DEITY WORSHIP IS NOT IDOL WORSHIP.
ONLY TO THE RASCALS A DEITY IS AN IDOL.
(Do not miss the Video and Audio clips included below.)
THE VIDEO SCRIPT.
(Do not miss the Video and Audio clips included below.)
THE VIDEO SCRIPT.
King: I do not believe in idol worship at all. How can you pray to statues made of stone, wood and material items?
Swami: Kindly tell me whose picture is it on the wall?
Divan: This is the picture of our king.
Swami: Divanji, can you please bring down the portrait from the wall?
The portrait is brought down from the wall.
The portrait is brought down from the wall.
The swamiji tells the divan, "Divanji, now spit on the picture."
Both the king and the divan are totally astounded.
"Go ahead, I am saying, spit on the king's picture", insists the swamiji.
The divan, greatly taken aback, replies, "Swamiji, this is an image of our king. How could I do such a hideous thing to this picture? It is extremely degrading."
Swamiji explains, "But it is just a picture on paper. It is not your king, it is not his body, blood nor soul. It is just a piece of painting. It does not walk nor talk nor behave like that of your king. Yet you are very reluctant to spit on the image of your king. Why the hesitation?"
The king is totally bewildered.
The swamiji expounds further, "You are very reluctant to do such unbecoming act of disloyalty or disrespect simply because you do not see the picture as mere paper or painting but you perceive it as an essence of your king's character in this image. And this is the reason why your conscience hesitates to spit on this picture for you feel that would be a sign of great disrespect to your king."
"Listen king, in one way you are in this picture and in another way you are not. Your workers and fellow friends give same respect to your image as they do to you in person. Similarly, the devotees revere and worship their deity in this same manner. The deity invokes in them the essence of God in their minds and hearts. The form of deity allows the individual to focus and concentrate his mind on God. Thus, they are not worshipping the stone, the wood, the metal or any material of which the diety is made of. O king, everyone intends to pray the same one God, This ONE GOD, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, par excellence - the most merciful, pure and loving without boundaries. God is always present BUT WITHIN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PERSON WHO IS DOING THE WORSHIP."
The king is highly inspired and enlightened and regrets his ignorance.
Very obediently and humbly the king repents his mistake and admits, "Swamiji, you have opened my blind eyes to the TRUTH."
The swamiji kindly reminds the divan to hang back the portrait of the king onto the wall and leaves the palace.
"Go ahead, I am saying, spit on the king's picture", insists the swamiji.
The divan, greatly taken aback, replies, "Swamiji, this is an image of our king. How could I do such a hideous thing to this picture? It is extremely degrading."
Swamiji explains, "But it is just a picture on paper. It is not your king, it is not his body, blood nor soul. It is just a piece of painting. It does not walk nor talk nor behave like that of your king. Yet you are very reluctant to spit on the image of your king. Why the hesitation?"
The king is totally bewildered.
The swamiji expounds further, "You are very reluctant to do such unbecoming act of disloyalty or disrespect simply because you do not see the picture as mere paper or painting but you perceive it as an essence of your king's character in this image. And this is the reason why your conscience hesitates to spit on this picture for you feel that would be a sign of great disrespect to your king."
"Listen king, in one way you are in this picture and in another way you are not. Your workers and fellow friends give same respect to your image as they do to you in person. Similarly, the devotees revere and worship their deity in this same manner. The deity invokes in them the essence of God in their minds and hearts. The form of deity allows the individual to focus and concentrate his mind on God. Thus, they are not worshipping the stone, the wood, the metal or any material of which the diety is made of. O king, everyone intends to pray the same one God, This ONE GOD, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, par excellence - the most merciful, pure and loving without boundaries. God is always present BUT WITHIN THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PERSON WHO IS DOING THE WORSHIP."
The king is highly inspired and enlightened and regrets his ignorance.
Very obediently and humbly the king repents his mistake and admits, "Swamiji, you have opened my blind eyes to the TRUTH."
The swamiji kindly reminds the divan to hang back the portrait of the king onto the wall and leaves the palace.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7SZgIEnh9Y - DEITY WORSHIP IS NOT IDOL WORSHIP.
http://cl.ly/0n14202J3W0x - Not for me mp3.
http://cl.ly/3M2z150I1w1b - Lord Caitanya's Moon is rising mp3
In Brahma Samhita (Chapter 5 Verses 1, 28 – 62)
Lord Brahma extols Lord Govinda
ishvarah paramah krishnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahaha
anadir adir govindaha
sarva-karana-karanam
Krsna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body.
He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.
DEITY WORSHIP AND IDOL WORSHIP.
The Vedas are thoroughly opposed to idol worship, but what you see in Hindu temples is not idol worship but rather Deity worship. It is very easy to understand how Deity worship may at first appear as idol worship to a person who is unfamiliar with the principle behind this important devotional process. After all, the form of the Deity is crafted by a man out of some kind of material elements, and that form is later worshipped in the temple with devotion.
The difference is that God authorizes the worship of Deities. For example, if you put mail into an authorized mailbox it will be delivered to the address written on the envelope. But if you drop that mail into some box other than an authorized mailbox, it will not be delivered. Similarly, if you create some form, call it God, and worship it, all according to your own mental concoction, there will be no benefit and your act will be condemned by God. If however, you create a form according to the actual description of God's form given in the revealed scriptures, and if you worship that form according to the rules and regulations given by God in the scriptures, you will achieve excellent results. The result of that worship is love for God.
Deity worship is one of the central components of bhakti yoga, or devotional service. A deity is a physical representation of the Supreme Lord in the form of a statue, a figure, or even a picture.
Many people mistake deity worship to be idol worship and that is not the case. Lord Krishna, God Himself, has authorized the process of worshiping Him in the form of a deity. Many of us hold on to and display pictures and posters of our loved ones or people that we admire. When viewing these pictures, we are immediately reminded of the person or people in them. We are reminded of the circumstances relating to the picture. We remember where we were, what we were doing, what our mindset was at the time, etc.
In a similar fashion, viewing and worshiping the deity of Krishna immediately brings our mind into Krishna consciousness. We see the Lord’s beautiful form and we pay our respects directly to Him. God can take any form He wishes to. Sometimes He incarnates through the body of a fish, a boar, a man, or even simply through the sound vibration of His name, as He does in this age. The deity is another one of the forms He agrees to take for our benefit. When Lord Krishna personally appeared on this earth five thousand years ago, He gave explicit instructions to His dear friend Uddhava just prior to His returning back to the spiritual world. Similar instructions are also found throughout the Vedic texts, and through these instructions, authorized deity worship or archanam, has been followed since time immemorial.
Lord Krishna’s deities can be worshiped in various methods depending on the advancement of the devotee. The most sophisticated form of deity worship occurs in temples. Lord Krishna is treated as the chief resident of the temple and so His deity is cared for day and night. Deities are provided beds to sleep in, awoken in the morning, dressed very elaborately, given baths (abhishek).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7SZgIEnh9Y - DEITY WORSHIP IS NOT IDOL WORSHIP.
http://cl.ly/0n14202J3W0x - Not for me mp3.
http://cl.ly/3M2z150I1w1b - Lord Caitanya's Moon is rising mp3
In Brahma Samhita (Chapter 5 Verses 1, 28 – 62)
Lord Brahma extols Lord Govinda
ishvarah paramah krishnah
sac-cid-ananda-vigrahaha
anadir adir govindaha
sarva-karana-karanam
Krsna who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body.
He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.
DEITY WORSHIP AND IDOL WORSHIP.
The Vedas are thoroughly opposed to idol worship, but what you see in Hindu temples is not idol worship but rather Deity worship. It is very easy to understand how Deity worship may at first appear as idol worship to a person who is unfamiliar with the principle behind this important devotional process. After all, the form of the Deity is crafted by a man out of some kind of material elements, and that form is later worshipped in the temple with devotion.
The difference is that God authorizes the worship of Deities. For example, if you put mail into an authorized mailbox it will be delivered to the address written on the envelope. But if you drop that mail into some box other than an authorized mailbox, it will not be delivered. Similarly, if you create some form, call it God, and worship it, all according to your own mental concoction, there will be no benefit and your act will be condemned by God. If however, you create a form according to the actual description of God's form given in the revealed scriptures, and if you worship that form according to the rules and regulations given by God in the scriptures, you will achieve excellent results. The result of that worship is love for God.
Deity worship is one of the central components of bhakti yoga, or devotional service. A deity is a physical representation of the Supreme Lord in the form of a statue, a figure, or even a picture.
Many people mistake deity worship to be idol worship and that is not the case. Lord Krishna, God Himself, has authorized the process of worshiping Him in the form of a deity. Many of us hold on to and display pictures and posters of our loved ones or people that we admire. When viewing these pictures, we are immediately reminded of the person or people in them. We are reminded of the circumstances relating to the picture. We remember where we were, what we were doing, what our mindset was at the time, etc.
In a similar fashion, viewing and worshiping the deity of Krishna immediately brings our mind into Krishna consciousness. We see the Lord’s beautiful form and we pay our respects directly to Him. God can take any form He wishes to. Sometimes He incarnates through the body of a fish, a boar, a man, or even simply through the sound vibration of His name, as He does in this age. The deity is another one of the forms He agrees to take for our benefit. When Lord Krishna personally appeared on this earth five thousand years ago, He gave explicit instructions to His dear friend Uddhava just prior to His returning back to the spiritual world. Similar instructions are also found throughout the Vedic texts, and through these instructions, authorized deity worship or archanam, has been followed since time immemorial.
Lord Krishna’s deities can be worshiped in various methods depending on the advancement of the devotee. The most sophisticated form of deity worship occurs in temples. Lord Krishna is treated as the chief resident of the temple and so His deity is cared for day and night. Deities are provided beds to sleep in, awoken in the morning, dressed very elaborately, given baths (abhishek).
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