Breaking Idols

murti puja

bharatiya samskriti inspire transcending limitations inherent in conceptualizations of nama-rupam, discerning essence beyond appearance.

murti puja is one of the ways that help integrate physical and mental planes, connecting upasaka to the non-physical causative energy that is behind the diverse physical and mental object-conceptions. veda, purana, itihasa– carrying deeper meaning beyond physical, yogik mudra, mantra, also serve similar purpose.

Concepts beyond physical are represented in physical form of murti. Recognizing the concepts creates a channel connecting the physical and mental planes, paving way towards realization, brahma jnana. It is like in a scientific formula that conveys meaning and truth transcending physicality of symbols used, the true meaning is understood when the meaning of symbols are correctly recognized, going beyond their common understanding as alphabets.

These practices of bharatiya samskriti help liberate people, make them contented, self-sufficient and in bliss, ananda.

Idols in mind

Self-sufficiency and liberation of common people deprive those holding positions of temporal power the authority and privileges they expropriate. Crooked minds that seek control over others for self-aggrandizing purpose endeavour to prevent liberation and self-sufficiency among people by decreeing non-physical conceptualization of objects ‘heretical’. They destroy physical objects used for the purpose, sever the connection between physical and mental plane, claim themselves to be messenger/mediator-church for an almighty entity ‘god’, install idols of God/Allah, Ummah in minds of followers, shackling them to these artificial idol-concepts in segregated physical and mental prison cells. Fabricated myths and rituals enforce mind-control over people.

Idols in mind are the foundation upon which western hegemonic empire is built.
In some western systems, idols installed in mind are ‘Almighty God’, its ‘Messenger/Son’, ‘Ummah’ and ‘Church’.
In some others, it is ‘Class war’, ‘Politburo’ and ‘Egalitarian State’.
In another, it is ‘Free Market Development’, mounted on pedestal of premise that ‘Consuming’/’aggrandizing’ is essential nature and purpose of life.
In some other, it is ‘Rational logic’; while in another, it is ‘Physical perception/ Experimental validation’.
In some other system, it is ‘Race’, while in another, it is ‘Nation’.
In another system, where people give up rights to decision-making every five years to opportunists, it is called ‘Democratic Government’.
In some other system, it is ‘separation of religion from governance’, while in another, it is ‘Equality’.
Other such idols in mind are ‘Rule of Law’, ‘Judiciary’, ‘Criminal Justice System’, ‘Education system’, ‘Patriotism’, ‘Charity’, and so on.

Idols in mind are venerated or ridiculed depending on dogma fed.

These idols- Church, Ummah, God, Allah, Government, Judiciary, State, UN, Police, Law and Order, Charity, Science, Democracy, and so on, are given infallible aura, are exalted and venerated, while the so-called ‘common man’ is considered common fodder for aggrandizers to feed on.

Indoctrination from childhood is the path by which such hegemony is established in minds of people.

Minds stunted by indoctrination are calibrated to react violently to perceived slight to idols in mind. In a recent incident in state of Kerala, the hand of a college professor, a christian, was severed by muslim adherents, because, while setting question paper, he gave the name ‘Mohammed’ to a mentally unsound character in a passage where that person hallucinates having conversation with ‘god’.

Disconnect

These impositions fixate people on physicality of objects, preventing recognition of connection between physical and mental planes.

The ensuing disconnect between the mental and physical plane manifest in disparity between theory and practice. Claiming to spread ‘love’, ‘peace’, ‘brotherhood’ and ‘equality’, they practice genocide, slavery, aggrandization and divisiveness. Ideals are accepted as separate from and often incongruent with ‘what is practical’. The dissonance between physical and mental plane prevent recognition of duplicity in action and words.

The disconnect between mental plane and physical further prevent comprehending of unifying connections that pervade life and entire creation, leading to compartmentalizing of everything, divided, separated from others, labeled and pigeonholed.
Labels then replace reality in their minds.

The compartmentalization is applied to time as well. Past, Present and Future are discretized and insulated. People fixated on physical body consider life as beginning from birth and ending in death. That outlook corresponding to growth of physical body is accepted as representing ‘progress of life on earth’ as well; also called ‘evolution of life’.
Past is considered represented by childhood- largely characterized by ignorance and helplessness. Other living beings, deemed to be in ‘less evolved stages of life’, are considered representing that ‘less evolved past’ and diminished.
The ‘growth of individual’, involving discarding of previous notions, is practiced in ‘breaking away from past’, discounting value of animals and plants and other life forms, considering humans as ‘most mature, evolved form of life’. Other life forms are considered deserving to be controlled or used as deemed fit by these ‘evolved human beings’. Everything related to past are condemned ‘primitive’, at best of value only as museum curios. The fixation with material objects in physical plane parallely manifest in the segregated mental plane as fixation with such misconceptions.

Connect

bharatiya parampara, by contrast, view life as resembling the continuous alternation of day and night. Consciousness awakes in the morning, directs the body during day, wanes in night, remains dormant in sleep and re-awakes in morning. That sequence is considered represented in the creation of world, its sustenance, eventual dissolution and re-creation. Recognizing atman as basis of living beings; and physical bodies as incidental- rather than defining of life, the perennial sequence of birth and death are comprehended as required to actualize karma. The connect between the mental plane and physical plane enable realizing integrality with entire creation and its causative energy.

Breaking Idols

Minds and lives discretized by misconceptions enable entrenched control by those holding power and serve to aggrandize such influence further.

Breaking idols installed in mind, is first step.

Motive Behind

Person

People are living, growing, beings. Their motivations, the driving force behind, change; that is how they grow and learn. A robber Ratnakara could turn into Maharshi Valmiki. Dharmaraj Yudhishthir may wager and lose his wife, brothers, himself, their property, freedom, dignity and kingdom. 
Therefore it is not a person per se that is right or wrong, it depends upon the motivation of that person in that instant; it is the motivation that determines the person, not the other way; further elaborated here.

 Object 

 A knife by itself is an inanimate object, neither useful nor dangerous; in the hands of a skilled chef it becomes a useful tool; in the hands of a skilled surgeon, it becomes a specialised equipment; in the hands of a robber, it becomes a dangerous weapon. Therefore, it is not the knife per se that determines its potency,  it is the motivation of the wielder that does. 

 Action

 The driving force, in the case of a chef or a surgeon, is the ‘purpose of service’ that prevails their actions, and leads them to successful result- a well prepared dish or a successful operation. While they may expect to gain financially or professionally from the cooking or the operation, it is primarily the gastronomic satisfaction of the consumer and the physical well being of the patient that is targeted by the chef or the surgeon. This motivation of service makes their action righteous. In the case of a robber, it is the ‘purpose of selfish gain’ that prevails his action and leads to disaster, both for his victim and him/herself and makes it unrighteous. It is the motivation behind that determines the character of the action. 

 Concept 

 A picture or an object by itself is not powerful, but, in the hands of a bhakta, it may become a murti that has the potential to lead him to realization; in the hands of a mleccha the same is an inanimate object to ridicule. A formula assumes different meaning depending on how the variables are valued. The meaning of a concept or idea depends on the motivation of the person that decides how he values it. 

 Righteousness 

 Concepts, Ideas, Ideologies, Philosophies, Actions, Occupations, Objects, Persons, by themself are neutral in character. It is the motivation behind that colors them right or wrong. The motivation of service, of contribution, makes anything righteous, dharmik, sustaining life. That of ego aggrandizement, expropriation, selfish gain, makes everything unrighteous, adharmik, diminishing life.  

 Applying concepts, ideas, ideologies and philosophies universally, classifying actions and occupations superficially, categorizing objects attributively and characterizing people perennially- without considering the motive behind, is incorrect.  

 The motive that lies behind determines righteousness, dharmikata.