statue in hindouism

[alishan]

hi

in most hindou family is there a statue representing the "God" that they pray?

do you have one yourself?

thanks

 

[Riverwolf]

Probably. Some people also use pictures.

I have pictures of Siva, Durga, Ganesha, and Murugan, and a statue of Ganesha.

 

[Vinayaka]

Hindus traditionally keep a shrine room, a place in the house reserved for prayer, japa, meditation, etc. It is often an entire room, but can also be a portion of a room. Since daily sadhana or worship is one of a traditional person's duties, this is a necessary part of it. Yes, most Hindus would have some home murthis, but as Riverwolf said, pictures are also used. The main point is that nothing else is done in that space. For some stauncher ones, next to the kitchen, it may even be the busiest place in a house.

 

[Gaura Priya]

Nope. I lean towards aniconism; I just worship our Radha-Krishna Deities when I'm at temple!

I do have a picture of my shiksha gurus though. What I was taught that an altar is not needed, except for giving respects to Sri Guru. And even then, a simple picture of one's guru and Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu are the only things necessary - nothing extravagant that takes us away from pure worship of Lord Krishna, especially through japa and kirtana.

 

[Jainarayan]

I have a mix of pictures and small statues, and a small puja set. I glommed the pictures off the internet and saved them, then printed them on photo quality paper and framed them. My shrine/altar is about 20" x 22" and in a corner of the dining room. Some people just have a picture and a candle and maybe an incense burner on a shelf. It's whatever you can manage; it's the love and devotion to the deity(ies) that counts.

 

[alishan]

don t forget to translate all the hindou term in english please

what is easy to understand for you is impossible for me.thanks

 

[Vinayaka]

don t forget to translate all the hindou term in english please

what is easy to understand for you is impossible for me.thanks

Can you use the search engine? Just type in the word you don't understand + meaning. Otherwise the rest of us are guessing on which words. I think, collectively, that would be easier. of course you have to spell them right. For example, 'hindou' may come up blank.

 

[ratikala]

hi

in most hindou family is there a statue representing the "God" that they pray?

do you have one yourself?

thanks

dear alishan ,

yes we have a shrine room here ,
not only is it somewhere to pray , but somewhere to show your devotion to the lord .

the deity form of the lord is given a special place in the house and treated as a most honoured guest , in many households the deity is given daily offerings of specialy prepaired food , allso flowers and incence .
in the stricter households the statue it self is concidered an embodiment of god , and above being a mere representation .

 

[Riverwolf]

Japa = recitation of the names of God
Sadhana = worship
Murthi = image used in worship
Guru = religious teacher
Shiksha Guru = sectarian religious teachers
Kirtana = devotional singing
Puja = a small ritual

Radha-Krishna:

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu = A man who lived about 500 years ago who brought Krishna worship to the masses, believed to be an avatar (incarnation) of God.

 

[Me Myself]

You should put pictures

 

[ratikala]

You should put pictures

sorry for being so pc backward , but will someone tell me how to up load/down load ? a photo from my camera ? and I'll try (i'm still learning to use this thing )

namaskars :namaste ratikala

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

hi

in most hindou family is there a statue representing the "God" that they pray?

do you have one yourself?

thanks

Yes, I use Murti (e.g. statues) for my puja.

This my home Altar. from 3 angles.
http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/2152182-post27.html
and
http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/hinduism-dir/100652-altars-4.html

 

[alishan]

and if your statue fall and break what do you feel? God is touched?

thanks

 

[Vinayaka]

and if your statue fall and break what do you feel? God is touched?

thanks

Everything except the Self (God) is temporal, so there is no big deal if a mere statue breaks.

 

[alishan]

so most of hindou people if a statue break , wont cry or feel very sad?

not you viyanaka but people in general

 

[Vinayaka]

so most of hindou people if a statue break , wont cry or feel very sad?

not you viyanaka but people in general

I don't know for sure, but the Hindus I know mostly wouldn't get upset. Besides many 'statues' are made of metal. Kind of tough to break. Some do, of course, and the traditional way is to dispose of them in water, like a running river. They are considered inauspicious (unlucky) by some.

But like I and others have been saying over and over. there would be no standard way ion Hinduism of handling this. Its vast. its vast. Its vast.

 

[Riverwolf]

so most of hindou people if a statue break , wont cry or feel very sad?

not you viyanaka but people in general

I'm sure some would, especially since they can often be expensive. The cheapest Durga statue that I can find online is 60 US dollars, and most of them reach up to the 100s range.

 

[alishan]

but what i dont understand is how can you trust and workship a statue which form comes from a man who imagine this form.

so if the apparition of statue arrived nowadays maybe the statue of your house that you workship would have the appearence of pokemon or spiderman or mickey mouse.

is it reasonnable to workship God?

 

[Vinayaka]

Only Hindus understand Hinduism. That's why we're Hindus. No Hindu expects people of other faiths to understand it. I don't understand Islam or Christianity.

We don't worship statues. That would be silly. The statue is either representative of something larger, or it is a focal point for concentration, or divine presence.

 

[Jainarayan]

but what i dont understand is how can you trust and workship a statue which form comes from a man who imagine this form.

One can't just make a statue any way he imagines it and call it a murthi (statue) of Durga or Vishnu or Krishna. There are specific rules and forms that must be followed for a statue or picture to be an acceptable representation of a god or goddess for the deity to take residence in. These rules have been handed down for milennia, by those who initially received revelation.

so if the apparition of statue arrived nowadays maybe the statue of your house that you workship would have the appearence of pokemon or spiderman or mickey mouse.

is it reasonnable to workship God?

Unless that image was accepted to be divine revelation, that would be idolatry. No one believes that Spiderman is a real, much less a divine entity.