Question: Sir, my first question is that, it has been asked by a few of my friends that in the Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā, Shri Kṛṣṇa declared himself to God. Then what is the need to read other scriptures like Upaniṣads and Brahmasūtra which has come from humans, like Ṛuṣhis and all?
And second question sir, when I read Śrīmad Bhagavad Gītā or any scripture, my family oppose a lot and they say that this will not lead you anywhere and it is just a subjective thing. They say that you can just read for your knowledge, but it will not give you any solution in worldly matters. And then if I oppose it, they just say that you need to perform the ceremony and rituals only then you can please God. And like Shri Kṛṣṇa, if you decorate him and give him as a bhoga (food offering), only then he will be pleased.
So, how to deal with such kind of a mindset of some very close people like my spouse or my in-laws, with whom we live everyday? And then if we just oppose them, they just term me as I am mannerless, or I am emotionless, or I am very straightforward, or listening to you has corrupted my mind. This is ruining my life and everybody around me. So want to know how to deal with such kind of people?
Acharya Prashant (AP): First of all, there is no concept of God in Vedānta. Vedānta is existentialism; Vedānta goes into who you are. And the highest for Vedānta is not God or something, the highest is Truth. God and Truth are not the same thing. God is someone you take as the creator of this universe. When you talk of God, you talk of this universe as real; whereas in Truth, the universe dissolves. All the gods dissolve in Truth, getting it?
