Murthi/Idol Worship

[satay]

"There is no reference to worship of idols in the Vedas. The Puranas and the Agamas give descriptions of idol-worship both in the houses and in the temples.

Idol-worship is not peculiar to Hinduism. Christians worship the Cross. They have the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans keep the image of the Kaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The people of the whole world, save a few Yogis and Vedantins, are all worshippers of idols. They keep some image or the other in the mind.

The mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one of kind, but only one of degree. All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in the mind and make the mind dwell on that image.
"


Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

[satay]

In fact, I would say that you can not not do "idol" worship.

Even if you are trying to not put a cross on the wall or on in your church, still you are worshipping the idol. Mere fact that going to church or masjid makes you feel a bit more spiritual means that that church or the building itself is an idol for you!

Christians always counter with "well, we don't bathe our crosses or put flowers on it"...

Well, why not! You should!! It feels good to do so...don't miss out of that opportunity...

satay

[Namo Narayana]

In fact, I would say that you can not not do "idol" worship.

Even if you are trying to not put a cross on the wall or on in your church, still you are worshipping the idol. Mere fact that going to church or masjid makes you feel a bit more spiritual means that that church or the building itself is an idol for you!

Christians always counter with "well, we don't bathe our crosses or put flowers on it"...

Well, why not! You should!! It feels good to do so...don't miss out of that opportunity...

satay

Satay, very nicely pointed out. i think christianity or islam is wasting time by saying idol worship is wrong. they are creating unnecessary diversion to their spirituality (if such a thing exists ). hindu way of philosophy doesnt worry about these kind of unnecessary egoistic statements. basically these religions deposit ego in the mind of their followers. hindus are more tolerant because hinduism doesnt install ego in the mind. i am not saying 100% atleast a great majority.

Idol is a symbol of hope and love, inspiration. If you are born a human, you are susceptible to create an idol or icon . it only makes your life easier.

you can instantly bring your confidence and cheer by looking at the site of your icon or favorite deity. you might see a budding sportsperson getting inspiration looking at picture of a legend in the sport. you can keep on writing about this.

i think indians should barely give thought to what other religionists talk about hinduism. But i am not saying that we should tolerate the depictions of california text book society kinda issues. there are lot of people who try to trounce hinduism use caste , idol worship, poly theism as main criteria to irritate a hindu. but these people fail to understand the psychological aspects of hinduism.

Hinduism is not a mere teachings as other religions are. It is a universe. it is a complete package for people of all walks of life and level of thinking and age included. Hinduism has science built in it. it is devised on science and psychology and anthropology or any LOGY you may want to include, analogy barring.

Hindus should not be worried about polytheism or caste or any other BS dished upon them. Today in america the christians call themselves in atleast 10+ denominations. A follower of particular denomination scorns at the other. I have witnessed it. It was very funny. Person A says he worships the holy spirit. The other says he worships the Jesus. Oh what not. it only makes me feel christianity is just evolving and finally come a full circle to prove earth is round and will find itself redundant and all its transformation has been already told upon in Hinduism.

[Ram]

"There is no reference to worship of idols in the Vedas. The Puranas and the Agamas give descriptions of idol-worship both in the houses and in the temples.

Idol-worship is not peculiar to Hinduism. Christians worship the Cross. They have the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans keep the image of the Kaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The people of the whole world, save a few Yogis and Vedantins, are all worshippers of idols. They keep some image or the other in the mind.

The mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one of kind, but only one of degree. All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in the mind and make the mind dwell on that image.
"


Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Symbolic worship is bad, damn bad...but what else do you worship since you do not know God? A sound, a picture, a idol, even an abstract idea-- all these are idols. The supreme being is beyond human ideas. Hinduism rightly identified this problem and allowed people to engage in many kinds of practices. Do whatever that makes you feel spiritual and God loving - rest are just bookish and superstitions. If an idol is what that makes you feel spiritual, that is the best for you.

[Ram]

Today in america the christians call themselves in atleast 10+ denominations. A follower of particular denomination scorns at the other. I have witnessed it.

What about the other 1990 denominations?

[Prasanthan]

I do not practice idol worship. But they say that idol worship is insulting God by portraying them using human materials and terms. But what about the idea of representing God with three letter words? Describing GOd with human words like "omnipresent", etc? Why do we have these petty differences in what we view as "idols". There is no way to properly describe God because we are humans, and as such it is called human interpretation. Why is it that interpretation by means of literature or audio is deemed proper, but visual interpretation is not so? When I look at an image of a deity, I do not worship it, but it reminds me of the many aspects of God, in one of the ways humans have interpreted them.

[satay]

Who wants to stop me from offering milk to shivalingam?

[orlando]

Who wants to stop me from offering milk to shivalingam?

I am not sure if the following statemente is made in Shiva Purana or in Linga Puranane can worship Shivalingam only after the initiation and with the permission of a guru.
I suppose that you are already initiated from a true hindu guru.
If it is not so,the shaivites puranas don't allow you to worship Shivalingam.
Om Namah Shivaya!
Jai Shiva Shankara!
Hara Hara Mahadeva!

Regards,
Orlando.

[TruthSeeker]

There is no such rule - in the path of Bhakti. The rules exist only for performing specified Karmas and rituals - which are usually of materialistic scope. No one cares for what puranas say - they contradict themselves repeatedly.

[Skillganon]

Would you mind if the stone were replaced with say an animal bone? If you cant accept this, then it means you consider something in the stone to be important or divine. So it means it is more than a 'symbol'. If only a symbol was needed we could use anything - why a particular stone?

No Hindu would bring some stone from the street and start worshipping it. The fact that there are some prescribed means for instalation and worship mean that the stone is more than a mere 'symbol'. The specfic ways make us see God in the symbol, whereas if we substitute something irrelevant we dont get the feeling. Could we allow the temple idol to be replaced by any material?

Various metals are used symbolically in idols.

For eg: Gold refers to pure consciousness. silver to akasa, and copper to vayu tattva and so on. Hindu idol worship seen at temples is based on the Hindu model of the universe, as indicated in the Sankyan system. The temple at Palani of Lord Shanmugha is typically said to have been installed by Siddha Boganatha, and is said to be comprised of many elements and have a deep spiritual significance. It is just not mere idols worship but related to cosmological involution which is the goal of Yoga.
http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/sho...9&postcount=79

With regard to your question, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada., answers:

There are various reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) concerning the origin of the Black Stone, but most of them are of doubtful origins. In Islam, we should not base our belief on sources which we cannot verify one hundred percent. The only fact that we can certainly establish is that it was put there by Prophet Ibrahim and Isma’eel (peace be upon them both) by the order of Almighty Allah, and the purpose of it was to indicate the beginning of Tawaf (Circumambulation of the Ka`bah).

Thus we as Muslims do not attach divine power to the stone. As `Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have said: “You are just a stone that does not benefit or harm anyone, and if I had not seen the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) kissing you, I would have not done so."

So, we are simply touching or kissing the Black Stone in order to honor us with association with the great Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); it does not imply any reverence whatsoever.

Peace.

Skill.