Translation of a Sanskrit Tract on Different Modes of Worship-rewritten in modern English.
The Question
In some Shastras (sacred Hindu texts), there are many authoritative passages that command people to worship using idols. However, in other passages, the texts strongly advise against idol worship. Because this contradiction has caused confusion and doubt, could a learned scholar please clarify this and remove these doubts? (Signed) Ramdhun Sharma
The Reply
To answer this question, we can look at the definitive ruling given in the Bhagavat (which represents the core essence of all the Shastras). This ruling was given by the great and revered Saint Vyasa, who had a perfect and thorough understanding of all the Vedas. His decision completely resolves these doubts. According to the commentary of Shridhara, Vyasa states:
"A person should worship Me, the Lord of the Universe, using an image or any other physical form. They should do this during their free time, when they are not performing the specific religious rituals required for their social class. However, they must only do this until they reach the conscious realization that I actually dwell inside all living beings."
Shridhara's Commentary on Vyasa The revered and worshipped commentator Shridhara adds the following explanation to Vyasa's text:
"This verse shows that worshipping with an idol or physical form is not completely useless. It also shows that as long as a person relies on idol worship, they are still obligated to perform the traditional religious rituals prescribed for their specific social class."
This passage clearly sets a time limit on how long idol worship is appropriate, and it explains the specific ritual practices that must accompany it while it is being used.
Vyasa's Instructions for Higher Worship Vyasa then continues:
"Furthermore, a person must direct their worship to Me—who resides in the heart and dwells in all living creatures—by giving charity to the needy, showing honor to others, practicing friendship, and treating everyone with equal regard."*
(Footnote on Spiritual Devotion): Spiritual devotion comes in two different forms:
The First Kind (Non-Dualistic): This involves meditating on the fact that the human soul has a divine origin. Continuously meditating on this idea is believed to rescue the soul from all human feelings and passions. Ultimately, this brings the soul back to its original, divine perfection, which is far beyond human comprehension or description. This state is commonly called "absorption." Because devotees who practice this mode of devotion are considered naturally incapable of committing any moral or social crimes, they are no longer bound by the specific rules, commands, or prohibitions found in the Shastras.
The Second Kind (Dualistic): This involves believing that the Deity possesses all perfect attributes (such as being everywhere and all-powerful). It also involves believing that the individual, conscious human soul—while currently trapped in a physical, material body—is separate from and dependent upon the Deity. For devotees who practice this second kind of devotion, performing charitable acts (as mentioned in Vyasa's text above) is a required religious duty. After death, this class of devotees will enjoy eternal happiness in the highest heaven as individual beings, remaining separate from the Deity and from each other. (In contrast, the Vedant affirms that those who simply worship using physical forms or idols will only enjoy temporary happiness).
Author's note: Based on these two different understandings of spiritual devotion, the reader can understand why a spiritual teacher might sometimes speak as the Deity in the first person ("I") when referring to the assumed divine nature of his own soul, but later in the same discourse refer to God in the third person ("He") when discussing the soul's current, separated, and subordinate state.
Recognizing the Divine in All Creatures Vyasa continues this thought across six and a half verses. He begins by saying, "Living, animate objects are preferable to lifeless, inanimate ones," and he ends with this sentence:
"The person who is prescribed to perform the four duties mentioned above (charity, honor, friendship, and equal regard) must mentally bow down to and show deep respect for all creatures, acknowledging the different degrees of excellence visible in each of them."
Vyasa then concludes:
"A person must show respect to all creatures by recognizing that the all-powerful Lord resides in their hearts, constantly watching over their souls."*
(Footnote on the Lord in the Heart): As the Mundaka Upanishad (Chapter 3) states: "Two birds, who share the exact same spiritual essence and live as companions, reside together in one single tree, which represents the physical body. One of these birds (the human soul) actively eats the variously flavored fruits of its earthly actions. The other bird (God) does not eat the fruit, but simply watches all events as a silent witness." Additionally, the Mundaka Upanishad (Section 2) states: "Because God is brilliant and closer to all creatures than anything else, He is called the operator within the heart."
The Meaning of Equal Regard The author himself clarifies that when the verse commands us to show an "equal regard to all" creatures, it means we should respect them because they are all equally related to the Divine Spirit. It does not mean we should pretend their individual, physical qualities or identities are exactly the same.
Final Conclusion
Therefore, it logically follows that the passages commanding worship through physical forms (idols), and the passages strongly advising against it, are not actually contradicting each other. Instead, they are meant to be applied separately to different types of people, depending entirely on which stage of spiritual understanding those people have reached.*
(Footnote on Christian and Judaic Worship): Under the Christian system, worshipping God through physical matter seems to be completely unauthorized. As stated in the Gospel of John (Chapter 4, Verse 21): "The hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem." And in Verse 23: "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth." However, in the older Judaic religion, physical, material worship was officially sanctioned, as can be seen in the Book of Leviticus and other texts, and is even acknowledged in the verses quoted above from the Gospel of John.
Comments
Post a Comment