By Mayur B. Nayak
Chartered Accountant
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“Why do you go to a temple?” asked my friend plainly and I responded saying, “I go to see God and have His Darshan obviously.” My friend asked me again “How did you see Him there?” I replied, “I saw Him in the consecrated idol”. But how can an idol be God? my friend persisted. I got the point he was driving at. My visiting the temple proved two things, namely, that: (i) I believe in God and (ii) His presence in the temple in the form of idol which I worship. These were my beliefs which I had no occasion to test up to now.
Being born and brought up in a family in which worship of God is a daily routine, there cannot be any doubt in my mind about God or His presence, nor had I any occasion to test my faith about His presence in the temple.
Once an enlightened priest explained that the purpose of a temple is to provide a serene atmosphere to the tired soul such that it experiences peace, getting rid of negative emotions in the process. All great masters agree on one thing and that is ‘God is One and Indivisible’ which entity is nothing but perpetual universal energy. Modern science accepts that in the ultimate analysis, the foundation of the Universe and its multifarious manifestation is nothing but primordial energy which, being omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent, can assume any shape or form at will, temple idol not excluded. So when an idol is consecrated in the Sanctum Sanctorum, the universal energy gets worshipped and when thousands of people direct their thought and attention towards that idol, it gets infused and enlivened. And consequently, we generally experience the divine spark of energy in the serene atmosphere of temples.
Well, this is one of the arguments in favour of idol worship and I am, of course, aware that there are other view points as well.
But as I grew up and saw the gross abuse of temples by vested interests, my faith in God residing therein got eroded somewhat. Today, we are witness to all sorts of degrading activity in and around temples. For example, special or VIP Darshan for a certain class of people, modes of pooja linked to the amount of Dakshina, etc. etc. leading to the conclusion that temples have become money-spinning resorts, plain and simple.
If God does not reside in temple, where can I find Him? Here, I am reminded of the following poem by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore:
Go not to the temple to put flowers
upon the feet of God;
First fill your own house
with fragrance of love.
Go not to the temple to light
the candles before the altar of God;
First remove the darkness
of sin from your heart.
Go not to the temple to bow down
your head in prayer;
First learn to bow in humility
before your fellowmen.
Go not to the temple to pray
on bended knees;
First bend down to lift
someone who is downtrodden.
Go not to the temple to ask
forgiveness for your sins;
First forgive from your heart
those who have sinned against you.
When I assimilated the pith of this poem I realised in that I don’t have to visit a temple at all to see God, as He is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. At the same time, I have nothing against those who go to the temple.
Today, I do believe that regardless of the presence of God in the temple precincts, He resides in the core of my being. Faith moves. Faith nestles and blends/merges with the surging, bubbling, energy abounding the Universe, call it Nature, Truth, God or whatever you please.
So be it!
