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WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW JAINA CONVENTION 2011
"Live and Help Live"
those who undertake true worship. Those, who restrict their vision to the idol, have not thus grasped the true concept of worship; while those, who really grasp it, transcend the idol and reach a stage beyond it.
sense objects mainly arises from sight. In meditative posture eyes remain closed or bent down. That posture also suggests a mode of withdrawal. Idol of the omniscient Lord is thus capable to lead us from tangibility to intangibility.
For worshipping we generally make use of incense, flower, lamp, chanting, etc. They are important parts of Worship, but they are external and lack the inner significance. The prayer at the top of the article therefore states that meditation constitutes incense, control over mind constitutes offering of flowers, overcoming of sense organs constitutes fire, forgiveness constitutes chanting and contentment constitutes worship.
True Worship relates to the inner mode and cannot be exhibited outside. It can be compared to the instinct of love, compassion, etc. We may have love or compassion at heart, but we cannot physically exhibit it. The same way idol is visible but true worship remains invisible. It is an internal state, one cannot get the idea of that state by merely looking at the person performing the worship. So long as one fails to make out the true purpose of worship through an idol, he might oppose it, because to him idol is a stone.
The last part of the prayer needs to be explained. Contentment normally denotes absence of greed and remaining happy with what one has. Here it is used in the sense of feeling happy and contented with soul. Not to indulge in attachment or resentment and remaining aware of what happens is its true nature. When one remains merely aware, he cannot react to any situation with craving or aversion; nor would he hold the sense of inclination or disinclination. In that state all desires come to the end and one remains content with the pure Self. Such perfect contentment constitutes the worship of immaculate Lords.
this can be put in another perspective. Since our objective is to reach the state of liberation, we need a place from where we can take a jump into that state. If we want to jump in a swimming pool, we have to resort to a swinging board. Idol is the swinging board for jumping into the imponderable. When we serenely look at an idol, we lose the cognizance of its shape and reflect upon the state of detachment; we direct our attention towards the pure state of Lords. It would then occur to us that such purity rests within ourselves.
Idol is carved out of stone by a sculptor and is made worshipful by the worshipper. Touch, taste, odor and color are the tangible attributes of lifeless matter. Those attributes need to be set aside for undertaking the journey towards intangibility. Idols are therefore sanctified before they are worshipped. The sculptor thus gives shape to the stone and we attribute Godliness therein. Our devotion turns the stone into an image of sanctity and the attributes of lifelessness are kept in abeyance.
It is our experience that when we look at a beautiful face, we feel a sense of pleasure. Such sense arises because the face reflects the beauty lying within us. Similarly by looking at Lord's idol we become aware of his compassion and detachment and are prompted to contemplate over similar attributes lying within us. Routinely worshipping the idol with sandalwood paste etc. does not help; it is necessary to worship it while keeping in mind that we are in the presence of Lord. While worshipping the idol we should experience liveliness in it; we should envision therein the throbbing of heart the way we experience our own throbbing.
For that purpose we need to have an idol, which adequately presents the image of detached Lord. A marble idol in meditative posture can serve the purpose best. That posture presents the immaculate, transcendent state of the Lords. The urge for
The idol of the Lord thus works as a mirror. As we see our image in a mirror, we should be
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