books such as the Torah, Bible or Koran to human
beings such as Moses, Jesus or Mohammed – as well as
worshipping before icons such as the cross or the
crucified Christ. And today’s secular culture is almost
defined by its worship of ‘pop’ or ‘celebrity’ idols – and
by the idolisation of the latest hi-tech commodities. For
a Hindu, on the other hand, the essence of a religious
idol is not any image, person or material ‘thing’ but
rather the divine consciousness ensouling it – and
ensouling all things. Both Judaism and Islam forbid the
representation of God in the form of an image or
object. Yet a Hindu idol is precisely not the
‘representation’ of a divine being or divine person all -
but is instead the image, embodiment or personification
of a state of divine consciousness.
- Since Hinduism not only recognises the universal nature
of the Divine but also the reality of reincarnation, being
Hindu does not depend on upbringing or ethnicity but
on acceptance, experience and active embodiment of its
religious world-view.
- The aim of the Hindu is both to enjoy this life, and to
achieve liberation (Moksha) within it, overcoming the
need for further physical incarnations.
