A simple answer to a perplexing question!

#Jagadguru #SriSri Abhinava Vidyatirtha Mahaswamiji: A question may arise:
Why should Puja be done to an idol even though God is omnipresent?
A veterinarian may prescribe that something be mixed with ghee & given to an ailing cow. It will not do if it is given to the cow unmixed with ghee on the ground that ghee is only a product of milk and plentiful milk is already present within the cow.
Likewise, though God is present everywhere, He confers special blessings when He is worshipped in a duly consecrated idol. What is to be done if there is no idol with us or we lack the capacity to do idol-worship ourselves? My Guru (Jagadguru #SriSri #Chandrashekara Bharathi Mahaswamiji) has said that one could well go to a temple and worship God there. Worshipping the Lord is actually very easy. The Lord has said, “Whoever offers a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water to Me with devotion – that devout offering made by the pureminded person, I accept.”
The Mṛutyuñjayamānasapūjā-stotra (Hymn on the Mental Worship of Śiva), Devī-mānasapūjā-stotra (Hymn on the Mental Worship of Devī), etc., have been composed to bless us with guidance on worshipping God mentally, even without any physical item of worship.

#SanatanaDharma #Sringeri #Shankaracharya #spirituality #bhagavadgita #Gita