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Did we kill God?

renuka

Well-known member
[video=youtube_share;D5bjycdVfXw]https://youtu.be/D5bjycdVfXw[/video]


This video totally broke my heart.

Rajiv Malhotra talks about God concept in Hinduism and idols are not mere symbols but a living deity invited to reside in the idol by Prana Prastishta.

He first says that in Hinduism ..God is capable of taking various forms hence we have deities.

Then he says..each deity has likes and dislikes and their distinct personality hence if a deity is male or female it has its own prescribed rules to be followed.

Ok..this is what that broke my heart cos nothing jived with Vedanta.

Going by everything is in Brahman...I always viewed an Idol as a symbol for focus..i never viewed it as a symbol for God cos I know we cant actually know anything about God.

But then Malhotra makes it sound as if deity too is a from God but then goes on to say the deities have their likes and dislikes.

How can this be?

If at all a deity is a Prana Prasthisfied form of Brahman..shouldnt rules of oḿ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaḿ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
apply?

That is the deity too should reflect Brahman and not come with whims and fancies and with a gender and not allowing females into a temple cos the deity is a Brahmacarin?

How can this be ever connected to Brahman when everything is created by Brahman?

Malhotra talks of God and then deity as if he makes it sound the same yet gives it a distinct flavor by saying there is no one rule to fit all deities.

So its clear that what is in a temple isnt really the Supreme.

Its as if we humans have created deities according to what we desire.

In Geeta Krishna clearly says that in mode of Tamas other beings are worshiped and one goes to their loka upon death.


Coming to Prana Prastistha...how accurate is it?

How are we so sure we invited a deity and not some other entity?

I will post another video where a Shankaracharya says in Hindi that if rules of a temple is broken the devata /devi will leave and a ghost will occupy the idol!

BTW I teach Sanskrit too now and some of my students are priests who do all these poojas yet they do not know Sanskrit as a language...so when a person doing all these poojas have no idea of the meaning of what they chant..does the Prana Prasthista really work?

So what is it inside a temple?

We humans create "God"?

How can the created(humans) create a Creator?

Logically we cant create our parents...we can only create children but we can kill our parents.

So have we Hindus killed God?
 
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[video=youtube_share;FMKse_dhe-c]https://youtu.be/FMKse_dhe-c[/video]



Shankaracharya says in Hindi that if rules of a temple is broken the devata /devi will leave and a ghost will occupy the idol!
And he keeps talking about Phalam..whatever happened to Karmanyevadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadacana? Why isnt that stressed instead of hoping for fruits of action?
 
[video=youtube_share;FMKse_dhe-c]https://youtu.be/FMKse_dhe-c[/video]



Shankaracharya says in Hindi that if rules of a temple is broken the devata /devi will leave and a ghost will occupy the idol!
And he keeps talking about Phalam..whatever happened to Karmanyevadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadacana? Why isnt that stressed instead of hoping for fruits of action?
1. My national flag.
2. The flag represents several things about my country.
3. I salute my national flag
4. My national flag is made in a set of dimensions. There is a set Color scheme too for my national flag.
5. I respect my national flag.
6. My national flag is never used as a sanitary napkin or a koubeenam though it is eminently suitable for that use too.
7. There are people in my country who do not believe in all these and for them the flag or any such flag is just a piece of cloth meaningless my fluttering on top of a pole.
8. While for me the flag is symbolic of the aspirations and pride of a people, for them there is no such thing.
9. In a war front this flag can do magic by rallying people to make supreme sacrifices thus becoming a rallying point for social organisation.
I can write more about the flag and much more about God.
 
1. My national flag.
2. The flag represents several things about my country.
3. I salute my national flag
4. My national flag is made in a set of dimensions. There is a set Color scheme too for my national flag.
5. I respect my national flag.
6. My national flag is never used as a sanitary napkin or a koubeenam though it is eminently suitable for that use too.
7. There are people in my country who do not believe in all these and for them the flag or any such flag is just a piece of cloth meaningless my fluttering on top of a pole.
8. While for me the flag is symbolic of the aspirations and pride of a people, for them there is no such thing.
9. In a war front this flag can do magic by rallying people to make supreme sacrifices thus becoming a rallying point for social organisation.
I can write more about the flag and much more about God.

You are comparing a Shanka and Cakra..
A flag is a symbol..there is no Prana Prathista for it.

No one prays to a flag asking it to save themselves from a Yama duta.

My question is why do we create deities?

The Shankaracharya said that a ghost will inhabit the idol if the devata leaves the idol.

How the heck would this make sense?

Just say for a 100 years the devata was there..then it left cos it was not happy how can a ghost inhabit the idol when 100 years mantras were chanted and surely it is not conducive for an evil ghost to want chanting..mantras..abhishekam.etc..going by the logic that a mantra has effects to nullify evil so how can a ghost survive there?

Like for bacteria to thrive it must have an environment conducive for infection..

Nothing makes sense in the videos to make it sound as if a Hindu temple is capable of totally being offline if the deity decides to leave and a ghost becomes the new inhabitant.

Then Malhotra says God is not present in.a mosque or church etc..wow if God is Brahman as we think it is..I am surprised why He would be absent in certain places when Brahman is all pervading.

I appreciate answers..not answers like flag kaupeenam etc ..I want answers steeped in philosophy or Shastras to make it clear why nothing jives with Vedanta.

Since you are a Vaishnava...may I know why Vishnu is deified?
How can a human be in control of inviting God to reside in an idol?

God is Omnipotent..He doesnt need a created human to redesign Him.

Is Vishnu so easily re designed to be in an idol?
So who is in charge..God or humans?
 
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This is a paradox and has been bothering me for some time.
I used to argue with Sangomji, about this all the time. O have started to believe in his theories.
He used to say that there is no God, but I used to say there is Brahman.
I see what he was saying, that there is no deified god, I agree with that. Then seeing the way we worship deified God, in modern days I am completely turned away from all religions.

I still believe in the principles of Brahman and Advaita Philosophy.

But it seems even Adi Shankara believed in deified God (or so the Historians say). The present-day Shankaracharyas and various other Gurus preach what their religious base wants to believe.


Wikipedia states that:

Brahman is a Vedic Sanskrit word, and it is conceptualized in Hinduism, states Paul Deussen, as the "creative principle which lies realized in the whole world". Brahman is a key concept found in the Vedas, and it is extensively discussed in the early Upanishads.The Vedas conceptualize Brahman as the Cosmic Principle.

I do not believe in gods, Abrahamic gods etc.

They are created by "humans" to satisfy themselves. Some of these influential humans perpetuated these myths to satisfy their personal egos or that of their masters.

Like kings getting their biographies written, or like the movie "Sanju" tells the glorified version of Sanjay Dutt's life story.
 
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This is a paradox and has been bothering me for some time.
I used to argue with Sangomji, about this all the time. O have started to believe in his theories.
He used to say that there is no God, but I used to say there is Brahman.
I see what he was saying, that there is no deified god, I agree with that. Then seeing the way we worship deified God, in modern days I am completely turned away from all religions.

I still believe in the principles of Brahman and Advaita Philosophy.

But it seems even Adi Shankara believed in deified God (or so the Historians say). The present-day Shankaracharyas and various other Gurus preach what their religious base wants to believe.

A sensible answer.

My whole perception has changed.
Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev says Hindu temples do not house God..he said we are Godless society and he too goes by the Prana Prathista theory and even he says agama rules should not be violated but then he makes a huge Shiva Adi Yogi statue but says we are Godless..then no idea how he views Shiva.

True Adi Shankara himself installed Mookambika in Kullur..then he confesses his 3 sins....taken from Indus ladies:



Sankaracharya then explained the first sin in the following words. He
addressed the Lord and said that knowing fully well that the Lord is
omnipresent and all powerful, he had undertaken the journey all the
way to Benaras to have the Lord's Darsan as if the Lord was present
only in Benaras. This, according to Sankaracharya, was the first sin.
The significance of this is that his practice was contrary to what he
already knew.

His second sin was that after recognising the Lord as one whose glory
cannot be described or as one whose infinite nature cannot be
described in mere words, he had attempted to describe him in a string
of words and thus had ignored what he had already known about the
Lord.

His third sin was that having recognised that the human body is the
temple of the Lord and having recognised that the body is made of five
destructible elements, he had not put this knowledge into practice.
The Jiva that lives in the body is indestructible and if studied
carefully, we come to the conclusion that one who resides in the body
has no birth and has no death and has neither attachment nor
detachment.

He realised that the almighty is residing in him as the Atma and yet
he undertook the long journey to get the Darsan of the almighty in a
place external to his body. This was his third sin. Knowing that the
Lord is in him, he has committed the sin of undertaking the journey to
see the Lord.

http://indusladies.com/community/threads/fw-adi-shankaras-three-sins.160595/
 
தெய்வம் என்றால் அது தெய்வம்
அது சிலை என்றால் வெறும் சிலை தான்
உண்டென்றால் அது உண்டு
இல்லையென்றால் அது இல்லை
deivam endraal adhu deivam,
athu silai endraal verum silai dhaan,
undendraal adhu undu,
illai endraal adhu illai


If you have the faith and refer to a stone sculpture as god, it is god, if you treat it just as a stone sculpture, it’s just a lifeless sculpture, if you believe something exists (even if in reality it does not), it exists, if you don’t believe something exists (even if in reality it does), it does not,


Poet Kannadasan
 
Worshipping the formless reality by unthought thought is the best kind of worship. But when one is not fit for such formless worship of God, worship of form alone is suitable. Formless worship is possible only for people who are devoid of the ego-form. Know that all the worship done by people who possess the ego-form is only worship of form.
-Sri Ramana Maharshi
 
தெய்வம் என்றால் அது தெய்வம்
அது சிலை என்றால் வெறும் சிலை தான்
உண்டென்றால் அது உண்டு
இல்லையென்றால் அது இல்லை
deivam endraal adhu deivam,
athu silai endraal verum silai dhaan,
undendraal adhu undu,
illai endraal adhu illai


If you have the faith and refer to a stone sculpture as god, it is god, if you treat it just as a stone sculpture, it’s just a lifeless sculpture, if you believe something exists (even if in reality it does not), it exists, if you don’t believe something exists (even if in reality it does), it does not,


Poet Kannadasan

But its not God in a temple..its a deity in a temple.
 
One of Kabir's famous Doha:

Pathar puje hari mile
to main puju pahar
tante te chakki bhali
pis khaye sansar
(Meaning: If you say that god can be found by praying to an idol made of stone then I would pray to the whole mountain
Tis better the stone grinder which helps in making the flour to eat)

 
"There is no image of him. He is unborned and He should be worshipped" (Yajurveda, Chapter 32, Verse 3)

"god is bodyless and pure" (Yajurveda, Chapter 40, Verse 8)

"They are entering darkness, those who worship the natural things(like air, water, fire etc.



"There is no likeness of him" (Svetasvatara Upanishad, Chapter 4, Verse 19)

"His form cannot be seen, No one can see him with the eyes" (Svetasvatara Upanishad, Chapter 4, Verse 20)


https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/idol-worship-prohibited-in-vedas



 
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"There is no image of him. He is unborned and He should be worshipped" (Yajurveda, Chapter 32, Verse 3)

"god is bodyless and pure" (Yajurveda, Chapter 40, Verse 8)

"They are entering darkness, those who worship the natural things(like air, water, fire etc.



"There is no likeness of him" (Svetasvatara Upanishad, Chapter 4, Verse 19)

"His form cannot be seen, No one can see him with the eyes" (Svetasvatara Upanishad, Chapter 4, Verse 20)


https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/idol-worship-prohibited-in-vedas




Knowing this why deification was sanctioned?
 
All religions prohibit IDOL worship.
But humans just can not do without a visual symbol, so they adopt a symbol.
In Hinduism, it is Moorti's, Flags, cows, Gurus, parents, and Etc.
In Buddism, they started using Buddha, In Jainism, they started using Tirthankaras, In Christianity the cross, virgin Mary, Christ etc.
 
All religions prohibit IDOL worship.
But humans just can not do without a visual symbol, so they adopt a symbol.
In Hinduism, it is Moorti's, Flags, cows, Gurus, parents, and Etc.
In Buddism, they started using Buddha, In Jainism, they started using Tirthankaras, In Christianity the cross, virgin Mary, Christ etc.
hi

in many religions....they called PAARAMATHIKAM AND VYVAHARIKAM.....means IN REALITY..BRAHMAN IS REALITY....FORMLESS...

BUT THE WORLD IS VYAVAHARIKAM...SO WE NEED SOME KIND FORM IS REQUIRED FOR WORSHIP...ANCIENT HINDUISM...

PRE POURANIC/PRE VEDIC HINDUISM.....THEY WORSHIP ...AGNI/VAYU/INDRA ETC...MAINLY FIVE ELEMENTS....THESE

FIVE ELEMENTS WORSHIP COMMON IN ALL RELIGIONS...
 
The topic of the Original post is not accurate.

Of God did not exist then there is no discussion about killing God.
My contention is that there was no saguna Brahman, to begin with.

Majority of people are born, with a handicap. They need to be lead by their noses. So someone assumes the role of leader, and everyone else follows. The leader assumes the mantle of God, and asks people to be beggars.
Most of the people who worship so-called gods are begging for some material or worldly favors. These same people run from one god to another. Religions generally only want this kind of people. They are transactional and will bring in money to run the organization and its organizers.
My contention is that God is a crutch at best.

I am worried about this thread, some people are going to get upset very fast.
I used to be in that camp 10 years ago.
 
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The topic of the Original post is not accurate.

I am worried about this thread, some people are going to get upset very fast.
I used to be in that camp 10 years ago.

Ten years is a long enough period for people to mature and firm up their opinion one way or the other. My view is that people simply abstain from such futile topics where no one has concrete proof to convince the other party. I will be surprised if there would be a rush of posts in this thread.

Let us see.
 
All religions prohibit IDOL worship.
But humans just can not do without a visual symbol, so they adopt a symbol.
In Hinduism, it is Moorti's, Flags, cows, Gurus, parents, and Etc.
In Buddism, they started using Buddha, In Jainism, they started using Tirthankaras, In Chri7

stianity the cross, virgin Mary, Christ etc.



Agreed..but a symbol should be a symbol and not Prana Prathista it.
We create deities..if we can create a deity and then pray to it..ask favors etc..it makes no sense to create something to seek its blessings.

If we can create a deity ..that means we dont need favors ..we can carve our own destiny.

Finally only 2 schools of thoughts do not have deification..Buddhism in the real sense has no deification though its seen now..but as far as I know no Prana Prathista but God concept is not brought in.

Next is Islam..no Idol..Ka'bah is a symbol sans Prana Prathista...God concept is the basis.
 
The topic of the Original post is not accurate.

Of God did not exist then there is no discussion about killing God.
My contention is that there was a saguna Brahman, to begin with.

Majority of people are born, with a handicap. They need to be lead by their noses. So someone assumes the role of leader, and everyone else follows. The leader assumes the mantle of God, and asks people to be beggars.
Most of the people who worship so-called gods are begging for some material or worldly favors. These same people run from one god to another. Religions generally only want this kind of people. They are transactional and will bring in money to run the organization and its organizers.
My contention is that God is a crutch at best.

I am worried about this thread, some people are going to get upset very fast.
I used to be in that camp 10 years ago.

I dont think anyone would get upset.
I have ask relevant questions
I dont expect many to answer as many would have their personal opinions to hold on too.

My opinion on what I held on all these years came crumbling down after seeing Malhotras video.

No doubt I was not really a temple goer as much but I myself did assume everything is Brahman etc.

But in reality..Agama shastras do not deal with the Supreme.


In a way I am glad I never broke any rule in a temple even once in my life on the grounds of gender equality..so at least that I am glad cos Agamas having nothing to do with Vedanta.

I posted what I thought...its not the quantity of the response that matters its just that any evidence based reply is what I am looking for but yet to get any

I dont mind shaking the very core of my belief..that would be the ultimate test of my faith in anything.

If I didnt fear losing my very own faith in everything..why would i even fear the title would make anyone upset.
 
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Role of Idol Worship - Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati ji


Harih om. A topic of contention, especially among certain faiths who are quick to incorrectlypoint out that idol worship is wrong. Here is a perfect reply to this question from Pujya Swamiji.

Dialogues with Swami Dayananda Ji (Arsha Vidya Gurukulam)



Question : Swamiji, What is the role of idol worship in Self-realization ?


Swamiji responds : What is an idol ? We say that the whole creation is bhagavan, the Lord. Every form is Lord's form: therefore in any one form I can invoke the Lord.

Traditionally, some forms have been handed over to us and the bhagavad-buddhi [seeing is as the Lord] is associated with those forms in our mind. Today, they spend a lot of money for creating such identity. 7 O'clock means a blade. Lux means a toilet soap. Who creates that buddhi ? The commercials in the media.

For generations the Lord is worshiped in certain forms and those forms have been handed over to you. The tradition did not begin just yesterday. It is coming down to us for generations- a great benefit! When i see Ganapathi, I recognize the form as the Lord, not as a strange creature with an odd head and a big belly - I recognize the form as the Lord and this is what we call 'Tradition'. This is a treasure, we should understand. Just to create that buddhi for 'Lux' as a toilet soap you have to do so much publicity and keep doing it: otherwise people will forget and soap would mean to them Rexona or Hamam!

The idol worship is handed over to us generation after generation. Even atheists in this country have to first accept Ganesa as God and then negate that there is no God..!!

We have received this particular legacy in heritage and therefore the idol invokes in us the devotee and that is a great heritage.

Nobody worships the idol; everybody worships the Lord.


There are sculptors in Rajasthan. They make marble idols. An idol of Lord Siva was supplied by a Rajasthani sculptor to a temple in Bombay. Certain parts of the
idol, the eyelashes, the lips, the naga (snake) etc.. were color-painted by the sculptor. In course of some five or six years, that painting got erased. The manager of the temple wrote to the sculptor asking him to come to Bombay and repaint the idol. Do you know what was the reply of the sculptor ? Who am I to paint the Lord ? If you want a new idol, I will make one and send to you, but I won't paint my bhagavan. Why ? Because the sculptor creates a statue, an idol and not the Lord. Do you know what he does at the installation of the idol ? He also attends the function. Until the installation ceremony, the idol is a stone only, it is not the Lord. During installation, they do Prana-Pratistha, imparting life to the idol, by mantra, by samskara - like even a person by samskara is made a dvijya, twice-born; by the diksa of gayathri-mantra, you make him a different person. Similarly here, even though it is a stone idol, it is given life by samskara and the last act of the sculptor is to open the eyes. He brings a fine chistle and a hammer with him and when the samskaras are done, he opens the eyes of the idol. Till then the eyes are covered. The sculptor removes bits of stone covering the eyes, and then he is the first person to fall at the feet of the
idol which is no more an idol for him. Till then it was only a stone but now it is the Lord and the Lord he worships.

You do not need even a stone for worship. Stone also for us is Lord, but we do not require even a stone; we require only haladi(turmeric) powder. We make a lump
out of haladi and then say.


Asmin bimbe mahaganapatim avahayami (I invoke the great Lord Ganapathi in this lump.)

All you have is water in a bucket and you say.

Gange ca yamune devi godavari sarasvati narmade sindhu kaveri jalesmin sannidhim kuru. ( O Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, may
you all be present in this (bucket of) water.)

In this manner, everyday people bath in the Ganga, Yamuna etc. - they need not go to the Ganga, Yamuna etc; local water is enough. All there is, is the attitude. It is everywhere and everyday it is the same.

What is there in the picture of your father ? It is just a black and white photograph, but you place a flower there. Why ? As a mark of respect to the father and not to the piece of paper. And without such forms of expressions of respect, of friendship, of love, life will be nothing. So even the people who criticize idol-worship, do worship some books and places.

People worship the lord, why do they worship the lord -- you ask me. Don't ask me why do people worship idols. You never worship the idol; you always worship
the Lord.


Well, for self-realization, why do you worship the Lord ? To know that Lord is everywhere. Until you know that, you have to keep your ego under check. In fact
the Lord is everything and so you ego is swallowed by Lord. But you think you are different from the Lord and so you place a flower at the feet of the Lord and
your ego is kept under check.

Worship brings about antahkarana-suddhi, purity of the mind, which is needed to understand that Lord is everywhere. "I am everything", is self-realization. "Lord
is everywhere" or "I am everything", both are one and the same.

Self-realization is not elimination of thoughts. Self-realization is to know the fact that I am the Self which is everything or that the Lord is everything and that Lord I am. That is the knowledge for which i require a pure mind and for that I seek the Lord's grace by worship which is an action, an act of devotion.

Harih Om Tat Sat
 
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Role of Idol Worship - Pujya Swami Dayananda Saraswati ji


Harih om. A topic of contention, especially among certain faiths who are quick to incorrectlypoint out that idol worship is wrong. Here is a perfect reply to this question from Pujya Swamiji.

Dialogues with Swami Dayananda Ji (Arsha Vidya Gurukulam)



Question : Swamiji, What is the role of idol worship in Self-realization ?


Swamiji responds : What is an idol ? We say that the whole creation is bhagavan, the Lord. Every form is Lord's form: therefore in any one form I can invoke the Lord.

Traditionally, some forms have been handed over to us and the bhagavad-buddhi [seeing is as the Lord] is associated with those forms in our mind. Today, they spend a lot of money for creating such identity. 7 O'clock means a blade. Lux means a toilet soap. Who creates that buddhi ? The commercials in the media.

For generations the Lord is worshiped in certain forms and those forms have been handed over to you. The tradition did not begin just yesterday. It is coming down to us for generations- a great benefit! When i see Ganapathi, I recognize the form as the Lord, not as a strange creature with an odd head and a big belly - I recognize the form as the Lord and this is what we call 'Tradition'. This is a treasure, we should understand. Just to create that buddhi for 'Lux' as a toilet soap you have to do so much publicity and keep doing it: otherwise people will forget and soap would mean to them Rexona or Hamam!

The idol worship is handed over to us generation after generation. Even atheists in this country have to first accept Ganesa as God and then negate that there is no God..!!

We have received this particular legacy in heritage and therefore the idol invokes in us the devotee and that is a great heritage.

Nobody worships the idol; everybody worships the Lord.


There are sculptors in Rajasthan. They make marble idols. An idol of Lord Siva was supplied by a Rajasthani sculptor to a temple in Bombay. Certain parts of the
idol, the eyelashes, the lips, the naga (snake) etc.. were color-painted by the sculptor. In course of some five or six years, that painting got erased. The manager of the temple wrote to the sculptor asking him to come to Bombay and repaint the idol. Do you know what was the reply of the sculptor ? Who am I to paint the Lord ? If you want a new idol, I will make one and send to you, but I won't paint my bhagavan. Why ? Because the sculptor creates a statue, an idol and not the Lord. Do you know what he does at the installation of the idol ? He also attends the function. Until the installation ceremony, the idol is a stone only, it is not the Lord. During installation, they do Prana-Pratistha, imparting life to the idol, by mantra, by samskara - like even a person by samskara is made a dvijya, twice-born; by the diksa of gayathri-mantra, you make him a different person. Similarly here, even though it is a stone idol, it is given life by samskara and the last act of the sculptor is to open the eyes. He brings a fine chistle and a hammer with him and when the samskaras are done, he opens the eyes of the idol. Till then the eyes are covered. The sculptor removes bits of stone covering the eyes, and then he is the first person to fall at the feet of the
idol which is no more an idol for him. Till then it was only a stone but now it is the Lord and the Lord he worships.

You do not need even a stone for worship. Stone also for us is Lord, but we do not require even a stone; we require only haladi(turmeric) powder. We make a lump
out of haladi and then say.


Asmin bimbe mahaganapatim avahayami (I invoke the great Lord Ganapathi in this lump.)

All you have is water in a bucket and you say.

Gange ca yamune devi godavari sarasvati narmade sindhu kaveri jalesmin sannidhim kuru. ( O Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Sarasvati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, may
you all be present in this (bucket of) water.)

In this manner, everyday people bath in the Ganga, Yamuna etc. - they need not go to the Ganga, Yamuna etc; local water is enough. All there is, is the attitude. It is everywhere and everyday it is the same.

What is there in the picture of your father ? It is just a black and white photograph, but you place a flower there. Why ? As a mark of respect to the father and not to the piece of paper. And without such forms of expressions of respect, of friendship, of love, life will be nothing. So even the people who criticize idol-worship, do worship some books and places.

People worship the lord, why do they worship the lord -- you ask me. Don't ask me why do people worship idols. You never worship the idol; you always worship
the Lord.


Well, for self-realization, why do you worship the Lord ? To know that Lord is everywhere. Until you know that, you have to keep your ego under check. In fact
the Lord is everything and so you ego is swallowed by Lord. But you think you are different from the Lord and so you place a flower at the feet of the Lord and
your ego is kept under check.

Worship brings about antahkarana-suddhi, purity of the mind, which is needed to understand that Lord is everywhere. "I am everything", is self-realization. "Lord
is everywhere" or "I am everything", both are one and the same.

Self-realization is not elimination of thoughts. Self-realization is to know the fact that I am the Self which is everything or that the Lord is everything and that Lord I am. That is the knowledge for which i require a pure mind and for that I seek the Lord's grace by worship which is an action, an act of devotion.

Harih Om Tat Sat

It still says the same...we manufactured "God" then pray to our own creation..so are we so above everything to design God?

Its not about Hamam or Rexona here..those dont have Prana Pratishta...how can an Omnipotent God be " designed" by humans to be an idol?
Is God so easily manufactured?


There seems to be no convincing explanation...
Having a symbol for anything is the normal part of the brain cognitive function..but why Prana Pratishta it and give it multiple forms and names and then each deity has its likes and dislikes per agama injuctions..why bind our mind?

Cant we just pray without a Prana Pratistha creation?
Before humans existed no idol existed..but life went on..its seems to me deification might just suck one into a portal of no return.

Then why does Upanishad worship of elements is mode of darkness and Geeta too says..worshiping others is mode of Tamas?

It seems as if Agama shastra injuctions derailed some part of Sanathana Dharma.

Here in the article you posted Swamiji is saying idol houses the Lord.

Malhotra in his video said deity

If its the Lord why the Lord has rules..likes and dislikes?
Saguna Brahman has likes and dislikes?
Why would anyone want to worship a God with temprements?

Its like the angry Abrahamic Gods who would throw kafirs into hell..Kya Farq Hain?
 
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It still says the same...we manufactured "God" then pray to our own creation..so are we so above everything to design God?

Its not about Hamam or Rexona here..those dont have Prana Pratishta...how can an Omnipotent God be " designed" by humans to be an idol?
Is God so easily manufactured?


There seems to be no convincing explanation...
Having a symbol for anything is the normal part of the brain cognitive function..but why Prana Pratishta it and give it multiple forms and names and then each deity has its likes and dislikes per agama injuctions..why bind our mind?

Cant we just pray without a Prana Pratistha creation?
Before humans existed no idol existed..but life went on..its seems to me deification might just suck one into a portal of no return.

Then why does Upanishad worship of elements is mode of darkness and Geeta too says..worshiping others is mode of Tamas?

It seems as if Agama shastra injuctions derailed some part of Sanathana Dharma.

Here in the article you posted Swamiji is saying idol houses the Lord.

Malhotra in his video said deity

If its the Lord why the Lord has rules..likes and dislikes?
Saguna Brahman has likes and dislikes?
Why would anyone want to worship a God with temprements?

Its like the angry Abrahamic Gods who would throw kafirs into hell..Kya Farq Hain?

You are perhaps over-complicating the issue?

You have quoted BG in this thread. Was not Lord Krishna killed by the arrow of a hunter? It seems even the Almighty when he is within the constraints of space and time can not have immortality.

You have also made a mention of upaniSads. That upaniSad specifically speaks about a Lord or Godhead not being a know-all Brahman. Yama was not at his "house" when Nachiketa visits him and worse he was unaware of the impending visit of Nachiketa and he teaches about all being brahman in that upaniSad.

At the conclusion of pUjA, we generally recite a slOkA which says:

"AvAhanam na jAnAmi, na jAnAmi visarjanam
pUja vidhim na jAnAmi, kshamaswa ParameSwara/ParameSwarI/PutushOttama"

Earlier I used to think this disclaimer could be out of humility or out of smugness because we have conducted the pUjA to the best of our ability according to SAstrAs.

But it may be the truth and we may not really know about the rituals though we follow the rules laid down in the SAstrAs.
 
It still says the same...we manufactured "God" then pray to our own creation..so are we so above everything to design God?


That is the fallacy.

But the person who creates the moorties, may not believe they created God.
In Calcutta a lot artisans who create the Durga, and various other sculptures are Muslim, they do not worship what the work on.
This Pranapratishta is "hocus-pokus", and a pure invention in our religion.

Let us say a musician created a song or a raga, we all follow it meticulously, and we criticize if someone else tries to modify it
Similarly, a deity becomes something (i do not know what), may be venerated. It is definitely not god.
 
We do not really know God. So there is a lot of confusion.
Religion survives basically because of Guilt, fear, and ignorance.
The leaders of all religions use this hammer on us to keep us in line.
 
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You are perhaps over-complicating the issue?

You have quoted BG in this thread. Was not Lord Krishna killed by the arrow of a hunter? It seems even the Almighty when he is within the constraints of space and time can not have immortality.

You have also made a mention of upaniSads. That upaniSad specifically speaks about a Lord or Godhead not being a know-all Brahman. Yama was not at his "house" when Nachiketa visits him and worse he was unaware of the impending visit of Nachiketa and he teaches about all being brahman in that upaniSad.

At the conclusion of pUjA, we generally recite a slOkA which says:

"AvAhanam na jAnAmi, na jAnAmi visarjanam
pUja vidhim na jAnAmi, kshamaswa ParameSwara/ParameSwarI/PutushOttama"

Earlier I used to think this disclaimer could be out of humility or out of smugness because we have conducted the pUjA to the best of our ability according to SAstrAs.

But it may be the truth and we may not really know about the rituals though we follow the rules laid down in the SAstrAs.


So going by the logic here that once "God" comes down be it Avatar or Prana Prasthitakaranam (I am not using Deity anymore cos Deity is a Greek Word)...."God" has to follow the rules of nature etc...Ok fair enough.

But there is a difference here...an Avatar comes on His own accord for His mission impossible to uphold Dharma...no one can "trap" and Avatar and make Him behave as we want Him to behave.

Could anyone actually handle Krishna? Nope.
Krishna was a Purna Avatar if we go by Avatar theory and Krishna is Supreme according to ISCKON yet ISCKON makes Krishna a murti and Prana Prastishtakaranam too happens.

Do you mean to say a Krishna whom no one could handle when He was an avatar now suddenly allows part of His glory to sit quietly tied up in each ISCKON temple in the world?


That shows Humans have enslaved God yet we call ourselves Bhagawan Das!

Swami Dayananda Saraswati uses the word God inside a Murti but Rajiv Malhotra uses the term Deity inside a Murti...Deity is not God as far as I know.

So what the heck is going on?
 
It is definitely not god.


I guess you are right.

That's why I feel so cheated!

Why we were made to think so and why not let us know from the beginning that a Murti didn't not represent God.

It's like getting to know your DNA doesn't match the rest of the family..feeling so alienated in your own environment.
 

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