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Man is free to do whatever act he likes, but he is dependent on the Law of Karma in reaping its fruits. If this uninversal principle is accepted then evidently it behoves man to follow the path which is beneficial for him. Soul comes into human incarnation as a result of preponderance of his virtuos deeds. Accordingly we should become a pilgrim on the path of self illumination by trying to rekindle the extinguished light of the soul by means of pure knowledge, pure deeds and pure worship.
Tamasoma sad gamaya tamasoma jyothirgamaya|
Mrithyorma amrithamgamaya||
May we give up falsehood and observe truth. May we emerge out of darkness and see light: May we cross death and attain God.
Dharma has been defined as under:-
Yatho abyudayanishreyas siddih sa dharmah||
Dharma comprises those acts the performance of which conduces to the welfare of man in this life as well as in the life hereafter. Accordingly in order to make human incarnation meaningful man should know thoroughly the principles of Dharma and forthwith give up all those fallacious beliefs and ceremonies which have been propped up in the name of Dharma. What should we say about the blind curtains which are prevalent in this country about worship of God. The real worship of God has given place to the worship of Idols of imaginary gods and goddesses. Not only that worship of graves, cremation grounds and priest crafts are on the increase. This is because we have accepted the previous tradition of Idol worship as a part of Dharma.
It is a matter of great regret that the community whose forefathers never bowed their heads before any one except the True-conscious and All –Bliss God, is now dissipating the spiritual force by indulging in the worship of inanimate things.
The verse of Yajurveda is :-
Andatamah pravishyanthi ye sambuthimupasyathe|
Those who worship unmanifested prakrithi in place of God fall into darkness, but those who worship the manifested prakrithi such as earth, trees, stones, and other inanimate objects fall into still deeper abyss and suffer heavily. Man can attain complete happiness by uplifting his soul by the triple means of renunciation, practice, and pure worship.
Vedas, Upanishads and Gita have mentioned the attainment of God. God is Truth, Conscious and All-Bliss. Soul has two attributes namely, it is deathless, and conscious. Prakrithi has one attribute only and that is it is deathless. It is devoid of Consciousness, and bliss. If therefore the soul wants bliss and wants to free itself from pain and misery then it should worship God, the great fountain head of bliss. By worship inanimate idols, devoid of Consciousness, and Knowledge, the Soul debases itself and reaches the state of inanimation.
Views of Shankaracharya about Idol worship.
What meaning is there in calling one that is all pervading, or offering seat to one that is the support of all? What sense is there in offering water for washing feet, hands or mouth to him who is pure? What sense is there in offering scents or flower to one that needs no smelling? What sense is there in offering dress or ornaments to him who has no body? What is the need of offering food to one that is ever satiated or betel leaf to one that is everywhere? How can you bid farewell to one that is within all and without all! Why offer incense to one that is formless, or lamp to one that sees all? To him who is ever satisfied with his own nature there is no need of librations. a betel leaf is useless for one that is full of all bliss. No lamps are necessary for one that is the illuminator of the sun etc. it is impossible to perambulate one that is infinite, or to weigh one that has nobody. it is impossible to send sway him who is within all and without all- quoted from the works of Sri Shankaracharya vol. 18 vani vilas press, Shri Rangam p-107-108
This is the futility of Idol worship which the Acharya Shanker realised. But it is matter of deep regret that the disciples of Shankar are installing idols everywhere in order to amass the wealth. I can say with all the strength at my command that Shankar was a staunch opponent of Idol worship which is a dark abyss. But we have to hang down our heads with shame when we see that his disciples, now occupying his seat whose prime duty is to present the true aspect of Dharma., are found supporting and practicing fallacious idol worship.
Swami Shankaracharya taunts the Idol worshippers in the following words........
Pashanairalayam badhh va devaah pashanaraivacha|
O Pandit! You have installed a stone idol in a temple made of stone. Both are made of stone: tell us who is your deity?
The Idol worshippers should answer the argument put forward by Shankaracharya. What farce is being created all over India by creating stone gods spending hundreds of rupees? They are not deities but stones pure and simple. They are inanimate and devoid all knowledge and consciousness.
Some people contend that idol is the first step in the concentration of mind. Swami Dayanand says in “ Satyarth Prakash” that Idol worship is not a ladder step but is abyss which deprives the soul of its true knowledge, pure action, and pure worship.
Dhyna nirvishyam manah|
This is an axiom of Sankya Darshan. Dhyan is the state of mind in which it is devoid of all thoughts and fluctuations. Seeing, hearing,smelling,tasting, and touching are the fives senses. When the mind keeps away from these senses, it is a state of Dhyan. Seeing idol with eyes does not constitute Dhayan. When the soul is disconnected itself from outside world of action of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching and engrosses itself in the meditation of God who is truth-consciousness bliss, and All pervading, it is in the state of Dhyan. God is all bliss: the soul which is eternal and conscious, can enjoy bliss when it comes into contact with Him. Idol is inanimate. That is why the Muslim invaders could break and destroy the idols of Somanath and Vishwanath of Kashi.
If these idols possessed any power they would not have been destroyed. This fact has to be pondered over that the idols cannot protect themselves and that is why the pujari has tolock them up at night. If the purjari leaves the idol to its fate without locking the temple, the thieves would coolly deprive the idols of all their clothes and ornaments for their benefit.
Origin of Idol Worship.
Idol worship started with Jains. The vam margis adopted it from them. Mahatma Gandhi would not have tolerated if people erected his idols during his life time. But after his death his idols have been created and a Samadhi built over which floweres are offered. When dignitaries visit Pakistan they offer flower at the graveyard of Md Ali Jinnah. Idol worship among Hindus is the outcome blind religious faith. Similarly amongst politicians the outward show of respect is the outcome of shrewd political diplomacy. Do our leaders have any respect to Jinnah? If not why this farce?
According to Bhagvat puran[verse13] a person, who considers idols, made of earth and further worships rivers is a fool of an ass who carries fodder to the cows.
The first step in the ladder of worship is Yam and Niyam which are each five in numer.
Ahimsa sathya, Asteya brahmacharya aparigrah yamaah|
Shoucha, santhosha tapah svadhyaya eshwar pranidhanani niyamah||
Ahimsa[ Non-violence] Truth, Non-stealing, celibacy, and non-accumulation of wealth, are yamas. Purity, contentment, austerity, study of Scriptures, and worship of God are the Niyams. By observing these, the Soul gets purified and glimpse of God can be had in the soul engaged in pure action. Those who are desirous of having a glimpse of God with physical eyes should bear in mind that these eyes can see only the physical objects of nature[ Prakrthi] and God is beyond Prakrithi. Accordingly, one can realise or see God only by remaining away from the material objects and engaging himself in the Yamas, Niyamas, Asans, Pranayam, Dharna, Dhyan, in a secluded place.
Geetha says,
That is water bodies are not tirthas, nor Idols made of earth or stone are gods.
Sometimes back an article was published in Hindustan in which protoganists of Idol worship had contended that as all pervading god is present in the Idol, therefore Idol worship is in order.
The answer to this argument is simple. As God is present everywhere in His Creation, such as flowers, trees, rivers, mountain, seas etc, His presesence should be felt and realised by the soul in everything. To put is succinctly, there is no necesscity whatsoever of man made idols and their worship. Moreover it should be remembered clearly that God is present in the Idol, but the soul of the worshipper is not present in the idol, and it is present only in the body of the worshipper. Remember that a subtle entity[Soul] only can comprehend the greatest subtle entity[God]: a man [physical entity] cannot comprehend a subtle God.
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Friends, you can have His glimse only where He is and where your Soul is. And that place is your mind in which soul dwells and God pervades your soul there. It follows that God can be seen or realised in the soul only and not anywhere else. Although, in full moon light the light of the moon pervades all over the earth but the image of the moon cannot be seen on the earth. Of course, it can be seen in a reservoir of pure still water which is not covered by moss. Similarly, glimpses of God can be had only in the soul enshrined in the mind, when it becomes pure and untouched by sins. His glimse cannot be had in an idol.
Accordingly, only Sat-chit-Anand God is worthy of adoration and worship and not man made idols of stone or clay.
Some people say that it is faith only which counts in such matters. If one has a sincere faith that God is being worshipped thru the medium of inanimate idol he will get the same fruit. This argument is fallacious for the reason that clay will not become sweet by believing that it is sugar. Similarly , the value of iron will not increase by the belied that it is gold.
Sri Krishna says in Gita,
Nasatho vidyathe bhavo na bhavo vidyathe satah|
Faith does not convert a non-existant thing into existent, nor existent thing into a non-existant. Thus the argument of faith is totally misleading. Soul is Sat, and Chit: But it lacks Anand.[bliss]. It can enjoy Bliss only by coming close to God who is Sat Chit Anand by doing good deeds and by pure worship.
Views of great men about Idol worship.
1. Vedas do not sanction idol worship. [Swami Dayanand]
2. Many learned Brahmans are very well aware acquainted with the futility of idol worship, but still they are supporting it. Because all acts and festivals connected with the Idol worship yield wealth and provide them ample facilites: the worshipers and devotees blindly place faith in it [ Raja ram mohn roy]
3. Money has been wasted in the construction of temples. The ignorant and simple village folks have been shown the wrong path. I have been tolerating the practice of keeping photos uptil now. But on account of that I cannot encourage Idol worship in direct or indirect form
Ram whom I adore is neither the son of Dasharat, nor husband of Sita nor this idol of Ram.
4. It is interesting thought that image worship came into India from Greece. The Vedic religion was opposed to all forms of Idol or image worship. There were not even any temples of Gods
5.. Idol worship started in India after the death of Gautam Buddah
6.The introduction of idols into India was the result of Buddha’s constant wrangling against a personal God. The Vedas knew them not, but the reaction against the loss of God as Creator, and friend led to making idols of the great teachers and Buddha himself became an idol and is worshipped as such by millons of people.
7. It is one of tragic confusions of religious history that as a faith codifies, the vehicles by means of which man communes with the Divine themselves supplant the Divine and became in themselves prime deities. They, then became more important than the mystery or Miracle of Existence....... It is further tragedy that in all religious founded by prophets and great seers devoted to the Miracle of Being, the prophets and great seers themselves and despite themselves, even in their own life time became the object of worship, supplanting the higher truth in which they believed
Necesscity or utility of prayers and worship
Even staunch believers of God sometimes begin to doubt the necesscity or utility of prayers and worship. They cannot find satisfactory answer to the argument that the Law of Karma is all in all and every one has to reap the fruits of his good and bad acts and as such there is no necesscity of prayers and worship. There is no doubt whatsoever that by throwing ourselves upto the mercy of High God” done deeds shall not be as if not done and not done become as if they are done” But it should be remembered that in the midst of sorrow and grief it is prayer alone which gives consolation and satisfaction which cannot be found from anywhere else. In a state of anguish we have no where else to go but to God in prayer. According to Dr Carrel “ its effect is nearly positive. Everything happens as if God listens to us and gives us a direct answer. Unexpected events occur, mental balance is re-established, our sense of isolation and impotence and the uselessness of our efforts disappear. It gives us strength to bear the cares and anxieties to hope when thre is no logical motive for hope and to remain steadfast in the midst of catasrophies”
God is All-Bliss. We lack Bliss. We can get it by approaching Him. We go to hill stations in summer to enjoy cool breeze. We bask in the Sun or be close to fire to warm ourselves in winter. Similarly we approach the fountain of bliss to get the bliss from Him. Pleasures are enjoyed by the body organs, happiness is enjoyed by the mind but it is the soul alone that could enjoy bliss and could be got only from God who pervades the soul which is seated in the cavity of mind. This is the raison-de-etre of worship of God.
Written By:Late Ananda Bodh Saraswathi
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