is not idol worship
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Imported quote 13151 Here is a description of the astahga-yoga system, to which Dhruva Maharaja was already accustomed. Astahga-yoga was never meant to be practiced in a fashionable city. Dhruva Maharaja went to Badarikasrama, and in a solitary place, alone, he practiced yoga. He concentrated his mind on the arca-vigraha, the worshipable Deity of the Lord, which exactly represents the Supreme Lord, and thus thinking constantly of that Deity, he became absorbed in trance. Worship of the arca-vigraha is not idol worship. The arca-vigraha is an incarnation of the Lord in a form appreciable by a devotee. Therefore devotees engage in the temple in the service of the Lord as arca-vigraha, a form made of sthūla (material) objects such as stone, metal, wood, jewels or paint. All of these are called sthūla, or physical representations. Since the devotees follow the regulative principles of worship, even though the Lord is there in His physical form, He is nondifferent from His original spiritual form. Thus the devotee gets the benefit of achieving the ultimate goal of life, that is to say, becoming always absorbed in thought of the Lord. This incessant thought of the Lord, as prescribed in the Bhagavad-gita, makes one the topmost yogi.
(More...) Imported quote 14709 Imported quote 16100 In the present state of our imperfect material existence we cannot see the Supreme Lord on account of our imperfect vision. But still, those devotees who want to see Him by means of material vision are favored by the Lord, Who appears in so-called material form to accept the devotees' service. This does not mean that such devotees, who are in the lowest stage of devotional service, are worshiping an idol. In fact, they are worshiping the Lord, Who has agreed to appear before them in a particular way which is approachable by them. This Arca Form is not fashioned in terms of the order or whim of the worshiper. It is eternally existent with all Its paraphernalia. This can be actually felt by a sincere devotee, but not by an atheist.
(More...) Imported quote 16106 It is said in the Brahma-samhita (Ch. V) that the Supreme Lord Govinda by His one plenary portion enters into the halo of the universe and distributes himself as Paramatma, or the Supersoul, not only within the heart of every living being, but also within every atom of the material elements. Thus the Lord is all-pervading by His inconceivable potency, and thus He entered the womb of Uttara to save His beloved devotee Maharaja Pariksit. In the Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 9.13) the Lord assured everyone that His devotees are never to be vanquished. No one can kill a devotee of the Lord because he is protected by the Lord, and no one can save a person whom the Lord desires to kill. The Lord is all-powerful, and therefore He can both save and kill as He likes. He became visible to His devotee Maharaja Pariksit even in that awkward position (in the womb of his mother) in a shape just suitable for his vision. The Lord can become bigger than thousands of universes and can become smaller than an atom at the same time. Merciful as He is, He becomes just suitable to the vision of the limited living being. He is unlimited. He is not limited by any measurement of our calculation. He can become bigger than what we can think of, and He can become smaller than what we can conceive. But in all circumstances He is the same all-powerful Lord. There is no difference between the thumblike Visnu in the womb of Uttara and the full-fledged Narayana in the Vaikuntha-dhama, the kingdom of Godhead. He accepts the form of arca-vigraha (worshipable Deity) just to accept service from His different incapable devotees. By the mercy of the arca-vigraha, the form of the Lord in material elements, the devotees who are in the material world can easily approach the Lord, although He is not conceivable by the material senses. The arca-vigraha is therefore an all-spiritual form of the Lord to be perceived by the material devotees; such arca-vigraha of the Lord is never to be considered material. There is no difference between matter and spirit for the Lord, although there is a gulf of difference between the two in the case of the conditioned living being. As for the Lord, there is nothing but spiritual existence, and there is nothing except spiritual existence for the pure devotee of the Lord in his intimate relation with the Lord.
(More...) Imported quote 18206 Therefore here it is said, bhaktya puman jata-viraga. Bhakti is so powerful that if you engage yourself in the bhakti-marga or bhakti-yoga... Here it is said, rjubhir yoga-margaiḥ. Rjubhiḥ means very easy to perform. How? Now, drsta-srutan mad-racananucintaya. Drsta. You can see Krsna. Krsna is kind enough. Although Krsna is beyond our vision-we cannot see with these eyes Krsna-but Krsna has agreed to be seen by you or by us. How? He has assumed this arca-vigraha. Krsna, this vigraha, don't think it is stone. Even it is stone you think, but Krsna can become visible before you like a stone, because you cannot see beyond stone. That is Krsna's mercy. Because your eyes or senses are so imperfect that you cannot see Krsna present everywhere in His original, spiritual... We have got difference between spiritual and material. We have got, because we are imperfect. But Krsna has no such distinction. Because He is Absolute, He can become spiritual, He can become material, as He likes. That does not make any difference of Krsna. Then how Krsna is almighty, all-powerful? He can change matter into spirit, spirit into matter. That is Krsna. So don't think that, as the atheist class men they think, that "They are worshiping an idol." Even it is an idol, still Krsna. That is absolute. That is absolute nature of Krsna. Even you think it is stone, it is metal, it is wood, still, He is Krsna.
(More...) Imported quote 18393 That bhakti means they can see God, Krsna, and they can serve Him. Hrsikena hrsikesa-sevanam bhaktir ucyate [Cc Madhya 19.170]. Bhakti means to engage your senses, hrsika, in the service of the Hrsikesa. That is bhakti. So here it is said, pasyanti te me rucirani. Krsna is so beautiful, rucirani. Rucira means very attractive. Now, fortunately, people in Bombay say that our Deity here is more beautiful. They say there is no such Deity in Bombay city. So this is our duty, to dress Krsna in such an attractive way that people at least see that it is very beautiful. Then he becomes a devotee, simply by appreciating. Simply by appreciating, if they say, "Now the Deity worship is very nice," then they go a step forward, step forward immediately, simply by appreciation. Then other things will come gradually. Therefore the temple worship should be exactly to the routine, to the instruction of the sastra and guru and acarya, so that the worshiper in the temple as well as the visitor, both of them will benefit. They will be gradually seeing.
(More...) Imported quote 18887 So due to this nonsensical meaning, people are puzzled, that "Whom to surrender? Because Krsna I do not see." No. Krsna is always existing. So you can... Krsna is existing, and to be perceivable by you, Krsna has appeared before you. Here is the arca-mūrti. The arca-mūrti we are serving. It is not that... Don't think... Arcye visnau sila-dhiḥ. If you are rascal, they will think that "These people are serving a stone statue." The rascals will think like that, but that is not the fact. Here, practical serving of Krsna. The same acarya has taught that "Here is Krsna." Sri-vigraharadhana-nitya-nana-srhgara-tan-mandira-marjanadau. Sri-vigraha. This arca-mūrti, sri-vigraha, aradhanam, you should worship. This is the acarya-pantha. This is the parampara.
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