IDOL WORSHIP

Sher Agrawal

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Re: [aryayouthgroup] sayings of various texts and great men on idolatry.

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Suresh Vyas Sat, Nov 29, 2008 at 9:53 AM
Reply-To: aryayouthgroup-owner@yahoogroups.com
To: aryayouthgroup@yahoogroups.com, aryayouthgroup-owner@yahoogroups.com
Those who made / built great temples in the vedic land were not fools.
Attaining god thru worship of god in muurtis is also a vedic process.
Mira, Chaitanya, Ramanuj, Madhva, Vallabha, Nimbarka, etc did worship god muurtis.
Sure it is not suitble for advaitis. However, it has achieved results for the dwaities and many bhaktas. So, no need to debate about the matter.

The need for all the Vedics is to unite at this time.

jai sri krishna!
Suresh Vyas


--- On Fri, 11/28/08, drvivekarya wrote:

From: drvivekarya
Subject: [aryayouthgroup] sayings of various texts and great men on idolatry.
To: aryayouthgroup@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, November 28, 2008, 7:16 AM


sayings of various texts and great men on idolatry.

Here we give a few quotations from scriptures and other writings:-

(1) Of him there is no image, whose glory is indeed great (Yajur
Veda 32/3)

(2) He is not to be grasped either from above or across or in the
middle. Of him there is no image, whose glory is indeed great
(Svetasvatara Upanishad 4/16)

(3)God is without figure, epithet, definition or description. He is
without defect, not liable to annihilation, change, pain or birth;
we can only say that he, who is the eternal being, is god. The
vulgar look for their gods in water; men of more extended knowledge
in celestial bodies; the ignorant in wood, brocks and stones but
learned -men in the universal soul (Vishnu Purana 2/14/29)

(4) He who views as the soul this body formed of phlegm, wind and
bile, or regards only wife, children and relations as himself i.e.
he who neglects to contemplate the nature of the soul, he who
attributes a divine nature to earthen images, and believes in the
holiness of water, yet pays such respect to those who are endowed
with a knowledge of god, is an ass amongst cows. (Bhagwat Purana
10/84/13)

(5)The fool looks upon clayey, stony, metallic or wooden images as
god and they never attain bliss- Mahabharata

(6) Thou dost not see god in the house, though tho art hanging a
stone in the neck-Guru Nanak

(7) The fool worships a stone; who can save him who is determined to
be drowned-Guru Nanak

(8) one man bows his head before a stone, another hangs it in his
neck, one bows towards the east and another towards the west, why
dos he worship these and why does he go to the stone; the whole
world is mad; it can not know the secret of god- Guru Nanak

(9) Whoever looks upon a stone as god, wastes his service- Kabira

(10) The image was made by putting the foot on the stone, had the
image been real, it should have devoured the maker- Kabira

(11) If stone worship can lead to the attainment of god, I am ready
to worship a mountain. A millstone is better than this idol as it
enables the world to grind corn- Kabira

(12) You drink the water after washing the stone; you worship the
stone as a living thing. You are engrossed in ignorance and you will
become a stone in the end- Dadu

(13) 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

(14) The inanimate can never give any fruit whatsoever. Therefore
nobody should ever worship an inanimate object, nor should anybody
expect good fruit from a false or improper worship. - Madhvachararya
in his commentary of Chhandogaya Upanishad 7/14

(15) Many learned Brahmins are perfectly aware of the absurdity of
idolatry, and are well informed of the nature of the purer mode of
divine worship. but as in the rites, ceremonies and festivals of
idolatry they find the source of their comforts and fortune, they
not only never fail to protect idol worship from all attacks, but
even advance and encourage it in the utmost of their power, by
keeping the knowledge of their scriptures concealed from the rest of
the people. their followers too, confiding in these leaders, feel
gratification in the idea of the divine nature residing in a being
resembling themselves in birth , shape and propensities; and are
naturally themselves in birth, shape and propensities to the senses,
though destructive of moral principles and the fruitful parent of
prejudice and superstition. – Raja Ram Mohan works p-68