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Chapter 11
VISION OF THE COSMIC FORM OF GOD
56. Full Vision Even In A Small Image
7. Many people have assailed idol-worship. Many thinkers from India and abroad have found fault with it. But the more I think of it, the more I realise its beauty. What does idol-worship signify? It is the art of learning to experience the whole universe in a small object. Is it not right to learn to see the whole universe in a small village? It is not mere fancy; it is a matter of experience. That which inheres in the cosmic form is there in a small idol as well. The world is in a grain of sand. In a small theatre troupe, the same set of actors play a variety of roles. The Lord does likewise. Like a playwright who acts in a play written by him, the Lord writes innumerable plays and enacts innumerable roles in them. Recognising Him in one role is as good as recognising Him fully. 8. The basis of idol-worship is the same as that of similes and metaphors in poetry. A circle or a sphere is nice to see, as there is order and symmetry in it, and these are divine attributes. The Lord’s creation is beautiful in all respects. There is order and harmony in it. A sphere is an image of the shapeliness of the Lord. A twisted and disorderly tree in a forest is also His manifestation; therein you find the Lord’s freedom. That tree knows no constraints; and it is true of the Lord as well. The unconstrained and self-willed Lord is there in that unshapely tree. A straight column shows His straightness. In a pillar with decorative engraving we see the Lord who decorates the sky with stars. We see His restraint in a well-laid out garden and in a primeval forest we see His freedom and grandeur. We experience joy in a forest as well as in a wellmaintained garden. Is it strange? No. It happens because divine attributes are visible in both of them. An idol may be smooth or misshapen; nevertheless, the divinity therein is the same. I would not, therefore, mind if I could not get to see the cosmic form of the Lord apart from His presence in the creation.
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