When Idols Become Alive

For a devotee or a sage, there is no such thing as insentient matter. Everything is
consciousness. The devotee actually beholds the Lord in the idol. Narsi Mehta was put to the test by
a king. The king said, “O Narsi! if you are a true, sincere devotee of Lord Krishna, if, as you say, the
idol is Lord Krishna Himself, let this idol move.” According to the prayer of Narsi Mehta, the idol
did move. The sacred bull, Nandi, standing before Shiva’s idol, took the food offered by Tulsidas.
The idol of Krishna played with Mirabai. It was full of life and consciousness for her.
When Appayya Dikshita went to the Tirupati temple in South India, the Vaishnavas refused
to grant him admission. The next morning they found that the idol of Lord Vishnu in the temple had
changed to the idol of Lord Shiva. The priest was greatly astonished and startled. He asked pardon
and prayed to Appayya Dikshita to change the idol again to that of Lord Vishnu.
Kanaka Das was a great devotee of Lord Krishna in Udipi, in the district of South Kanara, in
South India. He was not allowed to enter the temple on account of his low birth. Kanaka Das went
round the temple and saw a small window at the back of the temple. He seated himself in front of the
window. He was soon lost in singing songs in praise of Lord Krishna. Many people gathered round
him. They were very powerfully attracted by the sweet melody of his music and the depth of his
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PHILOSOPHY OF IDOL WORSHIP
devotion. Lord Krishna turned round to enable Kanaka Das to get His Darshan. The priests were
struck with wonder. Even today, pilgrims are shown the window and the place where Kanaka Das
sat and sang.
The idol is the same as the Lord, for it is the vehicle of the expression of the
Mantra-consciousness which is the Deity. The devotee should regard the idol in the temple with the
same attitude of respect and reverence that he would evince should the Lord Himself appear before
him in person and speak to him in articulate sound.