Temple and Idol Worship

[Guest guest]

TEMPLE WORSHIP:

God is all pervading but why do we have to worship at temples?

You know that the essence in the cow is in her milk and it pervades her

entire vital body. Yet, if I want to milk the cow, though milk is all

pervading, I cannot get it by squeezing her horns or tail. We must go

to the udder. In a democracy, the government of a country is present at

every pint within the frontiers of that nation. Yet when I want to

invoke the government for permit or for help, I must reach the capital

city, approach the right departmental head, and invoke government's

protection or patronage. Though the Lord is all pervading, to invoke

Him we need an altar. Think!

IDOL WORSHIP:

when your dear son is away from home, and you cannot see him

whenever you want, do you or do you not get solace by looking at his

photograph? You do know that the photo is not your son, but only a

piece of paper with various tones of gray, but it reminds you of your

beloved boy and his great love for you. So, also the idols in temples

are to remind the devotees of the ideal, the Supreme. Since the human

mind cannot conceive of a formless Supreme, God is conceived of in the

form as represented by an idol. Through a symbol or idol, we come to

adore and be aware of the ideal. Whether the symbol on the flag is

Sickle and Hammer, the Wheel, or Stars and Stripes it does not matter.

They represent the ideals of each country stands for, and thus can

invoke certain feelings and consciousness in those who salute them. The

piece of cloth is not my country. The idol is not the ideal. The

wedding ring is not my wife. All these help to remind me of the noble

ideals, which they symbolize. To the earnest devotee, the idol appears

as a living embodiment of his Lord, and he goes into ecstasy of its

sight. But alas! We usually forget the ideals and hug on to the idols.

This has happened in religion, in its temples, rituals, and ceremonies.

Most of us have not been educated in the ideals behind all these

apparently meaningless paraphernalia. So, they have become meaningless

formalism and mechanical routine. it is, however, necessary to remember

that the idol is not God, but represents God.

-- devishakti_india( divyabhakti )(

http://spiritualhinduism.blogspot.com

)

[Guest guest]

Namaste

 

Please see the following on Idol Worship

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/1202.html

 

PraNAms to all

profvk

 

 

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

 

Ongoing new series of pages on my website: 'Bhagavatam and Advaita Bhakti'

starting with

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/VK2/Bhagavatam_Introduction.html

[Guest guest]

Thank you Devishakti for quoting Swamiji's explanation on Temple and Idol

worship. It brought about a clear cut notion on the philosophy behind

idol/temple worship.

I would kindly look forward to receiving other spiritual leaders views on idol

and temple worship as well.

Thank you again,

 

Devandevishakti_india <devishaktiindia > wrote:

Swami Chinmayananda quotesTEMPLE WORSHIP: God is all pervading but why do we

have to worship at temples? You know that the essence in the cow is in her milk

and it pervades her entire vital body. Yet, if I want to milk the cow, though

milk is all pervading, I cannot get it by squeezing her horns or tail. We must

go to the udder. In a democracy, the government of a country is present at

every pint within the frontiers of that nation. Yet when I want to invoke the

government for permit or for help, I must reach the capital city, approach the

right departmental head, and invoke government's protection or patronage.

Though the Lord is all pervading, to invoke Him we need an altar. Think! IDOL

WORSHIP: when your dear son is away from home, and you cannot see him

whenever you want, do you or do you not get solace by looking at his photograph?

You do know that the photo is not your son, but only a piece of paper with

various tones of gray, but it reminds you of your beloved boy and his great

love for you. So, also the idols in temples are to remind the devotees of the

ideal, the Supreme. Since the human mind cannot conceive of a formless Supreme,

God is conceived of in the form as represented by an idol. Through a symbol or

idol, we come to adore and be aware of the ideal. Whether the symbol on the

flag is Sickle and Hammer, the Wheel, or Stars and Stripes it does not matter.

They represent the ideals of each country stands for, and thus can invoke

certain feelings and consciousness in those who salute them. The piece of cloth

is not my country. The idol is not the ideal. The wedding ring is not my wife.

All these help to remind me of the noble ideals, which they symbolize. To the

earnest devotee, the idol appears as a living embodiment of

his Lord, and he goes into ecstasy of its sight. But alas! We usually forget the

ideals and hug on to the idols. This has happened in religion, in its temples,

rituals, and ceremonies. Most of us have not been educated in the ideals behind

all these apparently meaningless paraphernalia. So, they have become meaningless

formalism and mechanical routine. it is, however, necessary to remember that the

idol is not God, but represents God. -- devishakti_india(

divyabhakti )(

http://spiritualhinduism.blogspot.com )

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