Vedanta and Idol Worship

A pseudo-Vedantin feels himself ashamed to bow or prostrate before an idol in the temple. He feels that his Advaita will evaporate if he prostrates. Study the lives of the reputed Tamil saints, Appar, Sundarar, Sambandhar, etc. They had the highest Advaitic realisation. They saw Lord Siva everywhere and yet they visited all temples of Siva, prostrated before the idol and sang hymns, which are on record now. The sixty-three Nayanar saints practised Chariyai and Kriyai only and attained God-realisation thereby. They swept the floor of the temple, collected flowers, made garlands for the Lord and put on lights in the temple. They were illiterate, but attained the highest realisation. They were practical Yogis and their hearts were saturated with pure devotion. They were an embodiment of Karma Yoga. All practised the Yoga of Synthesis. The idol in the temple was all Chaitanya or consciousness for them. It was not a mere block of stone.

Madhusudana Swami, who had Advaita realisation, who beheld oneness of the Self, who had Advaitic Bhava, was intensely attached to the form of Lord Krishna with flute in His hands.

Tulasidas realised the all-pervading essence. He had cosmic consciousness. He communed with the all-pervading, formless Lord. And yet his passion for Lord Rama with bow in His hand did not vanish. When he had been to Brindavan and saw the Murti of Lord Krishna with flute in His hands, he said, “I will not bow my head to this form.” At once Lord Krishna’s form assumed the form of Lord Rama. Then only he bowed his head. Tukaram also had the same cosmic experience as that of Tulasidas. He sings in his Abhanga, “I see my Lord all-pervading, just as sweetness pervades the sugar-cane” and yet he always speaks of his Lord Vittala of Pandharpur with His hands on the hips. Mira also realised her identity with the all-pervading Krishna and yet she was not tired of repeating again and again, “My Giridhar Nagar”.

From the above facts, we can clearly infer that one can realise God through worship of Murti or idol, that the worship of the Lord in Saguna form is a great aid for Vedantic realisation also and for the realisation of the Lord in His all-pervading, formless aspect and that the worship of the Murti is very essential for the purpose of concentration and meditation in the beginning and that such a worship is not in any way a hindrance to the attainment of God-consciousness and those who vehemently attack Murti Puja are groping in extreme darkness and ignorance and they have no real knowledge of Puja and worship and that they enter into unnecessary, vain debates and discussions against Murti Puja to show that they are learned persons and that they have not done any real Sadhana at all. They are persons who have made idle talking and tall talk as their habit and profession. They have ruined themselves. They have unsettled the minds of countless persons and ruined them also. The whole world worships symbols and Murtis only in some form or the other. The mind is disciplined in the beginning by fixing it on a concrete object or symbol. When it is rendered steady and subtle, it can be fixed later on on an abstract idea such as “Aham Brahma Asmi”. When one advances in meditation, the form melts in the formless and he becomes one with the formless essence. Image worship is not contrary to the view of Vedanta. It is rather a help.

From:

The Philosophy and Significance of Idol Worship by Sri Swami Sivananda.

http://www.dlshq.org/download/idolworship.htm