Demystifying Idol Worship

There is nothing special in any idol of God. An idol, whatever substance it is made from, cannot think for itself, nor does it know anything. It is, after all, an inert object. This being the case, what will anyone get by worshipping it? This is a very common question, and one that we will now answer, once and for all.

Jagadguruttam Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj explains that in our history, many idols were stolen by foreign invaders and destroyed. Temples and places of worship ceased to be, including the idols enshrined in them. So what did those idols do to stop this? What can any idol do if someone breaks it or vandalizes it? If you worship such an idol, you will attain whatever it is made off. The science in this regard is very easy to understand.

You will attain that personality whom you worship. If you drink poison thinking it is milk, the poison will do its work and you will die. Similarly, if you have devotional sentiments for a piece of stone, you will only get stones in return.

We do not get the results of our sentiments in the world, but in the case of the Lord we do. If you have the feelings of a rasgulla towards cow dung, it will not give you the result of your feelings, and so no one would eat that cow dung. However, if you have devotional feelings for an idol of God, then you will get the result of worshiping Him. God is all-pervading, and therefore, God is present in the idol.

Is there any religious leader anywhere in this world who dismisses idol worship, but does not believe that God is all-pervading? Every religion and every religious person believes that God is all-pervading. You are worshipping the God who pervades the idol, and not the idol itself. This distinction is very important to understand. You worship the personality who has been given the name of God in a particular idol, but not the idol itself. It is therefore logical that those who do not worship the God who pervades the idol, but just worship the idol, will only get the result of worshipping a piece of stone.

Since God pervades the idol, you will get the benefit of worshipping Him, if you worship the idol with Godly sentiments. Even if God is not all-pervading and is seated in His divine abode, Golok, since He is all-knowing, you will still get the benefit of your devotional sentiments towards Him. And not only this. God is seated within you, noting all your thoughts and ideas. When you develop devotional sentiments towards an idol of God, the God who is seated within you, the God who is all-knowing, all-pervading, and all-powerful, notes your thoughts and gives you the results of your devotional sentiments.

Another important point to keep in mind in connection with this is that no God is bigger or smaller, whether He is in Vrindavan, Ramseshvaram, Badrikasharam, or anywhere else. When you visit a holy place, you must have the feeling that this is a place of the Lord’s pastimes. When you go to Rameshvaram, for example, how many of you sit and engage in loving remembrance of Lord Rama? How many of you have thought that the Lord walked to this very place, and so His lotus feet are ingrained all over. I doubt that any of you have ever thought this. Most people say, “All glories to Lord Shankar!” and go home. That being the case, how can you expect to derive any benefit from visiting any holy place?

To conclude, the truth is that there is nothing special about any place. Why? Because God is present everywhere. This is what all-pervading means. God is present equally everywhere. It is not that one fourth of God is present at one place, whereas only one eighth of Him is somewhere else. Complete God is present everywhere, equally imbued in every particle. He will manifest Himself wherever there is love for Him.

Kripalu Bhaktiyoga Tattva-darshan – the essence of Vedic wisdom, spirituality and devotion in daily life.