 |
||
|
||
| Advertise with us! |
|
|
With all due respect to the learned author of the
book you cited, his generalization is a far crueler
and destructive one than anything I have ever written.
Scrawling a subjective conception of God upon a wall
does not even begin to approach the unique sanctity
and holiness of a sAlagrAma, svayam-vyakta-lingam,
or a svayam-vyakta-mUrti of the Lord. Srimukhams
of Kanchi Kamakoti Pithadhipatis do not matter --
the swamis regularly bless any religious endeavor,
largely without checking the accuracy of the material
contained within.
Please turn to any reliable authority on Agama-SAstra
and ask them the appropriate questions. You will then
receive the appropriate answer, which will more or
less tally with my observations. Please also go to
any average temple in India where worshippers
pray, unadulterated by the modern shame with which
most English-speaking, alienated Hindus approach idol
worship. Ask these traditional practicants of the
Hindu faith think the image itself is the very manifestation
of the Deity and they will no doubt concur.
Mani
P.S. There have been several authentic presentations
of the traditional Hindu attitude toward image worship.
The most recent is a paper entitled "Idols and Incarnations",
by N.A. Nayar, and which appeared in the Journal of Vaishnava
Studies. Another is "Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India",
by D. Eck. One could also see the excellent movie, "The Wedding
of the Goddess", a documentary covering the celebration of
the wedding of goddess Meenakshi (Parvati) to Sundaresa (Siva)
at the magnificent temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
A very good informal work covering the bhakti movement
and the philosophy of image worship is contained in a
published lecture by the late S.S. Raghavachar, professor
of Philosophy at Mysore University and a respected authority
on Vedanta and Indian religion. This small pamphlet is
published by the Ramakrishna Mission.
|
||
|
||
| Advertise with us! |
|
|