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Ideal, NOT Idol: Thinking About It

2,432 views · Published 28 December 2017 · 2:12 · Indexed 10 November 2026

Channel: ChinmayaChannel · 2017 · Education

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► When we pray to a stone statue, it's not the idol itself, but it's the IDEAL that we are worshipping, bowing down to and tuning into. The idol is simply a lovely way to remind us to do so.
Swamini Supriyananda illustrates this using a wedding ring example - The ring is not the wife or the husband, but when the spouse looks at it, they remember affectionately their partner, memories of the event, or the days that passed. Similarly, when we look at an idol, we can remember the Divinity it represents and invoke that feeling in our hearts. 
Moreover, when we remember a person, we feel close to them despite them not being physically with us. They're closer to us when we think of them as compared to when we don't. In the same way, with Divinity, when seeing the idol, we remember the Lord. This memory brings Him closer to us, and helps us invoke the grace of the Divinity and feel its presence more into our lives. As a result, we would be able to act, talk and conduct ourselves throughout our days.

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