Why do the hindus worship idols ?.What is the rationale behind it ?

Question

Despite being the most ancient , the hinduphilosophy has been and is still most scientific and logical and wuie in accordance with the nature of thinngs . That beinghe case , the practice of idol worship is and can not surely be something meaningless as many who do not know anything aout Hinduis think and say because of their numerical strenght and power .It is not difficult to understand the rationale behind the practice of idol worship and the scientific facts relating to it by an analysis of the scientific Hindu philosophy even by one who dose nt belong to the religion.Let the Hindus think about it instead of being detached to sprituality while being attached to mundane aspects of life contrary to the teachings of lord Krisna in Bhagavad -Gita . The answer can be found in Bhagavad -gita itself and one does not have to wade through the whole maze of vedic scriptures . Let us think .Once you understand the basic thought of hinduism , you will see the reson behind every practice .

Answer 1

Reference 1:
Pratima, the idol, is a substitute or symbol. The image in a temple, though it is made of stone, wood or metal, is precious for a devotee as it bears the mark of his Lord, as it stands for something which he holds holy and eternal. It speaks to him in its own language of devotion.The Lord is superimposed on the image and the image generates divine thoughts in the worshipper.

For a beginner, Pratima is an absolute necessity. By worshipping an idol, Isvara is pleased. The Pratima is made up of five elements. Five elements constitute the body of the Lord. The idol remains an idol, but the worship goes to the Lord.The Lord is highly pleased when a small portion of His Virat (cosmic) body is worshipped. An idol is a part of the body of the Lord. The whole world is His body, Virat form. The devotion goes to the Lord. The worshipper superimposes on the image the Lord and all His attributes.

He does Shodasopachara for the idol, the sixteen kinds of paying respects or service to the Lord. The presence of the Deity is invoked (Avahana). Then a seat (Asana) is offered. Then the feet are washed (Padya). Then offering of water is given (Arghya). Arghya is offering hospitality. Then comes bathing (Snana). Then the image is dressed (Vastra). Then comes the investiture with the sacred thread (Yajnopavita). Then sandal paste (Chandana) is offered. Then comes offering of flowers (Pushpa). They are the symbols of the heart-flowers of devotion, love and reverence. Then incense is burnt (Dhupa). Then a lamp is lit and waved before the Deity (Dipa). Then food is offered (Naivedya). Then betel is offered (Tambula). Then camphor is burnt (Nirajana). Then Svarnapushpa (gift of gold) is offered. In the end, the Deity is bidden farewell to (Visarjana). In these external forms of worship, the inner love finds expression. The wandering mind is fixed now in this form of worship. The aspirant gradually feels the nearness of the Lord. He attains purity of heart and slowly annihilates his egoism.

To the worshipper who believes the symbol, any kind of image is the body of the Lord under the form of stone, clay, brass, picture, Saligrama, etc. Such worship can never be idolatry. All matter is a manifestation of God. God is present in everything which exists. Everything is an object of worship, for all is a manifestation of God who is therein worshipped. The very act of worship implies that the object of worship is superior and conscious. This way of looking at things must be attained by the devotee. The untutored mind must be trained to view things in the above manner. Idol-worship makes concentration of man simpler and easier. You can bring before your minds eye the great Lilas the Lord has played in His particular Avatara in which you view Him. This is one of the easiest modes of Self-realisation.

Puja makes the idol shine with the divine resplendence. God is then enshrined in the idol. From here, He will protect you in a special manner. The idol will perform miracles. The place where it is installed is at once transformed into a temple, nay, a Vaikuntha or Kailasa in reality. Those who live in such a place are freed from miseries, from diseases, from failures and from Samsara itself. The awakened Divinity in the idol acts as a guardian angel blessing all, conferring the highest good on those who bow to it.

There are different stages of worship.
The first is the worship of idols. The next is recitation of Mantras and offering of prayers. Mental worship is superior to worship with flowers. Meditation on the Absolute or the attributeless Nirguna Brahman is the best of all.
The supreme state is Self-realisation or Brahma-sakshatkara. The second in rank is meditation. The Yogi practises Sadhana or unceasing meditation on the Supreme Self. The third is the worship of symbols. The fourth is the performance of rituals and pilgrimages to holy places. The Sastras and Gurus are like kind mothers. They take hold of the hands of the aspirants, take them step by step, stage by stage, till they are established in Nirvikalpa Samadhi or superconscious state.

Edited and added ( Reference 2):
Saguna worship is necessary in the initial stages of spiritual development....This is where idol worship comes! Even great Masters like Ramakrishna Parahamsa have been benefitted in their initial stages by idol worship. In the Bhagavat Gita, the Blessed Lord says "In whatever form a devotee wishes to worship me and offer his salutations, I accept that myself and bestow the wishes". So, even philosophical devotees need not have a complex as to whether they are falling from their perfect state of realization if they have an attachment to any idol form. A day will come when he/she will attain the perfection to realize God within himselves/herself and in every living being or for that matter in every quark and atom!

3) I wish to conclude with the following:-
Gita, chapter 12, sloka 5:

"kleso 'dhikataras tesam
avyaktasakta-cetasam
avyakta hi gatir duhkham
dehavadbhir avapyate"

klesah--trouble; adhika-tarah--more troublesome; tesam--of them; avyakta--to unmanifested; asakta--being attached; cetasam--of those whose minds; avyakta--toward the unmanifested; hi--certainly; gatih duhkham--progress is troublesome; deha-vadbhih--of the embodiments; avapyate--achieve.

For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied.
Derived Meaning: For human beings, it is more difficult to realize the formless God than the One with form.

Answer 2

Idol is a support for the neophyte. It is a prop of his spiritual childhood. A form or image isnecessary for worship in the beginning. It is an external symbol of God for worship. It is a reminderof God. The material image calls up the mental idea. Steadiness of mind is obtained by imageworship. The worshipper will have to associate the ideas of infinity, omnipotence, omniscience,purity, perfection, freedom, holiness, truth, omnipresence. It is not possible for all to fix the mind onthe Absolute or the Infinite. A concrete form is necessary for the vast majority for practisingconcentration. To behold God everywhere and to practise the presence of God is not possible for theordinary man. Idol worship is the easiest form of worship for the modern man.A symbol is absolutely indispensable for fixing the mind. The mind wants a prop to leanupon. It cannot have a conception of the Absolute in the initial stages. Without the help of someexternal aid, in the initial stages, the mind cannot be centralised. In the beginning, concentration ormeditation is not possible without a symbol. There is no reference to worship of idols in the Vedas. The Puranas and the Agamas givedescriptions of idol-worship both in the houses and in the temples. Idol-worship is not peculiar toHinduism. Christians worship the Cross. They have the image of the Cross in their mind. TheMohammedans keep the image of Kaaba stone when they kneel and do prayers. The people of thewhole world, save a few Yogis and Vedantins, are all worshippers of idols. They keep some imageor the other in the mind.The mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not one of kind, but only one ofdegree. All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in the mind and makethe mind dwell on that image.
Even as you can catch the sound waves of people all over the worldthrough the radio receiving set, it is possible to commune with the all-pervading Lord through themedium of an idol. The divinity of the all-pervading ‘God is vibrant in every atom of creation.There is not a speck of space where He is not. Why do you then say that He is not in the idols?There are others who would glibly say, “Oh, God is all-pervading formless being. How canHe be confined to this idol?” Are these people ever conscious of His omnipresence? Do they alwayssee Him and Him alone in everything? No. It is their ego that prevents them from bowing to theidols of God and with that motive puts this lame excuse forward!Empty vessels only make much sound. A practical man who does meditation and worship,who is full of knowledge and real devotion keeps always silence. He influences and teaches othersthrough silence. He only knows whether a Murti is necessary in the beginning for concentration or not.

Answer 3

Dear Friend There is only one God in Hinduism. "Without a form how can God be mediated upon? If (He is) without any form, where will the mind fix itself? When there is nothing for the mind to attach itself to, it will slip away from meditation or will glide into a state of slumber. Therefore the wise will meditate on some form, remembering, however, that the form is a superimposition and not a reality." Hindus worship idols with great vigor and devotion. We Hindus invoke the presence of God, or the Gods, from the higher, unseen worlds, into stone images so that we can experience His divine presence, commune with Him and receive His blessings. But the stone or metal Deity images are not mere symbols of the Gods. They are the form through which their love, power and blessings flood forth into this world. We may liken this mystery to our ability to communicate with others through the telephone. We do not talk to the telephone; rather we use it as a means of communication with another person. Without the telephone, we could not converse across long distances; and without the sanctified icon in the temple we cannot easily commune with the Deity. Divinity can also be invoked and felt in a sacred fire, or in a tree, or in the enlightened person of a satguru. In our temples, God is invoked in the sanctum by highly trained priests. Through the practice of yoga, or meditation, we invoke God inside ourself. Yoga means to yoke oneself to God within. The image or icon of worship is a focus for our prayers and devotions. Another way to explain icon worship is to acknowledge that Hindus believe God is everywhere, in all things, whether stone, wood, creatures or people. So, it is not surprising that they feel comfortable worshiping the divine in His material manifestation. The Hindu can see God in stone and water, air and ether, and inside his own soul.

Answer 4

The idol is a support for the neophyte. It is a prop in his spiritual childhood. A form or image is necessary for worship in the beginning. It is an external symbol of God for worship. It is a reminder of God. The material image calls up the mental idea. Steadiness of mind is obtained by image worship. The worshipper will have to associate the ideas of infinity, omnipotence, omniscience, purity, perfection, freedom, holiness, truth and omnipresence with the form of worship he chooses.

It is not possible for all to fix the mind on the Absolute. A concrete form is necessary for the vast majority for practicing concentration. To behold God everywhere and to practice the presence of God is not possible for the ordinary man. Idol worship is the easiest form of worship for the modern man.

A symbol is absolutely indispensable for fixing the mind. The mind wants a prop to lean upon. It cannot hold a conception of the Absolute in the initial stages. Without the help of some external aid the mind cannot be centralised. In the beginning, therefore, concentration or meditation is not possible without a symbol.-

Answer 5

The form of the Lord is transcendental--made of sat chit ananda--the effulgence of the Lord is like the rays of the sun and is called Brahman. And the Deity of those effulgent rays is called parabrahman- This parabrahman is Lord Sri Krishna who's body is eternal-never ages past a youth of 16--so far as the Deity form of the Lord in the temple--this form is non-different from the Lord and should never be looked upon as an idol- Why? This is due to the causeless mercy of the Lord--who is accepting the devotees service even though the devotee is still here in the material realm--He says in Bagavadgita--If one offers me with Love-a flower, fruit or water--I will accept--So He comes in this Archavigraha to accept the devotees little bit of bhakti- this is His kindness--He is God and is free to do as He wills--He can accept offerings with His eyes-or His ears-and for some fortunate souls He takes the offering right off the plate and hungry for love as He is -eats the whole thing--it is based upon Love--and the form of the Lord comes to help this love develop more and more--

Answer 6

every religion has it's own importance . and the way of worship is also different .
a muslim , prays with his palms open , while a hindu with joined hands .
in the muslims worshiping idols is wrong .
but the christians too worship the holy cross and one can find a statue of lord Jesus .
no one has seen god .
no one knows the height , weight , color , of god . but we still believe that there is someone called god who is the master of the whole universe .
you must have seen the muslims praying with there face towards the west . haven't you ???. when it is said that god is every where , then why do they face the west and pray and why do the hindus face towards the east to pray ?.
idol worship is just to imagine that god may be something according to our imagination .
idol worship is certainly not wrong .
and in order to pray , one doesn't need any idol .
for a true worshiper , be it of any religion . it is the way he / she prays .
sincerity , faith and unselfishness are the most important things for a true prayer .
idols are just an imagination of man . and no one has seen god at all .

Answer 7

Rationally speaking, people can't concentrate on the formless and attributeless. That's why ancient sages and saints, when established in deep meditation, have imagined forms of gods from their intuitive knowledge, taking into consideration the distinct aspects of the hindu mythology. Thus people can better focus their attention on these images while praying or concentrating on The Lord. In fact, God resides in each and every living creature of this planet!!! You only have to be aware of this and realize Him!!!!!

P.S. : One more thing. People who worship idols and images will always have this barrier between themselves and God but people who are in spirituality will surely attain God because they know that God is already inside them and not in temples and churches. Wake up man! there is an immense potential of divinity within you, wake it up !!!!!

Answer 8

There are many things in all religions that are not rational and science cannot proove. Most of the religions worship some idol/idols whom they beleive is a role model of their relegion and by looking at it you will also get inspiration.

Answer 9

It is an easyer way to establish your attention. The art start emotions. The eye need to see representations. The mind need to exprim it self by the art. I need symbols!
I am happy to venerate gods, and happy to make this haveing a statue near me. It is a symbol, vibration, ressounance! A statue came from an ideea, an ideea from sensitive world of spirit, and spirit from world of Gods!
Namaste!

Answer 10

In my opinion,the concept of idol worship is for all persons who are not yet enlightened.For ,enlightened souls can pray God without any idols before them. Prayer is nothing but autosuggestion which after repeated requests or instructions tend to materialize.Similarly,ordinary people will pray God in the form of some idol of their choice to attain their wishes.Best example is of Ekalavya who attained perfection in archery by keeping the idol of Dronacharya and earnestly practicing.Similar is the idol worship of God.

Answer 11

The answer for this question has been given by so many knowledgeable persons. To simplify the answer it is a method of pursuing the search or concentration "from the known to unknown".