Worship of Murti is valid in sanatan dharma? if yes then why yjurved said god has no shape in 32 :3?

Discussion in 'Ask Questions' started by सम्राट वैभव, Sep 15, 2015.

  1. Answer on basis of yujurved and you can also give another reference.
     
  2. Aum

    Aum New Member

    well you don't need references to prove this simple logic..
    if god is everywhere then it has to be in murthi and if he cannot be present in murthi than it can't be god.
    Now coming to Yujurveda can you give me exact quote ? and then i can interpret it in right way..basically internet is full of anti hindu websites..even many hindu forums in internet are not even related to hinduism..This is because Hindus are basically stuck to facebook and visual media's
     
  3. Hindu

    Hindu Member Staff Member

    Why there is MURTI POOJA (Idol Worship) in Hinduism?? This is Right or wrong??
    Sanatan Dharma cannot be described in words, which cannot be confined to any boundary and which cannot be kept stagnant. It comprises of the oldest scriptures of the world, which have been guiding and nurturing people since centuries, and which would continue to do so till the presence of the mankind, through their ever evolving philosophies.

    Unfortunately, there are a set of people who criticize certain practises associated with Hinduism, under the influence of their prejudices and biased views, and also on the basis of their limited knowledge of Hinduism. Murti Puja, which is better known as idol worship is one such Hindu practice, which is heavily criticized.

    Argument against Icon worship:

    Many people argue that the scriptures of Hinduism do not support idol worship. They quote incomplete verses from Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita to prove their point, and to infuse confusion in the minds of the Hindus.

    The most common verse used by the detractors of idol worship is :

    "Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste"

    The twisted explanation of this verse, which they give is as follows :

    "They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements" (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). "They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti."

    'Sambhuti', according to them means created things. For example table, chair, icon, etc. And hence, they claim that when Hindus worship icons, they go against their own scripture. However, truth is far from it. This is neither the correct verse nor the complete verse. Needless to say, one must never get judgemental on the basis of incorrect & incomplete information.

    The correct and the complete verse from Isha Upanishad is as follows:

    andham tamah pravisanti ye' sambhut imupasate,
    tato bhuya iva te tamo ya u sambhutyam ratah.
    (Isa Upanishad, verse no 12)

    And the correct translation of the above mentioned verse is as follows:

    Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the unmanifest (meaning hidden self, the non being , imagination etc), and into greater darkness those who worship manifest alone(meaning visible world,illusion,icons, material wealth etc) . He who understands both unmanifest and manifest together, crosses death through unmanifest and attains immortality through manifest.

    Some other verses quoted by the detractors of idol worship to prove that god does not have any form, hence, he should not be worshipped in the form of idols, is as follows:

    "Na tasya pratima asti"
    There is no likeness of Him.
    [Svetasvatara Upanishad; chapter 4:19]

    "Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam."
    His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye.
    [Svetasvatara Upanishad; chapter 4:20]

    "na tasya pratima asti"
    There is no image of Him.
    [Yajurveda; chapter 32:3]

    "shudhama poapvidham"
    He is bodyless and pure.
    [Yajurveda; chapter 40:8]

    The Hindus do believe that god has no form. He is Nirakar (formless). However, we also believe that being the almighty, he is capable of taking any form. And he blesses his devotees through the form, in which the devotees worship him (Bhagwad Gita, Chapter 11). That is why we worship him in the form of idols. The verses from Svetavatara Upanishad to support this point:

    "Subtler than the subtlest, stable in the midst of great confusion, the creator of all,bearing many forms, holding the entire universe in his embrace, when one knows him as the auspicious, a great peace shall descend upon him."
    (Svetavatara Upanishad; chapter 4:14)

    "You are woman. You are man. You are the son and also the daughter. As an old man you walk with a stick. being born you assume faces in many directions."
    (Svetavatara Upanishad; chapter 4:3)

    Thus, from the above mentioned verses we can conclude that god has no specific form, but he is capable of taking any form. Hence, there is nothing wrong in worshipping him in the form of idols.

    Significance of idol worship:-

    1.The idea behind idol worship is to promote harmony and brotherhood. Idols (murtis) are normally made of stone/iron or other hard objects, which is a reminder of the fact that, Hindus have such high respect for every creation of the god, that they worship even the hard objects created by him (such as stone, iron etc ) as the god himself. So one can just imagine the respect, which a Hindu will have for a human being, which is the supreme creation of the almighty.

    2. Murti Puja is one of the core concepts of Sanatana Dharma. The literal meaning of murti is manifestation, something that has taken a concrete form. Murti without any prefix refers to devata murti or god-form. Thus murti is a representation (in a manifest, definite form) of god-form. Murti puja is worship of murti as a god-form, worship of god-form in the murti. The devotee worships the deity (or devata) who is requested to reside in the vigraha (murti) for the duration of the worship. A murti usually is a concrete shape, having features attributed to the god-form. These are usually the physical attributes of the deity as described by the theology for the Devata. The murti has as many hands/legs/heads as spoken of in theology. Features like wearing snakes/garlands/having moon as adornment, the weapons they hold, are also reflected in the murti.

    References:
    (1). Isa Upanishad, verse IX - XIV
    (2). Svetavatara Upanishad, Chapter IV
    (3). Bhagwad Gita, Chapter XI
     
  4. Ignorant

    Ignorant New Member

    As far i have known and read in this forum..In Hinduism there is no rules as its not religion..There are suggestions which Hindu should follow..even veda's say don't believe even in veda's if you don't find relevant reason to believe in it.
     
  5. garry420

    garry420 Well-Known Member

    I can be bet some muslim might have asked you.
    Don't be defensive, just ask him/her why allah cannot have form ? is he so incapable ? why does he need conversions ? is he so incapable ?
     
  6. Speechless world

    Speechless world New Member

    Common notion about Hinduism is that there are multiple gods and in fact there can be millions of them.But in reality, there is only ONE god and rest are not gods but deities (devas or demi-gods).The word Deva means, the one who shines.So, all illuminated souls have been given some powers and also responsibilities to function in this creation.

    “Ekam evadvitiyam” [Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]
    Translation: “He is One only without a second.”

    “Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah.” [Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]
    Translation: “Of Him there are neither parents nor lord.”

    “Na tasya pratima asti” [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]
    Translation: “There is no likeness of Him.”

    “Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam.” [Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]
    Translation: “His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye.”

    “na tasya pratima asti” [Yajurveda 32:3]
    Translation: “There is no image of Him.”

    “shudhama poapvidham” [Yajurveda 40:8]
    Translation: “He is bodyless and pure.”

    “Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata” [Rigveda 8:1:1]
    Translation: “O friends, do not worship anybody but Him, the Divine One. Praise Him alone.”

    There is only one god and there is no image for him but he can take any form or can take many forms (Avatars). So, from this statement, lord Vishnu and his avatars (Krishna, Rama) are one and the same and so, is worshipable in any form.Lord Krishna shows his Vishwaroop darshan to Arjuna. (vishwa swaroop means that the original form of the supreme god expands over the whole universe and so, in full, is not visible to anyone).Heads of all deities are attached to lord Krishna (Vishnu) head. So, lord Krishna indicates arjuna that number of such deities attached in form of my head spans up to millions. So, his full image cannot be seen by human. He also indicated that all deities are his manifestations and everything is derived from him.

    All these deities are the manifestations of one supreme God ( Brahman).Other multiple gods in hinduism have been created by the supreme god to maintain the different department of universe.Indra Handles the department of rain, Agni handles the department of fire, Varuna handles the water department etc.
    All devas like Brahma, Vishnu, Siva etc have certain lifetime and after that other illuminated souls will take their position for this galaxy.In other galaxies, there can be other deities, which was explained in Devi Bhagavatam that multiple Vishnus, multiple Sivas and multiple Brahmas exist across galaxies.

    The oldest book Rig-Veda mentions clearly :

    Ek sadviprâ bahudhâ vadanti Agni Yama? Mâtariúvânam âhu -Rig Veda (1/164/46).
    (God is one but people call Him by many names like Agni, yama, Mâtariúvâ etc.)
     

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