14/05/2023
WHAT SHRI KRISHNA SAYS ABOUT WORSHIP OF HIS PERSONAL FORM- IDOL WORSHIP IN THIS MORDERN AGE.
Bhagvat gita, chapter 12, bhakti yog, verse 5
BG 12.5: For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifest, the path of realization is full of tribulations. Worship of the unmanifest is exceedingly difficult for embodied beings.
Commentary
Having embraced worshippers of all His various manifestations into the fold, Shree Krishna again reiterates His preference for the worship of the personal form. He surmises the worship of the impersonal Brahman by saying that it is an exceedingly challenging path that is full of tribulations.
Why is the worship of the formless Brahman so difficult? The first and foremost reason for this is that we humans possess a form ourselves and we have been habituated to interacting with forms in endless lifetimes. Thus, while striving to love God as well, if our mind has a wonderful enchanting form to meditate upon, it can easily focus upon it and increase its attachment to the Lord. However, in the case of the formless, the intellect cannot conceive of it, and the mind and senses have no tangible object to relate to. So both the endeavors of meditating on God and increasing the mind’s attachment to Him become difficult.
Worship of Brahman is also difficult in comparison to that of Bhagavān for another reason. The difference in paths can be understood through the markaṭ-kiśhore nyāya (the logic of the baby) monkey, and mārjār-kiśhore nyāya (the logic of the baby kitten). The baby monkey is responsible for holding onto her mother’s stomach; it is not helped by its mother. When the mother monkey jumps from one branch to another, the onus of clinging tightly onto the mother is upon the baby, and if it is unable to do so, it falls. In contrast, a kitten is very small and delicate, but the mother takes the responsibility of transporting it from one place to another, by holding the kitten from behind the neck and lifting it up. In the analogy, the devotees of the formless can be compared to the baby monkey and the devotees of the personal form can be compared to the baby kitten. Those who worship the formless Brahman have the onus of progressing on the path by themselves, because Brahman does not bestow grace upon them. Brahman is not only formless, It is also without attributes. It has been described as nirguṇa (without qualities), nirviśheṣh (without attributes), and nirākār (without form). From this, it follows that Brahman does not manifest the quality of grace. The jñānīs who worship God as nirguṇa, nirviśheṣh, and nirākār, have to rely entirely upon self-effort for progress. On the other hand, the personal form of God is an ocean of compassion and mercy. Hence, devotees of the personal form receive the help of divine support in their sādhanā. On the basis of the protection that God bestows upon His devotees, Shree Krishna stated in verse 9.31: “O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that no devotee of Mine is ever lost.” He confirms the same statement in the next two verses.
Chapter 12, Verse 6-7
BG 12.6-7: But those who dedicate all their actions to Me, regarding Me as the Supreme goal, worshiping Me and meditating on Me with exclusive devotion, O Parth, I swiftly deliver them from the ocean of birth and death, for their consciousness is united with Me.
Commentary
Shree Krishna reiterates that His devotees reach Him quickly. Firstly, with the personal form of God as the object of their devotion, they easily focus their mind and senses upon Him. They engage their tongue and ears in chanting and hearing the divine Names of God, their eyes in seeing the image of His divine form, their body in performing actions for His pleasure, their mind in thinking of His wonderful Pastimes and Virtues, and their intellect in contemplating upon His Glories. In this way, they quickly unite their consciousness with God.
Secondly, since such devotees continuously offer their hearts in uninterrupted bhakti, God quickly bestows His grace upon them and removes the obstacles on their path. For those who are in communion with Him, He dispels their ignorance with the lamp of knowledge. In this way, God Himself becomes the Savior of His devotees and delivers them from mṛityu saṁsāra sāgarāt (the cycle of life and death).
