u fool.. if u have no knowledge of Hinduism, then u must not speak...An idol is a pointer to the Truth. For example, a mother tries to show the moon to her child that she is holding in her arms. She does this by pointing her index finger at the moon and telling the child, "see the moon." Initially the child thinks that the mom's finger IS the moon. As the finger gradually points towards the moon, the child's eyes also move towards the moon, and eventually, the child spots the real moon--at which point the finger is not needed anymore. The finger served as the idol. It was necessary in the beginning, because it helped to point to the Truth. When Truth is discovered, the idol is not needed anymore. That's exactly how Hinduism views idol worship. Seekers who cannot grasp the Oneness and universality of God can worship idols, as idols point to the One Truth.
It seems possibly ironic somehow that you chide us for not knowing Hinduism while at the same time quoting a Buddhist scripture. And if I recall correctly, that particular Buddhist scripture was not pro-idol but anti-religion, some ridiculous semantic argument against calling Buddhism doctrinal because it is only the finger and not the moon and therefore not a religion. (I don't know what the deal is with people of every religion on earth feeling so embarrassed about being religious that they have to get elitist about it and insist that their own religion isn't a religion at all like all the rest are. It's quite universal.)
As for idols, if a deity is vast and superior and mysterious enough to be worthy of worship, then it should be vast and superior and mysterious enough to be impossible to symbolize with any physical object or human conception. There's also something to be said with sincere devotion entailing "cutting out the middle man" as much as is humanly possible.
Peace be to any prophets I may have mentioned above. Praised and exalted be my Maker, if I have mentioned Him. (Come to think of it praise Him anyway.)
@airforce: You dont need to tell me about the Vedas. That is just one quote from the Vedas. Vedas are NOT written by God.. They are a compilation of philosophical ideas. The same Vedas tell us that it is okay to make idols of Gods. God has appeared several times on Earth. Lord Ram(The Supreme God) Himself worshipped the idol of Lord Shiva...and you yourself have posted the picture. Are u saying He is wrong.
Heres more to it:
an excerpt from the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto 3, Chapter 25, verse 35, purport
Māyāvādīs and atheists accept the forms of the Deities in the temple of the Lord as idols, but devotees do not worship idols. They directly worship the Personality of Godhead in His archa incarnation. archa refers to the form which we can worship in our present condition. Actually, in our present state it is not possible to see God in His spiritual form because our material eyes and senses cannot conceive of a spiritual form. We cannot even see the spiritual form of the individual soul.
When a man dies we cannot see how the spiritual form leaves the body. That is the defect of our material senses. In order to be seen by our material senses, the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts a favorable form which is called archa-vigraha. This archa-vigraha, sometimes called the archa incarnation, is not different from Him. Just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts various incarnations, He takes on forms made out of matter — clay, wood, metal and jewels.
There are many śāstric injunctions which give instructions for carving forms of the Lord. These forms are not material. If God is all-pervading, then He is also in the material elements. There is no doubt about it. But the atheists think otherwise.
Although they preach that everything is God, when they go to the temple and see the form of the Lord, they deny that He is God. According to their own theory, everything is God. Then why is the Deity not God? Actually, they have no conception of God.
The devotees' vision, however, is different; their vision is smeared with love of God. As soon as they see the Lord in His different forms, the devotees become saturated with love, for they do not find any difference between the Lord and His form in the temple, as do the atheists. The smiling face of the Deity in the temple is beheld by the devotees as transcendental and spiritual, and the decoration of the body of the Lord is very much appreciated by the devotees.
It is the duty of the spiritual master to teach how to decorate the Deity in the temple, how to cleanse the temple and how to worship the Deity. There are different procedures and rules and regulations which are followed in temples of Vishnu, and devotees go there and see the Deity, the vigraha, and spiritually enjoy the form because all of the Deities are benevolent.
The devotees express their minds before the Deity, and in many instances the Deity also gives answers. But one must be a very elevated devotee in order to be able to speak with the Supreme Lord. Sometimes the Lord informs the devotee through dreams. These exchanges of feelings between the Deity and the devotee are not understandable by atheists, but actually the devotee enjoys them. Kapila Muni is explaining how the devotees see the decorated body and face of the Deity and how they speak with Him in devotional service
What are your views on the Shiv Sena or the other extreme Hindus who wish to burn down every masjid in India, and who wish to send all muslims back to Pakistan or Bangladesh?
What are your views on the Shiv Sena or the other extreme Hindus who wish to burn down every masjid in India, and who wish to send all muslims back to Pakistan or Bangladesh?
Thanks
one phrase, 'Terrorism has no religion.' You cannot control one's train of thoughts...
@airforce: You dont need to tell me about the Vedas. That is just one quote from the Vedas. Vedas are NOT written by God.. They are a compilation of philosophical ideas. The same Vedas tell us that it is okay to make idols of Gods. God has appeared several times on Earth. Lord Ram(The Supreme God) Himself worshipped the idol of Lord Shiva...and you yourself have posted the picture. Are u saying He is wrong.
So the vedas contradict themselves , right ?
How do we know that a book claimed to be from God is really the Book of God? One of the tests, out of the many such tests, is - that a message emanating from an Omniscient Being
MUST be consistent with itself. It ought to be free from all discrepancies and contradictions. This is exactly what the the Book of God says:
4:82
Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy
If God Almighty wants us to verify the authenticity of His Book (The Holy Qur-án) with this acid test, why should we not apply the very same test to any other Book claiming to be from Him?
And If apply that test to the veda and if we find contradiction ,then the whole Veda can be thrown out .
When truth is hurled at falsehood , falsehood perishes. because falsehood by its nature is bound to perish [21:18- Holy quran]
Since Lord Krishna brought Meditation upon earth and Mohammed meditated in the mountains...
Could the prophet be meditating upon Krishna himself?
prophet Muhammad also destroyed 360 idols, I'm sure one of them would have been Lord Krishna
He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers. [Quran {33:43}] www.QuranicAudio.com www.Quran.com
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