Secret of Deity Worship
Deity worship is a very common form of spiritual practice. People visit temples and offer their obeisance before a statue of God or sit at home and do similar in front of their altar. It is very important to remember that you will derive benefit from this only when you feel God’s divine presence in that deity. Deity worship is a means of engaging our mind in meditation on God. Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj redefined this as rupadhyana, that is, loving remembrance on God’s form. By taking the help of a deity, one should close their eyes and make that deity come alive in his mind, imbibing it with all divine qualities and attributes. It is an irrefutable spiritual law that by loving any lifeless object believing it to be God we can derive the same divine benefit that we would by loving Him directly. When you perfect this 100 percent, you will achieve God-realisation.
Two things are stated in our scriptures regarding this, and the saints substantiate these truths too. Firstly, God is omnipresent, that is, He resides everywhere and therefore He resides in the deity. Secondly, He is all-knowing, and He rewards us with consequences commensurate to our feelings for Him. It is important to note that this does not apply if you worship a statue of a human being, such as your mother or father. A human being does not permeate a statue like God does; nor are they all-knowing. However, if God were worshipped through that statue because He is omnipresent and omniscient you will receive divine benefit. It is based on this that deity worship has been propagated throughout the world, and it takes numerous forms.
For example, in temples, mosques and churches food is ceremoniously offered to God daily. Food is placed before the deity; the curtain is drawn behind the priest who closes his eyes and rings a bell. If you were to ask him what he is doing, he would reply, “I am serving food to the Lord, and He is blessing it.” Does he really believe that the Lord is eating? Has anyone ever looked closely at the tray afterwards and wondered, “What did the Lord eat? Oh! He has not eaten anything! It is because of me. What a sinner I am!” Has any temple priest had these kinds of feelings? No. Why? Quite simply our faith in God is the exact opposite. We firmly believe that He will not come and that He will not eat what is being served.
Understand that if you do not feel that God is present in the deity, you will only receive the consequence of worshipping a stone sculpture. On the other hand, if you lovingly feel God’s presence, then you will receive a divine consequence. Very few people have these kinds of devotional feelings. People mostly make some brief show of respect to a piece of stone. We do not experience as much happiness from seeing the deity as we do from seeing our husband, wife, or child. If your loved one returns home after ten years, how excited you are! We do not become this excited when we see God’s deity.
For this very reason, life after life, we have gone from temple to temple to worship one deity after another. If you think you have devotional feelings, then ask yourself when you last went to the temple, how many tears did I shed, thinking, O Shri Krishna! When will I meet You?
Spirituality in Daily Living Vol. 1, p.23–26
Vedic knowledge revealed by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj and presented by Dr Vishakha Tripathi, president of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.
https://www.jkpliterature.org.in/
https://www.jkpliterature.org.in/spirituality-in-daily-living-vol-1-4
