Agasthiya Shivanadi Astrology, Vaitheeswaran Koil

February 07, 2017

Why Should We Worship an Idol?

There is a controversy in many communities that why should one worship an Idol. An idol is the support to an amateur worshiper, a support to one’s spiritual childhood. Any form of an image is very essential to begin the worship. It is an exterior icon of God to worship. It acts like as a reminder of God. Such material image of God calls up the mental idea. Our mind gets fixed to that image as God. Else the worshipper will have to associate the ideas of infinity, omnipotence, omniscience, purity, perfection, freedom, holiness, truth and omnipresence. It is impossible for a worshiper to fix the mind on the Absolute or the Infinite. Hence a material form is essential for us to practice concentration.

It is difficult to a common devotee to worship God considering Him to be everywhere. Hence the Idol worship is the simple method to worship the God. An Icon of God is absolutely mandatory to fix our mind to the God. Our mind expects a support lean upon. Our mind cannot begin the worship of the Almighty during initial stages of worship. So to centralize, to fix our mind towards the Almighty some sort of external Icon is inevitable.

Everyone worships an Idol Somehow or Other

Idol-worship is not abnormal to Hinduism. The Christian community worships the Cross, hence they have the image of Cross in their mind while they worship. Muslims have the image of the Kaba stone while they kneel to do their prayer. Likely, the people of the whole universe, are worshippers of idols somehow or other. They have some sort of an image or Icon in their mind.

So the mental image of God can also be considered as Idol. Every worshipper, however intellectual he may be, generates an Icon of God his mind and makes his mind dwell on that Icon as God. Paintings, Picture Images, Sketches are also the different forms of Idol. The mind requires an existing icon or idol as a support to worship God. So, it is unwise to condemn idol worship.