Guest guest Posted September 5, 2005 Report Share Posted September 5, 2005 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 ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 6, 2005 Report Share Posted September 6, 2005 >>So, they have become meaningless formalism and mechanical routine. it is, however, necessary to remember that the idol is not God, but represents God.<< Controversial! If we were to ask His Holiness Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa he would perhaps 'laugh' and say "No Mother is sakshath in the idol itself!" In fact there is a conversation between Naren and the Master in the Gospel which makes this very clear. Hari Aum --- devishakti_india <devishaktiindia wrote: > Swami Chinmayananda quotes > > 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 ) > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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