“We may find some mailboxes on the street, and if we post our letters in those boxes, they will naturally go to their destination without difficulty. But any old box, or an imitation, which we may find somewhere, which is not authorized by the post office, will not do the work. Similarly, God has an authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called archa-vigraha. This archa-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. God will accept service through that form.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 12.5 Purport)

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Always with the difficult questions. Never satisfied simply observing, in respecting the traditions set forth long ago and maintained through the current generation of parents. Not afraid to poke holes at an argument, to point out an inconsistency, to look for deeper meaning to what they see everyone else doing. In this case, it is the child questioning the parents on their method of formal worship, which happens to involve the archa-vigraha.

As explained by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, this is the deity form. The Supreme Lord is both nirguna and saguna. With the nirguna aspect, we cannot make out His features. We might conclude that He has none, that He is without attributes, but this is due to the limitations of our understanding. The saguna aspect is an extension of the mercy of the one who is also nirguna. He appears in a way such that we can identify attributes. We can find Him, so to speak. There is a specific location, for bringing our kind offerings, our prayers, and our general tendency towards worship.

The archa-vigraha might be a statue, a sculpture, a painting, or even a poster. In this regard, the child notices that the parents are worshiping a piece of paper. They are told that the depiction on that paper is not ordinary. The parents are seeing God. They are approaching Him directly. The child offers the following, in response:

“You are telling me that God is in the paper. Okay, can you speak to Him? Does He say anything back? Because I have tried talking to the paper, and I don’t hear anything. Is this something that will change? When I get bigger, will I be able to hear what the paper has to say? If no one can hear, how do they know they are worshiping God?”

It must be acknowledged that these are intelligent questions. The underlying spirit is not challenging. In a formal setting of a classroom, a child might be accused of acting like a wise-guy, who is looking to make the other students laugh. In this case, the inquiry is genuine. Adults can ask the same questions, if they wish. Just how does a worshiper know they are making a connection? Does God speak to them directly? If not, then where is the validation? Even outside of the bhakti tradition, a person visits a house of worship. Just what is it about that building that makes it distinct from other geographical locations? Why do worshipers congregate to a specific place?

One way to approach the issue is through history. There are historical records of individuals descending to this world, who were known to be Divine based on external symptoms. For instance, the Ramayana describes how Shri Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, has auspicious measurements. The Sanskrit is nyagrodha-parimandala. The direct translation relates to a banyan tree, and the commonly accepted meaning is that the measurement of the arms when extended creates a perfect circle in circumference around the body.

सर्वलक्षणसम्पन्नं न्यग्रोधपरिमण्डलम्
सत्यसन्धं महाभागमहं राममनुव्रता

sarvalakṣaṇasampannaṃ nyagrodhaparimaṇḍalam
satyasandhaṃ mahābhāgamahaṃ rāmamanuvratā

“I am faithfully engaged in the service of Rama, who is greatly fortunate, fixed in truthfulness, gifted with all auspicious marks, and has the bodily measurements of a banyan tree [nyagrodha-parimandala].” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 47.34)

These measurements indicate a Divine origin. Rama is considered an incarnation of Vishnu, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vishnu is the one previously described as both nirguna and saguna. It is said that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had the same feature, in comparison to the banyan tree.

“Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s bodily features were uncommon. Indeed, His body was extraordinary in its measurements. The measurement of His chest and the measurement of His forearms were the same length. This is called nyagrodha-parimandala.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya, 8.43 Purport)

These avataras of Vishnu are like God descending to the mortal plane. The avatara then leaves behind deeds, traditions, and sometimes direct instruction. That instruction can be accessed by future generations, as in our ability to consult the sacred conversation that is Bhagavad-gita. Someone who hears the words of Bhagavad-gita is hearing directly from God. It is like paper speaks to them, even though there is a decoding process involved with scanning the Sanskrit characters and then producing the sounds, either within the mind or out loud. Through repeating the words, it is like we are bringing God directly to our presence.

Another factor to consider is that sometimes there is a direct response from the object of worship, but delivered in a dream. Many famous temples that are standing to this day were founded through such interaction. A saintly person had the location of a physical deity revealed to them in a dream. The next day they acted upon the message from the dream, to happily uncover the deity form, which was then installed in a specific location to be worshiped formally ever since.

It should be acknowledged that this worship process is for the serious. This is not like putting coins into a vending machine and asking an item to be dispensed. It is not like an exhibit at a travelling carnival making a stop in the local area. The worshiper should be qualified. The worshiper should be sincere. The worshiper should have devotion, even if they are not yet at the highest stage of purity.

भक्त्या माम् अभिजानाति
यावान् यश् चास्मि तत्त्वतः
ततो मां तत्त्वतो ज्ञात्वा
विशते तद्-अनन्तरम्

bhaktyā mām abhijānāti
yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ
tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā
viśate tad-anantaram

“One can understand the Supreme Personality as He is only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of the Supreme Lord by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.55)

Through maturity, through accepting wisdom, through incorporating timeless principles into our daily lives, we can slowly realize that the external object of worship in the paper is actually within us already. He has been there the entire time. He will always remain with us. He is like the companion bird, witnessing our travels through enjoyment and rejection, birth and death, across countless lifetimes.

“The Vedas, like the Mundaka Upanishad, as well as the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, compare the soul and the Supersoul to two friendly birds sitting on the same tree. One of the birds (the individual atomic soul) is eating the fruit of the tree, and the other bird (Krishna) is simply watching His friend. Of these two birds—although they are the same in quality—one is captivated by the fruits of the material tree, while the other is simply witnessing the activities of His friend. Krishna is the witnessing bird, and Arjuna is the eating bird.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 2.22 Purport)

The guru is the representative of that witnessing bird. The guru is like someone bringing out a message from that bird inside of us. In this way, we can be confident that we are being heard. We are being seen. That bird witnesses our devotion, as well, and then breaks from the position of neutrality to explicitly help us. We can be confident that the help is arriving based on our ascension in devotion, in coming closer to transcendence, which is known as upasana.

In Closing:

From internal feeling found,
That heard our prayers abound.

That despite paper hanging on wall,
Our most beloved friend to call.

Who already companion inside,
As eternal witness to reside.

The guru the messages to reveal,
That deity living and real.

Categories: deity worship

Tags: bhakti, dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, worship