Ever since a man named Moses on one fine day declared idol worship to be bad, it has remained so. Subsequent reiterations from Prophet Mohamed and Jesus Christ has led to this view not only becoming dominant but also superior i.e. idol worship is looked down upon. As a Hindu, idol worship is an integral aspect of the religion. In my view it is something quite brilliant!
Typically the response for why we indulge in idol worship is something like this - it helps us focus, gives us an anchor to base our spiritual thoughts. Not wrong at all. I would, however, like to add further dimensions to this. As a child when I first questioned the need for idol worship the response I got from a family elder was by pointing to a toy elephant. That is an elephant but it really is not. It resembles an elephant but is only a toy. Similarly the stone at the altar resembles God but that alone is not God. Again not a wrong view and a simple explanation that still captures the deep philosophy behind idol worship. How often have we taken our phone and shown it to our friends saying that's my mom or my son or daughter. Obviously we don't mean that the image in the phone is the real person, it is only a photo or a video. Still, in resembling the real person it expresses a certain aspect of that person. If asked, this would most likely be my explanation to my child as well.
Going one step beyond this, idol worship, to me, brilliantly captures the core philosophy of vedantic thought that everything is God and God is everything. Tat Tvam Asi. To declare God as a supreme super human being that is omnipotent, omnipresent and all the omni's that exist and so we need to bow and worship (sometimes even fear!) that all powerful entity is, in my view, quite basic. On the contrary, to look at a mere stone that is powerless, characterless and many a times shapeless and in something like that to realize the Almighty's presence...well, that is truly awesome! Brilliant, I would say. True genius, whoever thought of this.
So when a Hindu bows before a powerless stone, it is an acknowledgement that even this powerless object is an aspect of God. This is so because the Vedantic view of what is God, does not stop with just a description of God as a super powerful being but goes further to state God to be a Super Consciousness and it is this Super Consciousness that has expressed itself in the form of the reality that we all experience. So everything is God including you and me. Aham Brahmasmi.
Even without knowing any of these deeply significant philosophies, every time a person bows and worships an idol it is an acknowledgement and affirmation of it. Eventually, as it has happened with me, one can figure this out and then quietly revel in its ingenuity.
No, idol worship is neither stupid nor bad, it is simply brilliant and beautiful as with many things in Hinduism.
Typically the response for why we indulge in idol worship is something like this - it helps us focus, gives us an anchor to base our spiritual thoughts. Not wrong at all. I would, however, like to add further dimensions to this. As a child when I first questioned the need for idol worship the response I got from a family elder was by pointing to a toy elephant. That is an elephant but it really is not. It resembles an elephant but is only a toy. Similarly the stone at the altar resembles God but that alone is not God. Again not a wrong view and a simple explanation that still captures the deep philosophy behind idol worship. How often have we taken our phone and shown it to our friends saying that's my mom or my son or daughter. Obviously we don't mean that the image in the phone is the real person, it is only a photo or a video. Still, in resembling the real person it expresses a certain aspect of that person. If asked, this would most likely be my explanation to my child as well.
Going one step beyond this, idol worship, to me, brilliantly captures the core philosophy of vedantic thought that everything is God and God is everything. Tat Tvam Asi. To declare God as a supreme super human being that is omnipotent, omnipresent and all the omni's that exist and so we need to bow and worship (sometimes even fear!) that all powerful entity is, in my view, quite basic. On the contrary, to look at a mere stone that is powerless, characterless and many a times shapeless and in something like that to realize the Almighty's presence...well, that is truly awesome! Brilliant, I would say. True genius, whoever thought of this.
So when a Hindu bows before a powerless stone, it is an acknowledgement that even this powerless object is an aspect of God. This is so because the Vedantic view of what is God, does not stop with just a description of God as a super powerful being but goes further to state God to be a Super Consciousness and it is this Super Consciousness that has expressed itself in the form of the reality that we all experience. So everything is God including you and me. Aham Brahmasmi.
Even without knowing any of these deeply significant philosophies, every time a person bows and worships an idol it is an acknowledgement and affirmation of it. Eventually, as it has happened with me, one can figure this out and then quietly revel in its ingenuity.
No, idol worship is neither stupid nor bad, it is simply brilliant and beautiful as with many things in Hinduism.
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