Vedic worshippers did not use temples and idols as Hindus of today do.+

Vedic worshippers did not use temples and idols as Hindus of today do. For them, the sacrificial rituals were more important than the temple or idol worship the major Hindu feasts of today are based on the epic feats of Rama and Krishna and the Puranic lore pertaining to Shiva and the Goddess.

The Vedas do not talk about idol worship. In fact, till about 2000 years ago followers of Vedism never worshiped idols. Idol worship was started by the followers of Buddhism and Jains.

There is logic to idol worship. Vedas speak of one God that is the supreme Self, i.e., Atman or Soul, but Hinduism indulges in worshiping 60 million Gods.

Hindus are idol worshipers of a large number of Gods and Goddesses, whereas in Vedas, the God has been described as:~

Yajurveda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme Spirit.

Vedas and Upanishad confirm that God is the Soul, the  Self, The Soul, the Self is present in the form of the Spirit or consciousness.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman (Soul or Spirit) is the cause; the 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)

That is why Swami Vivekananda:~ The masses in India cry to sixty million gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods?

Knowing this, stand up and fight! Not one step back, that is the idea... Fight it out, whatever comes. Let the stars move from the sphere! Let the whole world stand against us! Death means only a change of garment. What of it? Thus, fight! You gain nothing by becoming cowards. ... Taking a step backward, you do not avoid any misfortune. You have cried to all the gods in the world. Has misery ceased? The masses in India cry to sixty million gods and still die like dogs. Where are these gods? ... The gods come to help you when you have succeeded. So what is the use? Die game. This bending the knee to superstitions, this selling yourself to your own mind does not befit you, my soul. You are infinite, deathless, and birthless. Because you are the infinite Spirit, it does not befit you to be a slave. Arise! Awake! Stand up and fight! Die if you must. There is none to help you. You are the entire world. Who can help you? ~ Swami Vivekananda (Delivered In San Francisco, on May 28, 1900) -The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Lectures And Discourses/The Gita II

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad:~ "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)

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 (Gita 14.27)

If God is a nondual Spirit, then how does man know God created the world? There is no proof. If man had seen God creating the world, he could admit it, but how could he have seen God before he came into existence? (i.e., were created).

The Spirit is the root element of the universe. The Spirit is present in the form of the Soul, the innermost Self. The Soul is present in the form of consciousness. From the Spirit, the universe comes into existence. In the Spirit, the universe resides. And into the Spirit, the universe is dissolved. The Spirit is the parent of all that is there is.

As indicated in ISH Upanishads:~ By worshipping gods and goddesses, you will go after death to the world of gods and goddesses. But will that help you? The time you spent there is wasted because if you were not there, you could have spent that time moving forward towards Self-knowledge, which is your goal. In the world of gods and goddesses, you cannot do that, and thus you go deeper and deeper into the darkness.

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

Thus, the goal is to realize Atman (consciousness). If the Atman (consciousness) is nothing but Brahman and by realizing Atman (consciousness) as Brahman (ultimate truth) is truth realization or Self-Realization, then there is no need to follow a religion, study scriptures or glorifying gods or gurus and follow the path of doubts and confusion by losing oneself in the labyrinths of philosophy, when there is an easier path.

By mentally tracing the source of the mind from where it rises and subsides, one becomes aware of the fallacy of the mind, which rises as waking or dream and subsides as deep sleep. The mind arises from consciousness and subsides as consciousness.

It clearly indicates that:- If the human goal is to acquire Self-Knowledge, then why one has to indulge in rituals and glorifying the conceptual Gods, Goddesses, and Gurus 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 the Vedic religion, through the various yogas, is to realize that consciousness (Atman) is actually nothing but Brahman. : ~ Santthosh Kumaar