Idolizing the idols?

By -

 I was unable to read Diana Eck’s “Seeing the Divine Image in India”, though I did watch the three overview videos on oncourse about her book and examples of some Hindu rituals including darśan. I wasn’t aware of the western religions disapproval of the use of idols in worship. I had known beforehand of the use of idols in hinduism and how prevalent it is in their rituals, and never questioned how that could be perceived differently by others, specifically other religions. 

From http://dailydeeperlife.org/folly-of-idol-worship/ 

As someone who is nonreligious, the use of idols in rituals and worship seems like a perfectly acceptable concept. To have something you can physically interact and connect with would in my mind help you to form a closer connection with your beliefs as a whole. To know that you can speak to, touch, or make offerings to an idol that represents so much more than what its physical form constitutes would make the connection to that spiritual figure seem that much more personal and close. I think the belief that you can form a spiritual connection with a god or being, without having those physical idols to interact with is perfectly reasonable and possible if you put enough energy towards it, although adding in the aspect of an idol could assist in the formation of that connection. It does not take away from the trueness of the actual God and their form if you are using it for the purpose of respecting and worshiping them and their beliefs. The west seems to believe that it is disrespectful and is an attempt at replacing God, the creator of all, with something that God has created. I understand that to an extent, although if God created it and gave it to you in that form, then why should it be considered disrespectful to use that creation to further the connection to God in their original form? You are not worshiping the idol for being a statue or a picture, you are worshiping it in the context of it representing God or other spiritual figures. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirpin...
Read more

Food in the Afterlife

By -
Image
In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was...
Read more