speck of space where He is not. Why do you then say that He is not the idols?
The idol is a support for the neophyte. It is a prop of his spiritual childhood. A form or
image is necessary for worship in the beginning. It is not possible for all to fix the mind on the
Absolute or the Infinite. A concrete form is necessary for the vast majority for practicing
concentration.
Idols are not the idle fancies of sculptors, but shining channels through which the heart of
the devotee flows towards God. Though the image is worshipped, the devotee feels the presence
of the Lord in it and pours out his devotion unto it. The idol remains an idol, but the worship
goes to the Lord.
To a devotee, the image is a mass of Chaitanya or consciousness. He draws inspiration
from the image. The image guides him. It talks to him. It assumes human form to help him in a
variety of ways. The image of Lord Siva in the temple at Madurai in South India helped the fuelcutter
and the old woman. The image in the temple at Tirupati assumed human form and gave
witness in the court to help His devotees. There are marvels and mysteries. Only the devotees
understand these.
Idol worship is not peculiar to Hinduism. The Christians worship the Cross. They have
the image of the Cross in their mind. The Mohammedans keep the image of the Kaaba stone
when they kneel and do prayers. The mental image also is a form of idol. The difference is not
one in kind, but only one of degree.
All worshippers, however intellectual they may be, generate a form in the mind and make
the mind dwell on that image. Everyone is an idol worshipper. Pictures and drawings are only a
form of Pratima. A gross mind needs a concrete symbol as a prop or Alambana; a subtle mind
requires an abstract symbol. Even a Vedantin has the symbol OM for fixing the wandering mind.
It is not only pictures or images in stone and wood that are idols. Dialectics and leaders also
become idols. So, why condemn idolatry?
From "May I answer that" by Swami Sivananda (1987-1963). More Informations on Swami Sivananda: on the Website of Divine Life Society, Photographs of Swami Sivananda, German Pages on Swami Sivananda
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