Idol Worship and its essence.

The Three Lords - Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva

According to the Arya Samaj, god is existent, intelligent, blissful, formless, almighty, just, merciful, unborn, infinite, beginning less, incomparable, the support and lord of all, omniscient, imperishable, immortal, fearless, eternal, holy and maker of universe.

According to the core of Hinduism, he is infinite and exists everywhere, in smallest of the particle to the whole universe in the form of unknown energy which binds the whole universe and sustains it in the form as it is present.

The main goal of life is to unite one's atma (conscious) to that of parmatama (higher consciousness).

To do so there are many paths told- Karma yoga, Gyana yoga, Kundalini yoga, Raj yoga, Hath yoga, Tantra yoga, Bhakti yoga.

All the above mentioned yoga forms except the last one have become irrelevant in present world due to very drastic social, cultural, religious and educational changes. The first step towards them is calm and controlled mind achieved through meditation but nowadays continuous meditation is very difficult for the common people.

That means only path that most common people can easily follow is Bhakti yoga which is pure spiritual devotion, of love for God. To love God unconditionally! In Bhakti yoga, everything is but a manifestation of the divine and all else is meaningless, including the Ego. When the Bhakta is blessed by divine grace he feels an undivided union and non-dual consciousness prevails. Bhakti Yoga is regarded as the most direct method to merge in cosmic consciousness. Bhakti yoga is based on the doctrine "Love is God and God is Love". The bhakta experiences separation and longs to meet or even just glimpse his beloved.

Lord Krishna

Bhakti yog is of two types - Nirguna and Saguna.

Nirguna bhakti is directed towards the god which is formless, infinite and having qualities which I have described earlier. Famous saints of such category- Kabir and sages of ancient times

Saguna bhakti is practiced by directing your devotion towards one of the manifestations of the almighty described above. This is practiced mainly by common people in form of Rama, Krishna, Vishnu etc, as it is very difficult to worship vacuum or something which is formless. Therefore Saguna bhakti is performed by giving some form, shape, attributes, mythological background to him. Famous saints of this category- Meera, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Biharidas, Tulsidas etc.

It is said that a picture speaks more than thousand words; people put the form which they have developed in their mind to the idols or pictures they worship. Many feel Hinduism use stones or idols for worshipping. It is a wrong assumption. Not only stones, whatever they find suitable they carve or put it in the form they worship. For e.g. during Govardhana puja, it is a tradition to worship Govardhan Parvat and Krishna. However the problem was how to make or carve a parvat (mountain)? Carve it out of stone or draw it on a paper to worship? In Haryana, almost every house in rural areas owns a cow. Hence cow dung is easily available. So the people here build the image of Krishna and the mountain with the dung on the floor and worship it. Now were those people worshipping dung? No they were worshipping Krishna one of the manifestation of that supreme conscious. Similar is the case with idols or portrait, they don't worship the stone or paper; they worship the Saguna form of him.

Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Durga & Goddess Saraswati

How did their face and attire come in existence?

The forms in which gods are worshipped today are the imagination of people who lived thousand years ago and which passed down from generation to generation.

The main male gods worshipped are Shree Ram, Krishna, Vishnu, and Shiva. Look closely you will see all of them having same facial expression and features. Clothing’s and other attire depend on the mythological background, powers and stories which revolve around them. All of them same except Shiva have similar clothing’s and attire as were during ancient times. Shiva is said to be living in natural surrounding therefore everything in his attire is related with nature.

All the male gods and goddesses except few are identical in looks. However each of them represents different attributes and characteristics. Like Saraswati is goddess of learning, Lakshmi the Goddess of wealth, etc. Difference is in their names, vehicles (vahana) and things they hold in their hands, which are symbolic in nature.

How do people know that it is their gods face??

The answer is people themselves decide that which form is close to their heart and what relationship they seek with him and also which attribute they are drawn to. This is the beauty of Hinduism. It works on the principle of “one size doesn't fit all”. People can worship him in any form and in any relationship. Meera worshipped Krishna as her husband, Chaitanya as master, Sudama as friend.

Yoga and its need.

Why is yoga necessary? There are different answers to this question.  On the physical level, it optimizes the body's abilities and functions, and that's another workshop.  On a deeper, more spiritual level, we learned that without a consistent asana practice, meditation and in-depth study are next to impossible.  Thousands of years ago, people noticed that when they sat down to meditate, they could not concentrate--their bodies were jittery.  Hatha yoga was created to "still the body," preparing it for meditation.  This is a moving meditation, and it is the beginning of the mastering of one's body.  It is the external work, meaning it's observable, and repeatable.  So it is scientific.  Then the work turns internal when the yogi turns his attention inward to connect to his bodily sensations, thoughts and feelings.  Succinctly, this is mindfulness.  This internal work is also observable, especially to an expert, but the intricacies are more subtle, so the novice may not notice them.  With time and practice, however, all things sensory occur to the practitioner.  Meanwhile, alternating from external movement to inward noticing, a yogi is present with himself.  If both is done at the same time, the experience is profound.

Yoga is far beyond just flexing your body in a fancy studio. Yoga is a way of life that leads to liberation (nirvana or mukthi). In a broad way, there are 4 main types of Yoga - each path being a unique approach to achieving liberation.

·         Gyana Yoga - achieving liberation through the development of the mind by accumulating knowledge and sharpening wisdom. This deals with the philosophical & scientific aspects of universe.

·         Karma Yoga - achieving liberation by doing your duties and following your passion the best way possible. The key to karma, is to follow the passion to do the good stuff (from starting your business to running your country to just being a good worker) without expecting the result. Because, according to karma philosophy, you will ultimately get what your work deserves.

·         Raja Yoga - this is methodically following a series of exercises to achieve liberation. Practically speaking, yoga means Raja yoga and I will explain it in detail.

·         Bhakti Yoga this is the religious part of Hinduism where it deals with gods, temples and worship. This part is a lot like Christianity.

Raja Yoga (when term yoga is used without any adjective, it is Raja Yoga) has 8 main components to be followed in order.

·         Yama - this is the moral aspect of Yoga practise. It comprises of Satya (being truthful and honest), ahimsa (not doing any harm to anybody), aparigraha (not coveting anybody's wealth). Essentially it means be good. Unless you are good, your mind will wander in guilt when you meditate.

·         Niyama - this is the one that deals with all the duties. It deals with cleanliness, and all the duties you have to do to support the world around you (including your parents, animals around you and your society at large). Essentially it means do good things. "Doing" keeps you active and keeps you in harmony.

·         Asana - Now we are getting to physical aspect of Yoga. This includes 100s of asanas (postures) that keeps your body healthy and glands maintained correct. Essentially it means stay healthy. Unless you are healthy, your mind will wander due to pain & sickness.

·         Pranayama - This is the breathe control part of Yoga. In Yoga philosophy, controlling and organizing breath patterns is considered the essential part of mastering the mind.

·         Prathyahara - This is the part that deals with taking your senses away from the other objects. You could find a quiet place to sit and "meditate" without being disturbed by the world around you.

·         Dharana - This is intense focus on a particular object that improves concentration. The purpose of this exercise is to have the mind focus on only one thing at a time.

·         Dhyana - At this point, you are not focusing anything and let your mind find a way on its own. This is intense meditation.

·         Samadhi - This is the point of complete liberation.

Yoga philosophy is thus all about mastering mind to achieving liberation. In Raja yoga it puts up paths to be followed in order to make the mind in harmony and if you think about it, it is very practical.