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Kriya Yoga and Idol-Worship
How, on being initiated as the twice-born according to the rules laid down for him, a person ought to worship Me with devotion and faith, do thou learn it of Me.
In an image, or the sacrificial ground or in fire or in the sun, in water or in his own heart, or in a Brahmin he should worship Me, his preceptor with sincerity and devotion and with the necessary articles.
He should clean his teeth, face, and limbs and then bathe for the purification of his body. Bathing should be done with both Mantras, Vedic and Tantric by washing himself with earth and other things.
The Sandhya morning worship, noon and evening prayers as ordained by the Sastras should be performed. They should not be abandoned because of My worship. Then the devotee should begin My worship along with them which lifts him up from the sphere of Karma, with the resolve that he does such worship for attaining My grace and not for any other desire. He should perform My worship with the purest purpose, with all thoughts directed to Me.
The images are of eight kinds—those made of stone, wood (sandal etc.), metal (gold, silver, copper etc.) or their mixture in fixed proportion, clay, sand, picture (in cloth), jewels (crystal) mental (image formed in the mind).
In temples my images are of two kinds- movable and immovable. The movable are taken around for festivals while the immovables are fixed. In images set up for worship in temples, the Mantras for invoking Me (Avahana) in the image and releasing (Udvasa) Metherefrom, need not be repeated.
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