Digest Number 265 worship of human beings

[Guest guest]

worship of human beings

Every human is an incarnation of God, right?

So can one reach enlightenment by worshipping any ordinary person as

god/goddess? Does that only work with Avatars, or certain spiritual advanced

persons like ones Guru?

Or does that also work with completely ordinary persons?

For instance Indian women in earlier times regarded their husbands as gods, and

then there is also the worship of Devi in form of virginal girls.

In Tantra and other practices, one's lover is approached as the living

incarnation of the deity. In this, the act of making love becomes a worship of

one's deity.

Also, in certain rituals - those performed by a man and a woman - the deity can

be called into the physical presence of either or both. For example, the man

assumes the identity of Siva while the woman calls upon the deity by addressing

the man in prayer. And the woman assumes the identity of Kali while the man

calls upon the Mother through the physical presence of the woman.

Obviously, this only works when two people are completely attuned to one another

and totally dedicated to their deities. When one is and the other is not, the

one who is simply honors their deity by seeing them in being of others.

I know many people worship their gurus as deities. And I've met gurus that

demanded this service. If that works for you great. Personally, I find this

practice repulsive. A teacher should be humble. One who has looked upon the

face of the Mother should be filled with Her light and love. That alone should

be enough. Why ask other Children of the Mother to give you the respect they

should reserve for Her? That does not seem very enlightened to me.

Consider worship. What is its purpose? To bring you closer to your deity, I

should think. And what is the purpose of your deity? To become your guide to

the universal truth, I believe. If a person can fulfill this purpose, then by

all means worship him or her. Personally, I'll take Kali Ma. She has no ego,

only Her beauty, love and truth.

I am aware that gurus are a cultural thing. They certainly do deserve the same

respect given to other religious leaders. The Mother, however is universal. She

is the fastest and most certain path towards the mystery of life - i.e.

enlightenment. And, should one fail to find enlightenment, just the act of

following Her path is a blissful and loving way to live. I hope you find your

truth and Kali's love.

Not humble enough to be a guru but always Kali's son...

Tom