Mani Varadarajan wrote: > > > Your statement displays a fundamental misconception of the > specialty and uniqueness of Hindu temple worship. The > particular icon or image _does indeed_ matter a great deal; > why then would worshippers of Tirupati Lord Venkatesvara > make herculean efforts to go worship only Him, when there > are so many copies of His image in local temples? > > Whether it is Vishnu, Siva, or any other deity, the > manifestation of that deity in a particular temple is > considered unique and indeed extremely special; the > significance of this belief cannot be understated. > For example, you will find devoted residents of Srirangam > claiming that no other idol of Vishnu is as beautiful > or graces people as lovingly as their Lord Ranganatha. > A pilgrimage to Puri to worship Lord Jagannatha is > entirely different in significance compared to worshipping > the Lord in the household shrine. > > This indeed is idol worship, because each manifestation > of the Lord in the form of a particular temple idol is > considered special and significant. > > Tell a traditional Hindu that a lump of turmeric, whether > invoked or otherwise, is the same as his Lord Venkatesvara or > Lord Nataraja and he will laugh your head off. Tell him > to offer his hair to this lump of turmeric as he would to > Lord Venkatesvara and he will think you are crazy. > > I realize now that what we are discussing is more than > mere semantics >YOU MUST REALIZE THAT TEMPLE WORSHIP IS ONLY ONE OF THE SEVERAL WAYS IN
WHICH HINDUS WORSHIP. YOU ARE MIXING UP WHAT I SAID IN REFERENCE TO
GANAPATI AND APPLY IT TO VENKATESHWARA. GANAPATI WE INVOKE IN A LUMP OF
TURMERIC IS THE SAME GANAPATI WE INVOKE IN A CLAY MURTI, IS THE SAME
GANAPATI IN A LOCAL TEMPLE OR THE GANAPATI IN A KSHETRA. SO IT IS THE
DEITY THAT WE WORSHIP AND NOT THE MURTI. THE MURTI IS DIVINE AS LONG AS
THE SANNIDHI IS THERE. AT THE TEMPLE IT IS PERMANENTLY ESTABLISHED BY THE
INVOCATION RITUALS DONE AT PRATISHTHAAPANA, AND IN PUNYAKSHETRAS THE
SANNIDHI IS ETERNAL BY THE LORDS GRACE. STILL IT IS THE SANNIDHI WE
WORSHIP. WE CAN WORSHIP THE LORD EQUALLY WELL IN A YANTRA OR A MANTRA. IT
IS EQUALLY HINDU MODE OF WORSHIP. THEREFORE IT IS NOT IDOL WRSHIP. I WILL
SAY NO MORE ON THIS TOPIC. REGARDS- NARAHARI ACHAR
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