Friday, April 22, 2011

Radhanath Swami on The Beauty of Deity Worship

Sometimes people wonder, "Why are you worshiping God in wood or stone?" The reply is, "Is God not everywhere? Anyone who believes in God must accept God everywhere. He is in everything so is He not in this wood or stone?" But the difference is we are recognizing Him here, we are worshiping Him here, we are focusing our attention in Him here. It is explained in the scriptures that when an advanced devotee invokes the presence of the Lord in a form that is particularly designed as explained then out of causeless mercy and kindness the supreme God appears in that form to accept our love. If we approach the deity as stone, the deity appears to us as stone, if we approach the deity as God, the deity will reveal Himself as God; of course, at the beginning our vision is material so we cannot see the spiritual. It is for that reason that God allows us to keep our attention on Him on a material form that we can perceive.

People say that God is spirit so how can you see Him with material vision? The fact is, we cannot; therefore out of His mercy God appears in matter so that we can see Him, we can keep our attention on Him, we can dance before Him, we can repose our affection on Him, we can cook for Him, we can serve Him, we can do so many wonderful services twenty four hours a day. And most of us can come together to glorify Him. This is the beauty and sweetness of the worship of the deity of God.
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26 comments:

  1. Vinay MalaniApril 22, 2011 at 5:57 AM

    Wonderfully explained by Radhanath Swami! And something very practical as well.

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  2. Yogesh ValheApril 22, 2011 at 7:01 AM

    The logic given by Radhanath Swami is quite cogent. And he is stating the importance of deity form of God in very lucid way. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Sheetal ChhabriaApril 22, 2011 at 7:19 AM

    Thank U Maharaj for showing us the many ways
    in which v can offer our love & devotion to the Lord.

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  4. Prakash s.ChhabriaApril 22, 2011 at 7:24 AM

    its only by the grace of a bonafide Guru that
    one begans to understand the many ways in which we can serve the lord.
    thank u Radhanath swami for cultivating this
    understanding.

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  5. Tapan SinhaApril 22, 2011 at 8:16 AM

    Vividly explained by Maharaj How God is a sweet Personality who can accept & reciprocate emotions & service of those who love Him

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  6. Piyush SinghApril 22, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    Glorious explanation of the glories of deity worship by HH Radhanath Swami. Thank you very much.

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  7. duruvanApril 22, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Hari Bol

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  8. ChandrikaApril 22, 2011 at 4:01 PM

    Thank you for this wonderful post!

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  9. Milind M ChuriApril 22, 2011 at 10:48 PM

    Very nicely explained by Radhanath Swamiji about deity and worship of deity in this material world where people in general has vision to see everything materially.Thank you very much.

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  10. Manish AdvaniApril 22, 2011 at 10:55 PM

    Radhanath Swami Thank you for enlighteneing us

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  11. AishwaryaApril 23, 2011 at 1:56 AM

    This article removes all misconceptions on deity worship.Wonderful article.

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  12. vinay rachhApril 23, 2011 at 2:03 AM

    Very nice blog

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  13. Abhijit ToleyApril 23, 2011 at 4:04 AM

    Deity worship is quite mysterious to uninformed bystanders.

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  14. Radhasangi Devi DasiApril 23, 2011 at 5:54 AM

    Very well said Maharaj.
    The Lord is so merciful that He is willing to help anyone who shows even a little sincerity and calls out to Him.

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  15. monaApril 24, 2011 at 12:46 AM

    So beautifully explained

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  16. Purushottam KumarApril 24, 2011 at 6:35 AM

    Thanks Maharaj for wonderfully explaining the beauty of deity worship.

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  17. vinay rachhApril 24, 2011 at 7:12 AM

    Very sweet explaination

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  18. Vidya PathamApril 24, 2011 at 8:29 AM

    Thank you Radhanath Swami for instilling in us the values of worshiping the Lord in the form of deities.

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  19. SitaApril 24, 2011 at 9:53 AM

    Deity worship is a beautiful experience where yoiu can directly reciprocate with the Lord. you have to experience it to understand this.

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  20. Deepak BharwaniApril 24, 2011 at 10:43 AM

    Maharaj has explained deity worship in such an 'easy to accept' manner; that it will appeal to people from all walks of life

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  21. BipinApril 24, 2011 at 11:12 AM

    All Glories To H.H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

    A very beautiful narrative.

    Hare Krishna

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  22. VinayakApril 25, 2011 at 7:59 AM

    Wonderful, how nicely radhanath maharaj has explained us to understand how to get attached with the deities and their worship with this material body.

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  23. Sumit SharmaApril 25, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    People usually take deity worship as a ritual, but actually that is not proper understanding. Just like a government mounts post-boxes in various parts of the city, Lord also appears in His deity form for everyone to provide an opportunity to serve Him, by which we can eternally serve Him. Thank you Radhanath Swami for this great thought.

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  24. AnonymousApril 25, 2011 at 7:19 PM

    radhanath swami is expert in all subjects

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  25. Ravi GargApril 29, 2011 at 6:10 AM

    Very scientific article on the process of diety worship....thanks...

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  26. DEEPAK S .CHHABRIAMay 2, 2011 at 12:07 PM

    acceptance and love very well high lightened by RADHANATH SWAMI.

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