to the deepest questions they may have felt or consciously
meditated in the course of it. “The basic movement of the
life of dialogue is the turning towards the other.” (Martin
Buber).
‘Worship’ is a turning to the Other – whether the face
of a human other or the divine other – from our innermost
Self. Indeed the very word ‘worship’ derives from the Indo-
European root wer or uer – ‘to turn’. The turning point in
‘idol worship’ comes when the worshipper first turns to
outwardly face and/or inwardly sense the Murti, in turn to
be turned – transformed – by it. In essence there is no such
thing as ‘idol worship’ – only a turning to the divinity
ensouling the idol, allowing us in turn to be ensouled with
and by that divinity.
Notes:
- An advertisement (2007) showing a dark-skinned neo-
Mayan tribe worshipping the image of a leading branded
ice-cream bar and ending with the slogan ‘I am a
worshipper’.
References:
Swami Sivananda The Philosophy and Significance of Idol Worship
Divine Life Society 1960