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  1. The Indian system seems to worship personalities, whereas the Muslims worship the presence. Which is correct?

    Well, Indian system has two types of worship, one type is un-manifest, the other is the manifest. The un-manifest consciousness is known as Brahman. Vedanta says that Brahman is everywhere - that is the truth, that is the reality, and that is cal ...
  2. The Indian system seems to worship personalities, whereas the Muslims worship the presence. Which is correct?

    Well, Indian system has two types of worship, one type is un-manifest, the other is the manifest. The un-manifest consciousness is known as Brahman. The Vedantin says that Brahman is everywhere - that is the truth, that is the reality, and that i ...
  3. Gurudev, it is said that the worship of the formless divine takes the sadhak (seeker) to a different state than the worship of the Divine with form.

    You have to go from the form to the formless. If you jump only to the formless, that path is full of misery.Lord Krishna said in the Gita, that there are people who worship the formless, but that path is full of pain and sorrow. You can see this y ...
  4. Gurudev, we have the Rudra Puja and Vishnu Puja in our tradition, but why is it that we do not have any practice of Brahma Puja (worship of Lord Brahma)?

    Well, that is because Lord Brahma’s task of creating the Creation is over (laughter). Lord Brahma is present in Lord Shiva, and Lord Brahma is also present in Lord Vishnu. He (Lord Brahma) resides in everything. So when you worship Lord Vis ...
  5. All saints say that God is your very soul, and you too have said that God exists and resides within us all. Then why do we practice idol worship?

    See, there are two points to understand in this context:1. The field of spirituality where one speaks of God as the eternal all-pervading Divinity. In Spirituality we lay importance upon the spirit, and on the One Divinity, so there is no talk abo ...
  6. Gurudev, why do we offer incense and a lamp to the Divine who has created such a fragrant creation and the mighty Sun?

    See, doing all this is just a play. Do not think too much about this. It is all done to create an atmosphere of sacredness and purity, that’s it. You do not need to burn incense or light a lamp to please God. When you are happy and content from wi ...
  7. In Shiva Purana it is said that anyone who worships Lord Shiva is freed from all sins. Does this mean that corruption begins at the top?

    No! Do you know what corruption is? Corruption is doing that which you don’t wish to be done to you or to your kith and kin. You cannot link pooja (here meaning worshipping Lord Shiva) and corruption.Pooja is a feeling that comes to you out of fulln ...
  8. Gurudev, there is a five faced (Panchamukhi) Ganapati idol in the temple of Gurukul. What is the meaning of Panchamukhi?

    We have five senses in our body: the sense of sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing, and there are five elements in the creation: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. There are five senses and five elements, so in this way there are five facets to God. So ...
  9. Gurudev, Buddhists say they do not believe in God. Even Lord Buddha said that we must not worship idols. Now He too was an enlightened being, so what did he mean by that?

    Lord Buddha never talked about God. He never really entertained any discussion on God. What He said was – the first thing is to realize that there is misery. People keep denying there is misery, many don’t even recognize it. Many a time if you talk to a si ...
  10. Dear Gurudev, my question is about idol worship in the Hindu religion. Christians don’t have churches everywhere. Mosques and Gurudwaras are also not everywhere. Then why do Hindus have temples everywhere? Under every tree and in every corner you see a temple. To what extent is idol worship acceptable?

    Who says that idol worship is not practiced in Christianity? Even Christianity gives importance to idol worship. They put the symbol of Cross anywhere, even on the road, or on top of the hills, isn’t it? Many mosques are also being built at many places. ...