"The religion of Vedas knows no idols.”- German philosopher/author Max Muller
From: "Ashok Gorasia"
To: "Undisclosed Recipients"
Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2006 07:21:43 +1000
Subject: A Spiritual Gift for your Friends & Loved Ones
Dear Friends & Devotees
Let this be that Special Gift to your friends or loved ones for
their next birthday, wedding anniversary, special occasion or any
memorable day in their lifes. I am sure they will cherish this
gracious gift of a full service to Lord Krsna at a very potent
temple on that important day in their life .
For over 28 years Lord Krishna's Deity form," Sri Sri Radha
Govardhanadhari"Is being worship daily at the ISKCON Temple in
Murwillumbah with great love and devotion. For a donation of
A$108.00 only, the full service to Lord Krsna for the selected date
shall be conducted entirely on behalf of your friend or loved one.
The full daily service involves:
Time Daily Service
4.00 am Waking the Deities
4.20 am Balva Bhoga (Variety of milk sweets)
4.30 am Mangala Arati Full Arati
7.30 am Darshana Arati
7.40 am Pratar Bhoga - Kitcheri, puris, halava, fruits
8.00 am Dhupa Arati
11.40am Raja Bhoga - Rice, dahl, 2 subjis, chapattis, pakoras, sweet rice, drink
12 noon Raja Bhoga Arati
3.30 pm Afternoon Waking
3.40 pm Vaikalika Bhoga - Selection of 5 fruits
4.00 pm Dhupa Arati
6.10 pm Sandhya Bhoga - Subji, puris, halava, hot milk &
laddu
6.30 pm Sandhya Arati
7.55 pm Ratri Kalina Bhoga
8.15 pm Gaura Arati and Deities to Rest
"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything
emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly know this engage in My
devotional service and worship Me with all their
Hearts.”....Bhagavad Gita 10.8
You are also most welcome to visit the temple with your family &
friends on that particular day. Not only will you receive the
Mahaprasad (Raj Bhoga) but also the opportunity to perform the Aarti
along with the Priest.
To book a date please contact Ashok Gorasia 0414 715 744 or
ashokgorasia@...
For safe and secure online credit card payments click here
Cheques to"ISKCON"Po Box 157 Murwillumbah 2484 NSW Australia
Yours in spiritual and community services
ashok gorasia
—————————————————————————————————-
Dear All,
i received the above email yesterday which again reminded me about
idol worship, the greatest falsehood of Hinduism. Can idol worship
get any worse than this? Imagine idols of stone that need to be
awakened at dawn, given breakfast, an early lunch, followed by their
usual siesta, gently woken up again, given a light snack of fruits
and then an early dinner before being tucked back to sleep till next
dawn! That this Special Gift to your friends or loved ones for their
next birthday, wedding anniversary, special occasion or any
memorable day in their lives costs A$108 is obscene and insulting!
i can assure you that there is not a single verse, let alone a
sentence in all the Puranas, Vedas and Upanishads that condone idol
worship. Considering the fact that hundreds of thousands of pages of
sacred text covers all aspect of Hindu religious history,
enlightenment, knowledge and rituals in the greatest of detail the
absolute absence of anything remotely related to idol worship speaks
volumes. There is not even a single sentence or mention of idol
worship. NOT EVEN ONE SENTENCE!
"According to a video shown by Catholic seminaries through out the
world, the first sculpture of Christ was in the form of a small boy
holding on to a sheep. Now, everywhere in the world, people have
pictures of Christ according their culture. A loving young white man
in USA, a tough man looking like a judge in Russia, a nice black man
in Africa and a man looking like a typical man from China with a
sheepish beard in China. I RESPECT ALL THOSE PICTURES. Believe it or
not, ALL OF THEM ARE IDOL WORSHIPS.
To begin with Hindu scriptures do not recommend the worship of the
idol as God. As the German philosopher, author Max Muller
wrote," The religion of Vedas knows no idols.”
Hindu scriptures very clearly state THE IDOL IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR
GOD, BUT ONLY A MEANS OF MAKING THE MIND CONCENTRATE ON GOD. An idol
in a temple is exactly like a cross in the church. Both help men to
focus their devotion to God.”
Posting - 8/16/00 6:44:45 AM
beliefnet.com
Yet hundreds of millions of Hindus continue to pray, sing, speak, bathe, dress, feed and pat idols to sleep. Surely you would think that their vast scriptures would dedicate a few hundred pages to perform such elaborate rituals for idols. Since there is not even a single sentence where did the Hindus get such information? Maybe my 1999 enquiry will throw some light on the idolatry darkness and avidya that so many hundreds of millions have been deluded by the priestly class for centuries.............. even though the religion of Vedas knows no idols.
jagbir
"From: Jagbir Singh
To: A. Palaniswami
Subject: Worship of Murtis
Date: Thursday, February 11, 1999 9:32 AM
Dear Palaniswami,
Namaste!
We would be grateful if you could provide us with specific quotes from Hindu scriptures related to the worship of murtis. This is a controversial issue among non-Hindus, and so far we have been unable to find Vedic scripture that support it. Perhaps you and your associates will be able to provide us with precise texts to back this practise. Thank you and have a blissful Shivaratri Puja.
OM! Shanti!
jagbir"
Jagbir Singh
———-
"From: Acharya Ceyonswami
To: jagbir
Subject: worship of murthis
Date: Saturday, February 20, 1999 6:54 PM
Reply to: worship of murthis
"Namaste Jagbir,
Prostrations to Vighna Vinayaga,
———-
There are a great many quotes in the various scriptures of the different sects of Hinduism referring to the worship of murthis — the Saiva Agamas, Vaishnava Agamas, and the Shakti agamas, as well as the ancient Tirumantiram of Tirumular and much more. The Karanagama, Silparatna and Kasyapa silpa deal in great length the details of the various murthis. The Pratima Kosha, or Encyclopaedia of Indian Iconography gives various research on the art form of icons and how the murthis are to be designed.
However, we don't think it would be worthwhile spending the time to type up quotes to convince Christians of anything — it won't matter to them what our scriptures say, as they don't consider them scripture! We need to stand strong for our Hindu faith and practices without having to feel defensive to anyone for what we do. Sanatana Dharma is the fountainhead of all religions and each practices a certain part of the One Eternal Dharma. One God, One World.
Om Sivaya,
Ceyonswami"
Acharya Ceyonswami
—————
"From: GURUDEVA
Cc:
Subject: Dancing with Siva Shloka 108
Date: Wednesday, February 24, 1999 1:12 AM
What is the Nature of Image Worship?
SHLOKA 108
We worship God Siva and the Gods who by their infinite powers spiritually hover over and indwell the image, or murti, which we revere as their temporary body. We commune with them through the ritual act of puja. Aum.
BHASHYA
The stone or metal Deity images are not mere symbols of the Gods; they are the form through which their love, power and blessings flood forth into this world. We may liken this mystery to our ability to communicate with others through the telephone. We do not talk to the telephone; rather we use a telephone as a means of communication with another person who is perhaps thousands of miles away. Without the telephone, we could not converse across such distances; and without the sanctified murti in the temple or shrine we cannot easily commune with the Deity. His vibration and presence can be felt in the image, and He can use the image as a temporary physical-plane body or channel. As we progress in our worship, we begin to adore the image as the Deity's physical body, for we know that He is actually present and conscious in it during puja, aware of our thoughts and feelings and even sensing the pujari's gentle touch on the metal or stone.
The Vedas exclaim," Come down to us, Rudra, who art in the high mountains. Come and let the light of thy face, free from fear and evil, shine upon us. Come to us with thy love.”Aum Namah Sivaya.”
GURUDEVA
There is not even a single line in the Vedas or Puranas that support idol-worship.
Thus if great learned men use the best Vedic quote," Come down to us, Rudra, who art in the high mountains. Come and let the light of thy face, free from fear and evil, shine upon us. Come to us with thy love," and translate it into worship of stone idols we can only reel in repulsion and disgust. If this is one of the"great many quotes in the various scriptures of the different sects of Hinduism referring to the worship of murthis", then we can only shudder in silence and utter aversion.
Hindus should remember that they are led to believe that only their brahmins are empowered to act as middlemen between themselves and the gods through elaborate rituals and lengthy sacred sequences of mantras. For millennia ignorant masses have been conditioned that these temple priests are able to communicate with the mighty deities represented by stone statues infused with their shaktis (power) in elaborate rituals only feasible by brahmins.
So what are brahmins without their visible idols? And what are worshipers without the common sense to distinguish between manmade rituals and scriptural Truth? And how did the followers of the eternal Sanatana Dharma succumb to such darkness?
The pristine and flawless Vedic scriptures did not contradict at all. It was the priestly caste that perverted them for their own power, and maintained it with a plethora of granite gods. And a billion Hindus remain blind to one of the greatest falsehood perpetuated in the name of God Almighty. May they learn through Self- Realization to worship the Eternal Essence of Brahman (God Almighty) within their own beings than the lifeless idols without, a stain on the Sanatana Dharma which even the Great Adi Shakti denounces!
“At the Nirvikalpa state, the Collective Consciousness becomes subtler and subtler. At that stage you can understand the very deep significance of things when the Reality starts becoming clearer...
You give him a statue of a deity and ask him all about this statue — whether it is all right or not. He might say that it is not alright. You can feel the subtle vibrations, whether it is in Dharma or otherwise.
Now can we say say that Ashtavinayaka's are living gods? How do you know Jyotirlingas are living? How will you know unless you know the integrations of all the great souls together? And how are you going to judge them? That is why you must get Realization.”
Shri Sastramayi Devi
New Delhi, India — February 15, 1977
(Sastramayi [705th]: The content of all Sastras. Here Sastra means the Vedas, Upanishads and the Puranas... Sastramayi also means"Saraswati," The Mother of the Vedas and Vedangas and Upanisads and Kavyas which establish Her.)
"This union of Atma and Shakti as the protector of one's existence is important to understand... At a practical level what this means is that if one goes against the Spirit, identifying with anything apart from it, the heart 'catches'...
When we come to Sahaja Yoga the Tantra is damaged and impure and the heart 'catches.' There is nothing to be upset in that. One should settle down silently and work to undo the 'catches,' gradually and slowly. The whole Library of Divine Knowledge is at one's hand and if the heart's desire to evolve the being and achieve the Absolute is pure, the solution to every problem will occur automatically, effortlessly and spontaneously — Sahaj.
The ultimate act against the Spirit is to worship that which has no Spirit — gross matter or raksasas. Shri Muhammad inveighed against both... The Atma and its expression is the sole Reality in the Universe. Identification with anything else causes the heart to 'catch.'"
Shri Niradhara Devi
(Niradhara (132nd): Unsupported, She is the support of the Universe. She is worshipped by keen meditation unsupported by a physical or mental image or formulation, i.e., She is pure Consciousness, unformulated or undifferentiated.)
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