The Vedas mention Lord Shiva as Bhagavan. And, there is no scriptures which has more authority than Vedas . So, there is no way one should stop praying to a Vedic deity who is described as Bhagavan in the Vedas. Similarly for other Vedic deities. Their worship is ordained in the Vedic scriptures ...
Regarding loss of Shakha we can make calculation based on the no. of present Shakha. For instance Kurma Purana Purva Bhaga Chapter 52 gives this data;
एकविंशतिभेदेन ऋग्वेदं कृतवान् पुरा ।
शाखानान्तु शतेनैव यजुर्वेदमथाकरोत् ।।
सामवेदं सहस्रेण शाखानां प्रविभेद स ।
अथर्वाणमथोवेदं विभेद कुश...
As I discuss in this question, by far the most popular school of Hindu philosophy is the Vedanta school, which bases its tenets on the doctrines laid out in the Brahma Sutras, a work by the sage Vyasa which summarizes and systematizes the philosophical teachings of the Upanishads. You can read th...
