Hinduism and Idol Worship and Advaita

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Hinduism and Idol Worship and Advaita

 

Hinduism, like the Banyan tree contain many branches

and each branch appear as a separate standalone tree.

Hinduism with thousands of years of history and growth

has branched out into Vaishnavam, Advaitam, Shivam,

Sakthism, Jainism, Buddhism, etc. Each branch of

Hinduism in appearance displays separate identity. In

reality, Hinduism is a single unified complex entity

with diversified beliefs, traditions and customs.

Hinduism strongly emphasizes swadharma (Values based

on individual beliefs) and is often identified with

the name "SanAtana Dharma" to signify that it is

ancient and eternal. SanAtana Dharma is the solemn

pledge to lead a harmonious life without disturbing

peace in the nature! It requires Hindus to respect

and sustain their environment and consider it as a

part of their own soul. Shankara's Advaita Vedanta is

integrated within the scope of Hinduism to protect and

preserve "SanAtana Dharma."

 

The emergence of Sankara and the evolution of Advaita

Philosophy is to restate and reform Hindu traditions

and its culture using scientific terminology. The

religion of Shankara is Advaitam which is a hybrid

version of Hinduism where rituals became less

important. Temples served as religious symbols and

Advaitans do go to all temples and participate in

worships and prayers. Idol worship is a complex issue

and it is quite important for us to understand the

role of deity worship and its relevance to Advaitam.

Advaitam is a hybrid version of Hinduism and Advaitins

go to temples to help focus their mind. Those who

come from western countries with little or no exposure

to Hindu Culture and Traditions may find difficult to

understand relevance of Idol worship. To a greater

extent, Hindus did not pay greater attention in

communicating the symbolism behind Idol worship to

Western audience. It is also true that the symbolism

behind Idol worship was not communicated to the Hindu

children of recent generation. Hindu religion and

deity worship has great significance but because of

poor public relations with the western society, we

fail to communicate its role in Hindu way of life. We

should have invested more resources on Public

Relations to educate, motivate and change the opinion

of people who do not seem to appreciate our way of

life. Good public relations can effectively cause

those people to agree with Hindu way of life, its

culture and traditions.

 

The existence and practice of different religions

demonstrate that no single religious perspective is

absolute and complete. The Hindu philosophy and logic

provide unassailable strength to the concept of the

fundamental unity in the worship of a multitude of

gods. Hinduism is highly individualistic and Hindus

love the freedom to worship their personal choice of

an icon to visualize the abstract Brahman. That

explains the rapid growth of temples, gods, and

rituals across India and beyond. Even illiterate

villagers are proud and enthusiastic to elaborate on

stories about their temple gods and their

significance. Every temple located whether in a

village or a town is endowed with a Sthalpurana (story

specifically related to the temple deity). Such

stories invariably are more adventurous and heroic

than "Superman" episodes, but with a divine touch.

Every temple celebrates an annual festival to honor

the temple deity - the eternal hero or heroine of the

town. The temple epitomizes God in a spiritual form

and the various parts of His body symbolizes

philosophical concepts. It serves as the symbolic link

between Human and God, between Material and Spiritual

and between Obvious and Ideal. Names of the

miscellaneous segments of the temple designate

different organs of the human body (garbhagraha

(Sanctum Sanatorium) represents the human heart).

 

The symbolism in Hinduism is analogous to the modern

communication methods adopted by the computer

industry. They both adjust to the diverse tastes and

needs of the world. Only a small segment of the

general public looks for sophistication and special

features. A majority of common demands simple

illustrations and practical examples rather than

lengthy logic! The computer industry employs creative

graphic displays of "icons" to satisfy the general

public. Hindu symbolism seems to imply that it does

not believe in a one-size-fits-all theory! Artistic

temples with idols, heroic stories, and colorful

rituals demonstrate this fact. Educated Hindus may

grasp a lot more from such symbolism, and unravel

philosophical and spiritual truths of Vedanta.

Puranic stories create role models by dramatization of

legendary events to preserve social ethics (Dharma).

An ideal spouse, parent, offspring, or teacher is

orchestrated to help the society to conduct its daily

duties (nithya karma).

 

Hinduism has perfected the art of symbolism as a

powerful media to teach complex philosophical ideas to

the common man. The communication of values using the

Puranic stories in Hinduism, resemble the case study

procedures in business management institutions. The

purpose of my reference to "icon" in this article is

to communicate effectively to those who are eager to

understand the symbolism in Hindu worship. Hindus may

consider Nataraja in a museum as an art piece but at

Chidambaram Temple in Tamilnad, the sculpture becomes

holy and sacred. Hindus invoke their choice of God in

their heart and visit the temple to pray and worship

what they have invoked! Heart is the residence for God

and which happens to be the origin for love, kindness,

compassion and courage! The physical heart is finite

where as the subtle HEART is infinite!

 

What is the incentive for those who do not appreciate

Hinduism to go through the volumes of Vedas and

Puranas to grasp the Truth? Credibility and Goodwill

are other two factors which can influence favorable

public opinion. First, the person who represents and

communicates need credibility and should create

reputation for trustworthiness and expertise. Such

integrity is necessary to change negative opinion

Hindu religious customs and beliefs. The response to

our viewpoint will be determined largely by whether we

are liked, respected, and trusted. Good parents

follow the goodwill approach to raise their kids. It

is a time-consuming process but it yields higher

dividends. Goodwill when created, will sustain the

reputation for longer time duration! If we show

kindness and respect to other viewpoints, they are

more likely to listen and respect our viewpoints.

Religious disputes and doctrinal conflicts are always

motivated by egoism and fanaticism.

 

Several members have raised an interesting question,

"Is an Advaitin a Hindu?" To them, I want to ask

another question, "Which Hindu are you referring to?"

Let me explain what I mean. When someone says that

he/she is a Christian, we have some general assessment

of his/her beliefs. At the same time if someone says

that I am a Hindu, we need more questions to probe

before we can understand his/her religion. No Hindu

that I know believe and observe all customs and

traditions of Hinduism. Hindus are quite

individualistic in their selection and choice of

worship and their method of worships and their

observation of traditions and customs. In other words,

it is very difficult to define who is a Hindu and who

is not a Hindu. Recently, a book with the title, "Am

I a Hindu" written by the author, Sri. Viswanathan

explains Hinduism beautifully in conversational style.

This book is a best seller and is sold in Borders,

Barnes & Noble and also in the Internet through

Amazon.com. I highly recommend this book to Dennis,

Miguel and others to give a try to understand what

Hinduism stands for.

 

Finally, as a moderator of this list, the list doesn't

specify that one needs to be a Hindu in order to be an

Advaitin. Two of my fellow moderators and friends Sri

Frank and Sri Greg have western background. I

consider their views and postings are equally

important to understand the broader scope of Advaita

Philosophy. I do believe that Advaita Philosophy can

be understood with varied backgrounds and framework

and everyone should be welcome and express their

opinions as long as they obey the scope and guidelines

of the list. The scope of the list is broad enough to

permit members to participate in meaningful

discussions in a friendly atmosphere. The sages of

the Upanishads have the same spirit of sharing and

bearing and this in fact the true spirit of Hinduism

that what I understood. The purpose of this forum is

to clarify our doubts and clear our ignorance. Our

major emphasis should be to conduct the discussions

with the spirit of friendship and cooperation and keep

an open mind on opposite view points. Sri Gummuluru's

recent analogy that we are all just REFLECTIONS of the

Total Consciousness is a very good one. What we

really need is to discipline our mind to accept and

enjoy the diversity of expressions. Aren't they the

same as the fireworks display, the paintings on the

walls of a museum, and the flowers inside a botanical

garden and the waves of the Ocean!

 

Let us just do it!

 

Ram Chandran

 

References:

1. "Symbolisms in Hinduism," Compiled by R.S. Nathan,

Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Mumbai, India, 1983.

 

2. "The Gazetteer of India, Volume 1: Country and

people." CHAPTER Vlll: Religion by Dr. C.P.Ramaswami

Aiyar, Dr.Nalinaksha Dutt, Prof. A.R.Wadia,

Prof.M.Mujeeb, Dr.Dharm Pal and Fr. Jerome D'Souza.

Delhi, Publications Division, Government of India,

1965.

3. Swami Harshananda "All About Hindu Temples." Book,

Sri.Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Madras, 1991.

4. A Parthasarathy, "The Symbolism of Hindu Gods and

Rituals." Book, Shailesh Printers, Bombay, 1983.