Acharya Prashant addresses a question regarding the reconciliation of the formless God (Brahman) with the worship of various deities with forms. He begins by clarifying that these forms are not one; they are representatives of different aspects of life. He distinguishes between God (Ishwar) and Brahman, stating they are not the same. God is formless but possesses attributes; He is considered the operator, editor, and prime doer of the world. In contrast, Brahman is attribute-less, formless, part-less, and a non-doer. Brahman is the sole Truth, and before it, the world is an illusion (mithya), so there is no world for Brahman to run. The speaker explains a hierarchy of spiritual concepts. Brahman is for the most profound knowers of Truth (tattva-gyanis) who see the futility of the world. Brahman cannot be worshipped because worship requires duality, whereas Brahman is pure non-duality. For those who believe the world is real, the concept of God (Ishwar) is introduced as its creator and sustainer. For the common person who cannot grasp a formless God, there are gods and goddesses with forms (sakar devi-devta). These deities represent various physical and non-physical powers of nature. For instance, the sun is a deified physical power, while anger is a deified mental power, represented by Goddess Kali. The Trimurti—Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahesh—are the foremost among these deities. Acharya Prashant elaborates on the special position of Shiva (Mahesh) in the Trimurti. While Vishnu is the sustainer whose actions are within the stream of nature, and great men who help the world are called his avatars, Shiva is the one who can dissolve the entire system of nature. What remains after this dissolution is Brahman, which is why Shiva is considered very close to Brahman and is also called Brahman. He explains that Shiva has two forms: the worldly Shankar with a family, who is part of mythological stories, and the lone, formless Shiva, which is Brahman itself. When sages like Adi Shankara say "Shivoham" (I am Shiva), they refer to this Brahman-Shiva. He further clarifies that the purpose of idol worship and Puranic stories is symbolic. They are profound methods to help people understand nature and its qualities, with the ultimate aim of liberation. Worshipping a deity means understanding and imbibing their qualities. For example, the story of Shri Krishna showing the universe in his mouth is not a literal event but a profound lesson that each person has their own universe, and a mother sees her entire world in her child. The core of Sanatan Dharma is Vedanta, and all other paths are expressions of it. To be a true theist ('astik'), one must know Vedanta; otherwise, one is an atheist ('nastik') in the true sense, and the Puranas can become a source of superstition if taken literally.