An Insight on Idol Worship and the role of Priests

 

For centuries now, Idol worship has faced continual claims and comments on being an action of least worth, and should be terminated because it doesn’t satisfy the logic which modern man searches from spirituality. Idol worship has been criticized, and this blog today will justify them all. My words do not offer a spiritual authority; I’m just a servant of god, and glorifying the lost dignity of Idol Worship and the role of Brahmins.

Brahmins too have been facing scarcity of their true nature, and aren’t, thus, able to justify their presence in the temple or in front of the idol.

A greater section of the world believes that the society began some 2000 years ago with the onset of “The New Testaments”, but it is not true. India has been the nation which has been built and nurtured by so many saints and sages, so many divine incarnations, that has made the whole soil of India, holy. It has been in existence since so many ages, and Hinduism has been the religion that has the most ancient order of Monks, which has taught the nation tolerance and universal acceptance. Hence before justifying and breaking certain myths, i would ask all my readers who are Hindu, to be proud to have born in such a religion. And those from other religion, Oh dear Brother, It is the same mohammaden that we follow, it’s just that we call it by different name, It is the same Christ we pray, but with earthen lamps instead of candles.

 I, on behalf of all the Hindu people present to you, an insight on Idol Worship and Brahmins.

The God who has no form, or the “niraakar bramha” is undoubtedly a concept of faith, but this has been past. In order to build devotion and belief on the formless god, one needs a highly disciplined and meditated mind. For common man like us, this has been nothing more than a concept written in Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta, The Bible, The Quran. In order to focus one’s faith on someone, one needs a form to meditate upon. Some see it as a father, some see it as the divine mother, for some it is a friend, and for some it is the punisher. None of them are misled. They all have faith in someone, but all these “someone” ultimately drain upto the ultimatum, or the formless god. “It doesn’t matter for the path you follow, because all paths ultimately lead to him. What’s important is, you should follow.”

Now having our mind fixed upon the form, whether father, protector, destroyer, or redeemer, we sought for a physical form to pray to. And this led to the existence of idol worship as we see it.

The whole concept of Idol worship is originated from the divine concept that “Each soul is divine. Every soul is a part of the almighty. And hence, what we actually search outside, it resides in us.” And this brings on the need for a priest, or Brahmin. The job of the priest is to manifest this divine soul in him, and portrait the same divine soul into the Idol. This is termed as “prana pratistha” or the “avahana” or installing the divine soul into the idol. Now the Idol that was earlier just a fabrication of mud, water and stones, has now the divine soul that has been set up by the priest. People decorate this life incorporated idol as per their own choice, some show candles to it, some put coloured powders on it, while some cover it with ornamented sheets of cloth. It is all faith and this gives them a boost in their faith, and this faith when manifested in them, improvises their body functioning, hence helping them in pursuing their duties with more efficiency.

The priest, or the Brahmin assigned with the job of putting in the soul to the idol, has to maintain certain level of purity, so that the divinity doesn’t find it difficult to be manifested in him. Hence Brahmins have a certain protocol to which they stick to. But with the onset of logic and science, people have shortened their logic, and hence call it blind faith.

This is my appeal to all the intellectual masses reading this, everything written in scriptures and advised by saints and sages, has logic and reason behind it. If we aren’t able to recognize it, doesn’t mean the logic is invalid. It just proves us our ignorance.

Hence, wake up and rise, accept what the sages have to say.

Accept to live in misery with Christ than living in palace without him.

And don’t criticize for what is unknown to you, because remember all great leaders of every religion had so many criticisms to deal with, and yet we kneel before them in prayers.

I bow down before my master who showed the world the unity in diversity for religion, Shri Ramakrishna, who himself had manifested goddess kali in the temple of Dakshineshwar, Kolkata.

Hope, my readers would have had a different conviction by the end of this blog. Will keep you enlightened further.

Jai maa..