Guest guest Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Kindly enlighten me with idol worship because as a Hindu and follower of advaita still could not understand the idea behind idol worship inspite of our belief that GOD is no form. As I am a layman and not studied Vedanta Kindly explain in simple words with examles so that I can understand Hari om Shamanna Konandur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 advaitin, "shyam" <konandurs wrote: > > Kindly enlighten me with idol worship because as a Hindu and follower > of advaita still could not understand the idea behind idol worship > inspite of our belief that GOD is no form. As I am a layman and not > studied Vedanta Kindly explain in simple words with examles so that I > can understand > Hari om > Shamanna Konandur > Namaste, Shamanna-ji Please have a look at the following: http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/1202.html entitled "Idol Worship". http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/1203.html entitled "One Truth, Many Expressions". http://www.geocities.com/profvk/WOVpage3.html on "Idol of deity in Hinduism is deity itself". http://www.geocities.com/profvk/WOVpage4.html on "Temple Worship in Hinduism" http://www.geocities.com/profvk/WOVpage10.html on "Hindu Temple is the greatest contribution of the Indian genius". and http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/4401.html entitled "The Cosmic Dance: Nataraja" http://www.geocities.com/profvk/HNG/basicsbhakti.html for a classroom lesson on Bhakti. PraNAms to all advaitins. profvk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Shree Shamanna Konandur - PraNAms. If God is everywhere, is in all forms to since any form is within the formless infiniteness only. Since mind needs an Alambanam or a locus for worship, I can invoke him in any form that I can conceptualize him knowing very well it is not the form that I am worshiping but that which lies beyond the form. It is like a child learning 'a' for apple with apple figure although we know that apple figure is not apple per sec. But that is sufficient for learning process. The symbolism of things that are subtle is familiar to all of us including those who criticize the 'idle worship'. We all salute a flag knowing well it is just a piece of cloth with some design. But when we salute it, it is not the piece of cloth that we are saluting we are saluting the nation that it represents. Hence when we chant an anthem in front of piece of cloth out attitude is different. It is the same way the idle worship too helps the mind to conceptualize that which cannot be conceptualized. But once the mind has become steady, it has to go to next step in rejecting that can be identified as 'idam' include the idle that one sees or prays. Hence Kenopanishad takes student to beyond perceptual process saying that ' nedam yadidam upAsate" - it is not this that you worship here. Hence Lord in a form is required until I am able to transcend all forms and be able to see that which cannot be seen otherwise in all forms. Hari Om! Sadananda ------- > advaitin > konandurs (AT) (DOT) co.in > Mon, 14 Aug 2006 00:30:32 +0000 > Worship of Idols > > Kindly enlighten me with idol worship because as a Hindu and follower > of advaita still could not understand the idea behind idol worship > inspite of our belief that GOD is no form. As I am a layman and not > studied Vedanta Kindly explain in simple words with examles so that I > can understand > Hari om > Shamanna Konandur > > > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 "as a Hindu and follower of advaita still could not understand the idea behind idol worship inspite of our belief that GOD is no form." Namaste Shri Konandur Sadananda-ji has given us the perfect example of the flag representing the nation. I wanted to add this perspective of how advaita in no way rejects "idol" worship. Idol worship as a term itself is a misnomer coined by the Westerners who did not quite understand the significance of this. No one - not even the most simple rustic devotee - ever worships the idol. The devotion is always to the Paramatma whom the idol is simply taken to symbolize. Every religion makes use of some symbol or another to represent Him. Now if our concept of God was some special person sitting in a specific locus such as heaven or Vaikuntha etc ONLY and governing his creation then certainly worshipping a idol may seem a trifle strange. However the concept of Ishwara in our culture has always been to recognize him as limitless - beyond time and space - and hence he is present in and through everything. Hence every blessed thing in Creation becomes an object in which we can freely and easily invoke him. One does not have to touch every wave in the Ocean to touch the ocean - touch one wave and you have touched the Ocean! Thus any aspect of nature - Sun, moon, planets, constellations, earth, mountains, rivers, the sea, animals, snakes, plants, trees, thunder, lightning, etc etc are readily available sources for us to invoke the divine. This concept is exceedingly relevant to so called idol worship. Thus when I worship a shiv ling or a murti of Balaji or Ganesha I am not worshipping the clay or the limited figure - I am visualizing or conceptualizing the Inconceivable in that form, and in that worship alone is there the recognition of my (meaning my ego-sense's) own infinite smallness, my infinitely limited capacity, and this cultivates in me the attitude of surrender, of sharanagati. He who is everywhere is certainly with no doubt in this lingam or idol and is now so benevloent as to be readily "available" and "approachable" for me! In a more "advanced" state of advaitic teaching you can look to the same idol, again as representing Ishwara, and recognize your own essential oneness with That - which the idol (or lingam) represents. Thus advaita or vedantic teaching is never ever in a contradictory status with "idol" worship, - such teaching actually enhances our own understanding and tremendous appreciation as well as humble gratitude for a culture and tradition that comes readily handed to us, where such wonderful symbols of divinity as Rama, Krishna, Durga, Kamakshi, Ganesha,etc etc are ever available as idols to "adopt" as our own Ishta-devatas. Pranams to sanatana dharma Shyam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 shyam_md <shyam_md > wrote: "as a Hindu and follower of advaita still could not understand the idea behind idol worship inspite of our belief that GOD is no form." Namaste Shri Konandur Sadananda-ji has given us the perfect example of the flag representing the nation. I wanted to add this perspective of how advaita in no way rejects "idol" worship. Idol worship as a term itself is a misnomer coined by the Westerners who did not quite understand the significance of this. Dear Shaym, Bhaghavan Ramana says that the one who decires the idol worship had better desist from worshipping the body as the idol first, the -body-I am thought, the first thought that makes one identify himself with all the othrer thoughts, and flounder under the reality of the objective world. with warm regards Sankarraman Next-gen email? Have it all with the all-new Mail Beta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 advaitin, "shyam_md" <shyam_md wrote: > > "as a Hindu and follower of advaita still could not understand the I am hereby thank sri shyam MD and sri ganeshan for clarification regarding idol worship and removed my confusion to great extent regards Hari Om shamanna Konandur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 advaitin, "V. Krishnamurthy" <profvk wrote: > > advaitin, "shyam" <konandurs@> wrote: > > > > Kindly enlighten me with idol worship because as a Hindu and > follower > > of advaita still could not understand the idea behind idol worship > > inspite of our belief that GOD is no form. As I am a layman and > not > > studied Vedanta Kindly explain in simple words with examles so > that I > > can understand > > Hari om > > Shamanna Konandur > > > Namaste, Shamanna-ji > > Please have a look at the following: > > http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/1202.html > > entitled "Idol Worship". > > http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/1203.html > > entitled "One Truth, Many Expressions". > > http://www.geocities.com/profvk/WOVpage3.html > > on "Idol of deity in Hinduism is deity itself". > > http://www.geocities.com/profvk/WOVpage4.html > > on "Temple Worship in Hinduism" > > http://www.geocities.com/profvk/WOVpage10.html > > on "Hindu Temple is the greatest contribution of the Indian genius". > > and http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/4401.html > > entitled "The Cosmic Dance: Nataraja" > > http://www.geocities.com/profvk/HNG/basicsbhakti.html > > for a classroom lesson on Bhakti. > > PraNAms to all advaitins. > profvk > dear sri Krishnamurthyji Thanks for giving list of websites and i will go through the sites and i am sure that will clear all my confusion Pranams Hari Om shamanna konandur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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