Re: Idol worship

Posted By Narahari B. N. Achar (nachar@msuvx1.memphis.edu)
Wed, 07 May 1997 13:13:37 -0700

Mani Varadarajan wrote:
>
> "Narahari B. N. Achar" <nachar@msuvx1.memphis.edu> writes:
> > But, the Deity I worship is the same Ganesha, whether invoked in a lump
> > of turmeric at home or at the temple. Srinivasa is the same whether I
> > worship after invoking in a mUrti at home or worship the mUrti at the
> > local temple where invoking was done at the time of pratiShThApana, or I
> > worship at Tirupati, a puNyakshetra, where the Lord has blessed us with a
> > permanent residence. So, it is really the Deity we worship.
>
> I am glad that you have come around to the traditional
> viewpoint; now we are agreed -- the very images we use
> in worship are indistinguishable from the Deity Itself.
>
> Please note that what you wrote above is very different
> from your first article that started this entire discussion.
> Originally, you took the position that the temple image was
> "merely a means for concentrating on the IMMENSE." We now
> have agreed that whether it is through invocation (AvAhana)
> or direct incarnation (svayam-vyakta), the Deity is fully
> present in and as the object of our worship.
> IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY POSITION THAT IT IS THE DEITY THAT WE WORSHIP

>
> b) Once the Deity's presence is invoked, or once the
> Deity has manifested itself, the image or substance
>

IT IS THE DEITY'S PRESENCE THAT WE WORSHIP
> I fail to see how this can be called anything other than
> image or idol worship.

BECAUSE THE PARTICULAR ICON OR IMAGE DOES NOT MATTER ( eg. a lump of
turmeric, or an actual mUrti of GANESHA, it is still Ganesha that we
worship) Hence it is not idol worship.
>
> The idol is divine and we worship It. This does not mean
> that God is limited *only* to the idol, but that God chooses
> to manifest Itself as the idol to lovingly grace us.
>

I fully agree.
> I do not find this wrong, nor do I find this distasteful.
> What is distasteful is revising Hindu worship patterns out
> of a sense of inferiority and claiming that the temple image
> is a mere "means of concentration." Presumably the next step
> is to say that the temple image is a mere block of stone
> that does not deserve our worship.
> I had "dhyAna" in my mind, so perhaps 'concentration' was a poor choice.
But, I did not have "mere" in it. Those who call us "Idol worshippers" do
portray us as worshipping a mere block of stone. That's why I said we
worship the DEITY and I do not like to use that word "Idol".
Regards,-Narahari Achar
> --
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