultimate truth without losing himself in the labyrinths of philosophy, he should indulge in deeper self-search to assimilate and realize it. 

The Hindu orthodox people think that the Vedas as the final authority for them and they strictly follow the Vedas, they do not know the fact that they are indulging in non-Vedic rituals and activities barred by Vedas.  

As one goes deeper in the annals of history, it indicates the fact that somewhere someone has added the Purana in the name of Veda Vyasa the grand master of Vedas. It is impossible to accept and believe that Veda Vyasa authored and introduced the Puranas which have all conceptual Gods because:~

In Vedas, God has been described as:~

             Sakshi (Witness)

             Chetan (conscious)

             Nirguna (Without form and properties).

             Nitya (eternal)

             Shuddha (pure)

             Buddha (omniscient)

             Mukta (unattached).

This clearly indicates the nature of the innermost Self, which is the soul.  Thus the Soul is the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth. 

When the Soul is the ultimate truth or god why indulge in worshiping the belief individualized God, which is not God. The Hindu belief system which came into existence after the 2nd century has nothing to do with the Vedic religion or Sanatana Dharma. 

The Vedas confirm God is Atman (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.

Vedas itself says: May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman? Thus, to know the real God Self-realization is necessary. Self-realization is God-realization. Self-realization itself is real worship.

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)

How can you worship God? That implies two ~ the worshiper and the worshiped, whereas God is non-dual. One can worship his idea of God only or realize his unity with it when he can’t worship it as a part.

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

When Upanishads and Vedas declare, “God is the form of the Athma and God is indeed Athma itself” then why accept another God in place of the Atman or worship other than the Atman.

People, who worship God based on blind belief, are hallucinating that they become one with such God.

The Soul, the ‘Self itself is the Infinite God. 

The Soul is the Self. God is the Soul, which is present in the form of consciousness. God is the fullness of the consciousness without the illusory division of form, time and space. Therefore, there is nothing apart from it.

God is self-evident. God is not established by extraneous proofs. It is not possible to deny God because God is the very essence of the one who denies it. God is the basis of all kinds of knowledge, presuppositions, and proofs. God is within the universe in which you exist, God is without the universe in which you exist.

God is the Supreme Being the One eternal homogeneous essence, indivisible consciousness and intelligence, which is beyond the form, time, and space. To which the Sages describe in a variety of ways through diverse words.

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

Only the path of wisdom leads the seeker of truth on his journey to the ultimate realization of the true nature of the Universal Essence, which is the Soul. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness.

Bhagavad Gita: 7: 19:~ "Such a man who has attained true knowledge, the knowledge of Self, the knowledge of Atman, worships ‘Self’ as~ Atman (God) alone exists~ everything is Atman, there exists nothing except Atman. Such a man is extremely rare."

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).

When Bhagavad Gita says, that 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. 

Isa Upanishads indicate that:~ worshiping 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 non-dual destination by glorifying gods 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 or Brahma Gnana or Atma Gnana.

When the religion of the Veda knows no idols then why so many Gods and Goddesses with different forms and names are being propagated as Vedic gods. Why these conceptual gods are introduced when the Vedic concept of God is free from form and attributes.

Who introduced the concept of God with attributes and attributeless gods, when Yajur Veda says: -   those who worship visible things, born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like), in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness. Therefore, all these add-ons prove that the form and attribute-based concepts are introduced by some sages of the past with a new belief system and code of conduct in the name of Vedas. 

Katha Upanishad:~ Sruti is made the final or exclusive authority in apara Vidya and that for supporting the tenet of the CAUSAL relation or creatorship of Brahman, Nirguna Brahman = the "Absolute beyond qualities," which can be defined only in a negative way. For the Sankarian school = the Ultimate Reality, higher than the Lord. i.e. of Saguna or apara Brahman ... The support of Scriptural Revelation is, therefore, absolutely necessary for this hypothesis of cosmology, this Saguna or apara (= inferior) Brahman, but not for the absolute truth of Nirguna Brahman.  The Sruti itself says: "This Atma is NOT to be attained by a study of the Vedas.  (Katha Upanishad I, 2, 23.)

If one objectifies and sees the 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’.  The Soul is the source from where the mind (universe) rises and subsides. 

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

Sage Sankara says:~ Atman is Brahman. Thus the Soul the Self is God. Therefore,    all the Gods with form and attributes are mere imaginations based on the false self.  Thus there is adulteration and add-ons in the past, which has to be bifurcated if one wants pure Vedic essence. 

Yajurveda, it clearly says what not to worship as God:~

Yajurveda says: - if one worships God: ~ 

Translation 1.

They enter darkness, those who worship natural things (for example air, water, sun, moon, animals, fire, stone, etc.).

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc.) ~ (Yajurveda 40:9)

Translation 2.

"Deep into the shade of blinding gloom fall asambhuti's worshippers. They sink to darkness deeper yet who on sambhuti are intent. ~ ("Yajurveda Samhita by Ralph T. H. Giffith pg 538)

Translation 3.

"They are enveloped in darkness, in other words, are steeped in ignorance and sunk in the greatest depths of misery who worship the uncreated, eternal prakrti -- the material cause of the world -- in place of the All-pervading God, But those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time."~(Yajur Veda 40:9.)

So, Yajur Veda indicates that: ~

They sink deeper in darkness those who worship sambhuti. (Sambhuti means created things, for example, table, chair, idol, etc ~ (Yajurveda 40:9)

Those who worship visible things born of the prakrti, such as the earth, trees, and bodies (human and the like) in place of God are enveloped in still greater darkness, in other words, they are extremely foolish, fall into an awful hell of pain and sorrow, and suffer terribly for a long time."~ (Yajur Veda 40:9.)

All  Non-Vedic knowledge, which is inferior, has to be bifurcated and excluded to realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.  

The seeker of truth has to drop all the inferior knowledge based on the attributes and go beyond Vedas to understand assimilate and realize the ultimate truth or Brahman or God in truth.  :~Santthosh Kumaar