Five Potential Warnings From The Guide At The Temple

By krishnasmercy on February 16, 2025 • ( 0 )

“Upon observing the brahmana’s rigid vow, Lord Shri Ramachandra ordered His younger brother Lakshmana to deliver a pair of Sita-Rama Deities to the brahmana. The brahmana received the Deities from Shri Lakshmanaji and worshiped Them faithfully as long as he lived.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 9.11, Purport)

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False gods. A demonic cult. Flagrantly violating the prohibition against worshiping idols. Assigning a form to the one who is formless. Bringing the Almighty down to the level of the common man, who are otherwise the lowliest of sinners. Playfully interacting with God instead of living in total fear of His wrath, His fury, His vengeance, and His disappointment. Thinking that God stays kind, loving, nice, and forgiving while viewing the population from His strategically positioned perch in the heavens.

These are some of the accusations lobbed at followers of the Vedic tradition. Obviously, the people making such accusations are not very smart. They have amazing intelligence that is always with them, in the manner of the bliss and vibrancy which are infinite, as attached to the living being itself. In this case, that intelligence is suppressed to a large degree, barely exceeding that found in the highest of animal species. Indeed, the person making such accusations cannot properly identify themselves, so of course they would never understand a tradition that is as old as time itself, which completely and perfectly aligns with the natures of both the participants and the objects of worship.

Rather than refute each point individually, we can follow the story of a hypothetical situation involving a visit to a formal house of worship. We will focus on a place that worships Vishnu, which is one of countless names to identify the Almighty. Visually speaking, this temple might feature many of the characteristics that are prone to derision and incorrect identification.

For this reason, we insert a guide into our story. The guide sets boundaries at the beginning. They set the proper expectations, as in this case the visitors are fortunate to even be allowed entry. In the modern day degraded system, the qualification will be based solely on appearance, but in truth it is the consciousness which matters.

This guide offers several warnings to the visitors. These warnings help to explain the timeless and ageless practice of worshiping the deity, in the authorized manner. The cat is already out of the bag, so to speak, as the images inside of temples are readily available today to anyone searching the internet, but the instruction offers a good introduction into how and why such practices are still followed to this day and the ultimate benefit to be extracted.

1. This is not a museum exhibit

“Do not expect me to stand in front of each object and give a lengthy explanation. Yes, from the perspective of history, some of these deities have amazing stories to them. A saintly person received a message in a dream. They were given precise coordinates to conduct an excavation. The result of that search led to the discovery of the deity, who has been worshiped ever since.

“’Worship’ is the key word here. These are not merely pieces of art. They may have wonderful features to them. They may have been carved by someone a long time ago, but the purpose was never to decorate a home.”

2. This is not a toy room

“These deities are not toys. Children may be drawn to them. Children find them attractive, in a manner resembling their interaction with dolls. Still, there is an expectation of respect. There should be some seriousness brought to the table. Otherwise, you will never understand what is going on.”

3. These are not manmade forms of worship

“These forms are not products of the imagination. In many cases, they depict actual living beings who once roamed the earth. The Sanskrit term is ‘avatara.’ This refers to one who descends. The difference between matter and spirit never applies to Vishnu. He is above duality. We tend to think in terms of dvaita and advaita due to our lack of understanding.

“In that world of dichotomy, the deity is known as the saguna form. It has gunas, which in this case refer to distinguishable characteristics. For instance, Vishnu has four arms, while Krishna has two. Narasimha is something like a half-man/half-lion. No one could ever dream of something so amazing, adbhuta, but God has the ability to surprise in that way.”

4. The offerings are genuine

“You may see people taking away plates of food, flowers, and water, at periodic intervals. These were placed on the altar, as a kind of gift. As you would welcome a guest to your home with a comfortable seat and refreshing food and beverage, so the deity is like the honored permanent resident of the home. They are the chief resident, in fact. What gets left behind is known as prasadam. This is a kind of holy substance. People feel fortunate to associate with prasadam. They know that there is something special to the interaction. It is not like eating at a restaurant or cooking something at home for your personal enjoyment.”

5. The whole scene represents mercy at a level you could never possibly understand

“We tend to be miserly. We are struggling to maintain an existence, and so we always assess our progress against others. This leads to jealousy, envy, competition, and ill-behavior. We could never imagine sacrificing everything for someone else, precisely because we are so afraid of losing, of falling behind, of parting with something that we think we need.

“The Supreme Lord is not like this. He expands Himself as the deity to help those who feel pains of separation. They wish to always be with Him. They want nothing else from Him. They are content to live a simple life, to not covet, to set aside any interest for fame, honor, and distinction. They only want to remain in His association, and so He is kind enough to oblige. In the manner that He once asked Lakshmana to present deities before a brahmana in the community of Ayodhya, so the archa-vigraha itself is for the benefit of the devotees, to feel as if they are in Vaikuntha, even prior to leaving this world.”