Category:God's Deity
Theme Analysis
The philosophical essence of this category explores the profound mercy and transcendental science of the Supreme Personality of Godhead's appearance as the Deity (arcā-vigraha). Because the conditioned soul cannot perceive the Lord's original, spiritual form with blunt material senses, the Lord mercifully incarnates in elements like stone, wood, or metal to accept the loving service of His devotees. Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly defeats the misconception that Deity worship is idol worship; the Deity is factually the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. To properly approach the Deity, one must strictly follow the rules and regulations of temple worship, maintaining absolute cleanliness and offering first-class food (prasādam). Through this regulated arcana process, the devotee perfectly engages all their senses—eyes, ears, tongue, and hands—in the direct service of the Absolute Truth. The category also distinguishes between the vision of the neophyte (kaniṣṭha-adhikārī), who is primarily focused on the temple Deity, and the advanced devotee, who realizes that the Deity is non-different from Kṛṣṇa and perceives the Lord everywhere. Ultimately, by establishing Deities in grand temples and in the homes of sincere householders, the Lord facilitates intimate, personal dealings with His devotees, reciprocating their love and guiding them back to the spiritual world.
- The Mercy of the Arcā-vigraha: Because we cannot see the Lord's gigantic or spiritual form with our current material eyes, God mercifully appears in the authorized representation of the Deity so that we can see Him face to face and handle Him with love.
- Defeating the Idol Worship Fallacy: Mayāvādīs and atheists mistakenly consider the Deity to be an idol made of wood or stone. The pure devotee understands that the Deity is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and considering the Deity material is a hellish offense.
- The Process of Arcana: Deity worship requires a first-class standard. The temple must be kept as clean as glass, and devotees must strictly observe the rules and regulations, such as avoiding offenses like offering obeisances to anyone else in front of the Lord.
- Engaging the Senses: Temple worship provides the perfect facility to spiritualize the senses. The eyes are engaged in seeing the decorated Deity, the hands in cleansing the temple, and the tongue in honoring the remnants of His food (prasādam).
- Personal Dealings and Reciprocation: The Deity is a person who reciprocates with the devotee's love. Devotees can perceive the Lord's pleasure through His smiling face, express their minds to Him, and sometimes even receive direct answers or instructions in dreams.
- Neophyte vs. Advanced Vision: In the beginning, the neophyte (kaniṣṭha-adhikārī) strictly focuses on the temple Deity. However, as the devotee advances, they realize the absolute non-difference between the Deity and the original form of Kṛṣṇa, ultimately seeing the Lord within every living entity.
- Offering and Distributing Prasādam: A critical component of Deity worship is the offering of palatable, first-class vegetarian food. The Vaisṇava derives satisfaction not from eating for themselves, but from offering the food to the Deity and distributing the sanctified prasādam.
- Establishing the Lord's Presence: The ultimate use of wealth and construction is to build grand temples for the Deity. Furthermore, it is the duty of sincere householders to install and worship small Deities in their own homes, transforming their daily routine into transcendental service.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: God's Deity - The Supreme Mercy of the Arcā-vigraha.
Subcategories
This category has the following 13 subcategories, out of 13 total.
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D
I
K
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Pages in category "God's Deity"
The following 218 pages are in this category, out of 218 total.
A
- A contaminated brahmana may superficially imagine a form of the Lord, but actually he considers the Deity in the temple to be made of stone or wood
- A devotee is not at all interested in speculative activities. Instead of cultivating speculative knowledge or practicing mystic yoga, a devotee should worship the Deity in the temple and continuously engage in the Lord’s service
- A gentleman named Bhramaravara from Kendrapada, in the province of Orissa, contributed funds to establish these Deities (of Nityananda, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Advaita) in the temple. The management of the temple was under the Tota-gopinatha gosvamis
- A glossary of some of the important words in this chapter (SB 4th Canto, Ch 28): Sapta-suta - The seven sons, namely hearing, chanting, remembering, offering prayers, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, worshiping the Deity&becoming a servant of the Lord
- A neophyte considers the arca-vigraha (the statue of the Lord) to be different from the original Personality of Godhead; he considers it a representation of the Supreme Lord in the form of a Deity
- A person, simply by offering regulative obeisances unto the Deity, simply by hearing the glories of the Lord, and simply by eating the remnants of foodstuffs offered to the Lord, realizes the Supreme Personality of Godhead very easily. BG 1972 purports
- A post office there is named Devananda-pura. Jhadu Thakura used to worship the Deity of Sri Madana-gopala. The Deity is still worshiped by one Ramaprasada dasa, who belongs to the Ramayet community
- A small child may not know anything, but simply by seeing the Deity, chanting and dancing, he is benefited. Temples are meant to give everyone a chance to advance in Krsna consciousness one step at a time
- A Vaisnava should not hunger for a variety of food for his own sake; rather, his satisfaction is in seeing various foods being offered to the Deity
- According to the direction of the Padma Purana, Anyone who considers the Deity in the temple to be made of stone or wood is a resident of hell
- According to the Mahabharata (Vana-parva, Chapter 114), great sages formerly performed sacrifices in this place (Yajapura). There are still many temples of demigods and incarnations there, and there is also a Deity of Sri Varahadeva
- According to the prescribed duties mentioned in the scriptures, one must care for the Deity, but when one is a little further advanced, he considers his functions with others
- According to the rules & regulations, no one should accept obeisances in the temple of the Lord before the Deity. Nor is it proper for a devotee to offer obeisances & touch the feet of the spiritual master before the Deity. This is considered an offense
- After many years, when Hanumanji departed on the hill known as Gandha-madana, he delivered the Deities (of Sita-Rama) to Bhimasena, one of the Pandavas, and Bhimasena brought Them to his palace, where he kept Them very carefully
- After some time, the brahmana youth became very anxious. "He has promised to marry his daughter to me, and he made that promise before the Deity. Now he is not coming to fulfill it." He then went to see the old man to remind him of his promise
- After the bathing ceremony of Sri Jagannatha, which takes place just a fortnight before the Ratha-yatra ceremony, the body of the Lord Jagannatha Deity is repainted, and this takes just about a fortnight to complete. This period is called Anavasara
- All the servitors of the Deity must be strictly qualified as brahmanas and, specifically, must engage in the Vaisnava custom of offering as much prasadam as possible and distributing it to the devotees who visit the temple to see the Lord
- Although the arca-murti, the worshipable Deity form of the Lord, appears to be made of material elements, it is as good as the spiritual forms found in the spiritual Vaikunthalokas
- Amongst the various paraphernalia of worshiping the Lord, the srngara is very essential, srngara and tan-mandira-marjanadi, and cleansing the temple. The more you cleanse the temple, the more you decorate the Deity, more your heart becomes cleansed
- An advanced devotee accepts the Deity in the temple as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He does not see any difference between the original form of the Lord and the statue, or arca form of the Lord, in the temple
- An inscription in the temple (Jiyara-nrsimha-ksetra) states that the King of Vijayanagara formerly decorated this temple with gold and even smeared the body of the Deity with gold
- Another four items of devotional service: (1) marking one's body with sandalwood pulp , (2) painting one's body with the holy names, (3) covering one's body with the remnants of the Deity covers, (4) accepting caranamrta, the water which washes the Deity
- Anyone, whether a grhastha or a sannyasi, can keep small Deities of God and thus worship Them by offering food prepared in ghee & then offering the sanctified prasada to the forefathers, demigods & other living entities as a matter of routine daily work
- As far as meditation on the arca-vigraha form of the Lord is concerned, we have to look at the Deity beginning with His lotus feet. It is not that we immediately look at His smiling face
- As far as the Sri Vaisnavas are concerned, beginning with Ramanujacarya, they also worshiped Deities of Sita-Rama. Sita-Rama Deities are also being worshiped in Tirupati and other places
- At the time of his death, he (the brahmana who got Deities of Sita-Rama from Lord Ramacandra) delivered the Deities to Sri Hanumanji, who, for many years, hung Them around his neck and served Them with all devotion
- At Vrndavana in India there are temples still, they are spending thousands and thousands of rupees for palatable foodstuff, offering to the Deity. And those foodstuff are distributed to the, I mean to say, the devotees
B
- Because of his advanced devotional position, the younger brahmana knew that although the Deity of Gopala appeared to be stone, He was not stone. He was the son of Nanda Maharaja, Vrajendra-nandana Himself
- Before the Deity, before the fire, before the spiritual master and before the Vaisnavas, the honest disciple promises to refrain from all sinful activity. Therefore he must not again commit sinful acts and thus create a troublesome situation
- Bhakti means that. Nitya-yukta upasana. That's all. Upasana continues. Here they're upasana. Here the devotees offering worship to the Deity, it is upasana. And after being perfect, that upasana will continue. It will never stop
- Bhaktivinoda Thakura annotates that this Gopala Deity (Ksira-cora) was originally installed by Vajra, the great-grandson of Krsna
- Both the Lord's Deity form and the spiritual master should be seen from a distant place. This is called maryada. Otherwise, as it is said, familiarity breeds contempt
- By His causeless mercy, He protects the demigods, who are always harassed by the demons. He is the supreme worshipable Deity of all living entities. He is the supreme cause, represented as the male and female creative energies
- By worshiping stone or wood we get no result, but when the stone and wood are represented in the Lord's original form, by worshiping the Deity we get the desired result. This is supported by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's philosophy, acintya-bhedabheda
- By worshiping the Deity, eating prasadam and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can always remain on the spiritual platform - BG 14.26
D
- Deity of Krsna should be seen. That is the benefit of the eyes. The ears should be engaged hearing about Krsna. The tongue should be engaged for eating Krsna's remnants of foodstuff, prasadam
- Devotional service comprises nine prescribed practices - hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving, offering everything to the Deity, etc
- Devotional service is very simple, and anyone can adopt it. Let one remain what he is; he need only install the Deity of the Supreme Lord in his house. The Deity may be Radha-Krsna or Laksmi-Narayana (there are many other forms of the Lord)
E
- Emperor Ambarisa adopted all the nine items (of devotion), and he attained perfect success. It was he who engaged his ears in submissively hearing the words of Lord Sri Krsna, his eyes in viewing the Deities of the Lord
- Every year on the date of Ananta-caturdasi there is a festival to commemorate the passing away of Haridasa Thakura. At the same place, Deities of Nityananda Prabhu, Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Advaita Prabhu were established about one hundred years ago
F
- Factually, the Deity is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without a doubt
- Following in the footsteps of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a Vaisnava should be fully satisfied simply to see a variety of food offered to the Deity of Jagannatha or Radha-Krsna
- For the time being organize the health, education and care of the children and continue the Deity worship as it is going nicely now. Deities are satisfied with bhakti not marble. Therefore try to increase the bhakti
- Formerly the Jagannatha Deity used to come to the temple of Radhavallabha from Mahesa during the Ratha-yatra festival, but in the Bengali year 1262, due to a misunderstanding between the priests of the two temples, the Jagannatha Deity stopped coming
- From the Sri Ramanuja-sampradaya there is another branch known as Ramanandi or Ramat, & the followers of that branch also worship Deities of Sita-Rama very rigidly. The Ramanuja-sampradaya Vaisnavas prefer the worship of Lord Rama to that of Radha-Krsna
G
- Garga Muni wanted to impress upon the mind of Nanda Maharaja, Your worshipable Deity, Narayana, is so pleased with you that He has sent you a son almost equal to Him in qualifications
- Generally, as preachers, we are middle class devotees. So we should not remain as neophyte devotee who does not know how to preach. He simply goes to the temple, and offers everything with devotion to the Deity
- God has an authorized representation in the Deity form, which is called arca-vigraha. This arca-vigraha is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. God will accept service through that form. BG 1972 purports
- Great impersonalists like Sukadeva Gosvami and the four Kumaras were attracted by the beauty of the Deities in the temple, by the decorations and by the aroma of tulasi offered to the Lord, and they became devotees
H
- He (a kanistha-adhikari) is simply concerned with worshiping the Deity in the temple. A madhyama-adhikari, however, can distinguish between the devotee and nondevotee, as well as between the devotee and the Lord
- He (Maharaja Ambarisa) engaged his hands in washing the temple of the Deity, his ears in hearing the words of Krsna and his eyes in beholding the Deity. He engaged his sense of touch by rendering service to the devotees
- He (one European gentleman) said that "I find in this temple there is God." "Why? Why you conclude like that?" "That in every temple I saw, that the god, deity, is doing something. But here I see the God is enjoying. He has nothing to do"
- He (Sikhi Mahiti) was having a wonderful dream that Lord Caitanya, while visiting the temple of Jagannatha, was entering and again coming out of the body of Jagannatha and looking at the Jagannatha Deity
- He (The devotee) should not be anxious to have very palatable dishes. Of course, wherever it is possible, one should offer the Deities the best foodstuffs, prepared within the category of fruits and vegetables, cooked or uncooked
- He engaged his eyes in seeing the Deity of Krsna, Krsna's temples and Krsna's places like Mathura and Vrndavana, he engaged his sense of touch in touching the bodies of the Lord's devotees
I
- If a sincere devotee renders service to the Lord or to the arca-vigraha, the form of the Lord, all his activities prove successful because the Lord is present within his heart and understands his sincerity
- If one is engaged in worshiping the Deity, cleansing the temple, decorating the Deity, cooking for the Deity, and so on, one's senses are already engaged in the service of the Absolute Truth, so where is the chance of their being diverted
- If one is not allowed to enter the temple, or if he thinks himself unfit to enter the temple, he can look at the wheel from outside the temple, and that is as good as seeing the Deity within
- If paraphernalia is not present physically, one can think of the items and offer them to the Deity by chanting the mantra. Such are the liberal and potent facilities in the process of devotional service
- If we see the Deities in very pleasing mood, that will certify our service unto the Lord. So everywhere we shall see the Deities in such pleasing mood. As soon as we see the Deities in a different mood we must immediately understand our discrepancies
- If you grow more, and offer fruits to the Deity in the evening, in this way, very nice. You can distribute that
- In India it was the system, after bathing & sanctifying the body by applying marks of tilaka, one would offer obeisances to the Deity, take some candana-prasada from the room of the Deity, & apply it as a cosmetic to the body. This was called prasadhanam
- In many instances devotees have accepted the Deity as a son. In Bengal there are many such instances, and even after the death of the devotee, the Deity performs the sraddha ceremony for the father. The relationship is never destroyed
- In the lower stages of ignorance and passion, it is difficult to appreciate or understand the Supreme Lord. Therefore the Lord is described herein (SB 4.21.38) as the worshipable Deity for persons in brahminical and Vaisnava culture
- In the lowest stage of devotional practice, a devotee is simply concerned with the Deity in the temple, and he worships the Lord with great devotion, according to rules and regulations
- In the material world, the Lord is always worshiped as the arca-vigraha, or Deity in the temple
- In the material world, the Lord is situated in different arca-murtis (Deities) in the temples just to decrease the material activities of the conditioned soul and increase his spiritual activities
- In the morning we offer fruits and milk to the Deities, and at noon we offer rice, dal, chapatties, vegetable, milk, sweet rice, and many other varieties
- In the spiritual world there is no external energy; there is marginal energy and the internal energy, and the Lord. So the Lord is the predominating Deity there. Everyone is engaged in the service of the Lord
- In the supplementary Vedic literature, there is the following list of 32 offenses in the matter of serving the Lord: 1) One should not enter the temple of the Deity in a car or palanquin or with shoes on the feet
- In the tantras it is said: Anyone who offers respects and obeisances to the Deity while wearing garments on the upper portion of his body is condemned to be a leper for seven births
- In these verses (SB 7.14.30-33) and in verse twenty-nine, stress is given to one point: harer arcasritas ca ye or harer arca. In other words, any place where the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshiped by devotees is most significant
- Indeed, They (the Deities of Rama-Sita) were worshiped by the royal princes even before the appearance of Lord Ramacandra. Later, during Lord Ramacandra’s presence, the Deities were worshiped by Laksmana
- It (the temple at the birthplace of Sri Nityananda Prabhu) is now covered by banyan trees. Later on, a temple was constructed within which Gaura-Nityananda Deities are existing
- It (the Tirupati temple) is a famous holy place of pilgrimage. In pursuance of His name, Venkatesvara, the four-handed Lord Visnu, the Deity of Balaji, with His potencies named Sri and Bhu, is located on Venkata Hill, about eight miles from Tirupati
- It appears that malayaja-candana (sandalwood) and camphor were used for the Jagannatha Deity. The camphor was used in His aratrika, and the sandalwood was used to smear His body
- It is a prescribed duty in temple worship that not only should one visit the temple to see the Deity nicely decorated, but at the same time he should hear the recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita or some similar literature
- It is explained in this verse (SB 3.25.36) that although they (devotees of God) do not have knowledge, simply by seeing the beautiful decoration of the Deity in the temple, the devotee is absorbed in thought of Him and loses all other consciousness
- It is said that in the beginning Lord Jagannatha was worshiped by the sabaras and was known as the Deity Nila Madhava. Later, when the Deity was established in the temple, the Lord became known as Jagannatha
- It is said that just three months before his disappearance, Sri Madhvacarya received these Deities (of Sita-Rama) and installed them in the Udupi temple. Since then the Deities have been worshiped by the Madhvacarya-sampradaya at that monastery
- It is still a respectful practice to circumambulate the Lord in Hindu temples. Especially in Vaisnava temples there is an arrangement for people to offer their respects to the Deity and circumambulate the temple at least three times
- It is the duty of the spiritual master to teach how to decorate the Deity in the temple, how to cleanse the temple and how to worship the Deity
- It is understood that formerly there was a Deity of Lord Ramacandra there (in Vatapani). Later the Deity was replaced with a deity of Lord Siva known as Ramesvara or Bhutanatha
- It may be noted that these particular Deities of Rama and Sita have been worshiped from the time of King Iksvaku
- It was customary for members of the three higher classes - namely the brahmanas, ksatriyas and vaisyas - to worship the salagrama-sila, or a small Deity of Radha-Krsna or Sita-Rama in each and every home. This made everything auspicious
K
- Kapila Muni is explaining (in SB 3.25.35) how the devotees see the decorated body and face of the Deity and how they speak with Him in devotional service
- Kardama Muni knew very well, by his power in progressive spiritual life, that Visnu, the Personality of Godhead, was his worshipable Deity
- Krsna is everything. The Mayavadis, the impersonalists, see our Deities here and say, - Oh, they have installed some wooden forms, and they are worshiping them as God
L
- Later, after eight or nine days, when the brahmana could see Ramacandra personally, he would break his fast. Upon observing the brahmana’s rigid vow, Ramacandra ordered His younger brother Laksmana to deliver a pair of Sita-Rama Deities to the brahmana
- Little flower, fruits, offering to the Deity, mad-yaji mam namaskuru. It is so easy. And by practicing this, Krsna says if you do this only, then mam evaisyasi, you come back
- Lord Visnu was personally present at the sacrificial arena, but this does not mean that He had any interest in His own personal benefit. Similarly, the arca-vigraha, the Deity in the temple, is present for the same purpose
M
- Madhavendra Puri rediscovered Gopala and established Him on top of Govardhana Hill. This Gopala Deity is now situated at Nathadvara and is under the management of descendants of Vallabhacarya
- May Devarsi Narada protect me from committing offenses in worshiping the Deity, and may Lord Kurma, the tortoise, protect me from falling to the unlimited hellish planets
- Mayavadis and atheists accept the forms of the Deities in the temple of the Lord as idols, but devotees do not worship idols. They directly worship the Personality of Godhead in His arca incarnation
- Minaketana Ramadasa was a great devotee of Lord Nityananda. When he entered the house of Krsnadasa Kaviraja, Gunarnava Misra, the priest who was worshiping the Deity installed in the house, did not receive him very well
- My dear Dhruva, besides worshiping the Deity and chanting the mantra three times a day, you should meditate upon the transcendental activities of the SPG in His different incarnations, as exhibited by His supreme will and personal potencies
- My Lord, as the supreme directing Deity known as Aniruddha, You are the master of the senses and the mind. I therefore offer my obeisances unto You again and again
N
- Narada and other great sages have sometimes stressed that since every conditioned soul has a bodily concept of life aimed at sense enjoyment, to restrict this sense enjoyment the rules and regulations for worshiping the Deity in the temple are essential
- Near Siyali and Cidambaram there is a temple known as Sri Musnam. In this temple there is a Deity of Sri Bhu-varaha
- Neither the Deity in the temple is stone, neither the spiritual master is ordinary human being, nor the Vaisnava belongs to any caste. This vision is perfect vision. When you come to this vision, that is bhakti
O
- On this island (of Pambam), four miles north of Pambam Harbor, is Setubandha, where the temple of Ramesvara is located. This is a temple of Lord Siva, and the name Ramesvara indicates that he is a great personality whose worshipable Deity is Lord Rama
- One cannot eat food from the kitchen unless it is offered to the Deity
- One is forbidden to enter the Deity room or offer anything to the Deity while wearing a shirt or coat
- One must pray to the Deity for His mercy. 26) One should remember the Deity. 27) One should meditate upon the Deity. 28) One should render some voluntary service. 29) One should think of the Lord as his friend
- One must render personal service to the Deities
- One of the acaryas, known as Narahari Tirtha, who was in the disciplic succession of Madhvacarya, received these Deities (of Sita-Rama which were in the palace of last king of the Pandavas, Ksemakanta) from the King of Orissa
- One should accept the mantra through a bona fide spiritual master and hear the mantra in the right ear. Not only should one chant or murmur the mantra, but in front of him he must have the Deity, or physical form of the Lord
- One should never consider his body material, just as one should never consider the body of the Deity worshiped in the temple to be made of stone or wood
- One should never consider prasadam to be like ordinary hotel cooking. Nor should one touch any kind of food not offered to the Deity
- One should not enter the Deity room or touch the body of the Deity after having smeared oil over his body. 22) One should not show disrespect to a scripture teaching about the supremacy of the Lord
- One should not fail to worship the Deity according to his means. In the Bhagavad-gita it is stated that the Lord is satisfied even if some devotee offers him a leaf or a little water
- One should take prasadam with great faith and should chant the holy name of the Lord and worship the Deity in the temple, always remembering that the Deity, maha-prasadam and the holy name do not belong to the mundane platform
- One should worship the Deity of the Lord until one appreciates the presence of the Lord in every living entity
- One who cannot believe that the Lord can be worshiped with equal success in the Deity, or arca form, or who cannot concentrate on this form is advised to worship the universal form of the Lord
- One who considers the worshipable Deity of Lord Visnu, to be stone, the spiritual master to be an ordinary human being, & a Vaisnava to belong to a particular caste or creed is possessed of hellish intelligence. One who follows such conclusions is doomed
- One who does not chant the holy name of Visnu (Krsna), who does not bow down to the Deity of Visnu, and who does not remember the lotus feet of Visnu is punishable by Yamaraja
- One who is worshiping the Deity must be always attentive and mindful of his occupation at all times. He must never for one moment forget his duty of serving the Deity at every moment and strive always to please the Lord
- Only by the endeavors of Sri Sanatana Gosvami were all the lost places of pilgrimage in the Vrndavana area excavated. He established Madana-mohana, the first Deity in the Vrndavana area
- Our tendency to construct great buildings should be used only for constructing large and valuable temples in which to install the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then our desire for construction will be fulfilled
- Out of these (39 items for DS) the following 5 are most important: (1) to associate with devotees, (2) to chant the holy name, (3) to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, (4) to live in a holy place (Mathura or Vrndavana), (5) to serve the Deity with great devotion
P
- Panagadi (Pannakudi) is about thirty miles south of Tirunelveli. Formerly the temple there contained the Deity of Sri Ramacandra, but later the devotees of Lord Siva replaced Lord Ramacandra with a deity of Lord Siva named Ramesvara or Rama-linga Siva
- People are such fallen rascals that they do not even go see the Deity. "Oh," they think, - what is this Deity worship? It is idol worship
- People began to gather about because of the noise which the elder son was raising, and the brahmana youth began to exclaim to them that the old man made this promise before the Deities but that he could not fulfill it because the family was objecting
- Performing his prescribed duties, one should worship the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead until one realizes My presence in his own heart and in the hearts of other living entities as well
- Persons constantly thinking of the eternal form of the Lord in the shape of the Deity or in the shape of a mental form are awarded the transcendental benediction of entering into the kingdom of God and associating with the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- Prahlada prayed to Nrsimhadeva, "You are the supreme friend, the supreme worshipable Deity. Your pastimes are transcendental, and simply by hearing of them one can counteract all his sinful activities"
R
- Real opulence is in the spiritual world. In the spiritual world the predominating Deity is the Lord Himself, whereas in the material world there are many lords. That is the difference between the internal and external energies
- Rupa Gosvami's instruction, One should carefully avoid the various offenses in chanting the holy name of the Lord, or in worshiping the Deity in the temple
S
- Sages, meditators and devotees constantly keep the form of the Lord within their hearts, or they see the Deity form in the temples; in that way they become liberated from all material contamination and at the end of the body enter into the kingdom of God
- Sanatana Gosvami compiled many, many books, all with the aim of describing how to serve the principal Deities of Vrndavana - Govinda and Madana-gopala. Later, other Deities were gradually established, and the importance of Vrndavana increased
- Simply by decorating the Deities of the Lord, Radha and Krsna, in the temple, one very minutely studies the injunctions of the Vedas
- Since the Deity (Gopinatha) spoke to both Madhavendra Puri and the brahmana priest in dreams, practically speaking they were on the same platform
- Sometimes the Lord informs the devotee through dreams. These exchanges of feelings between the Deity and the devotee are not understandable by atheists, but actually the devotee enjoys them
- Sraddhayanvitah: with great devotion the devotees offer worshipful respects and paraphernalia to the Deity
- Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu introduced the system that a woman, even if not a widow, must observe the Ekadasi day and must not touch any kind of grains, even those offered to the Deity of Visnu
- Srila Jiva Gosvami has explained in his Sandarbha that the word madira means intoxicating. If one's eyes become intoxicated upon seeing the Deity, he may be called madireksana
- Sukadeva Gosvami said, "He (Ambarisa) engaged his hands in washing the temple of the Lord. He engaged his ears in hearing of the transcendental glories of the Lord. He engaged his eyes in seeing the beautiful Deity in the temple"
- Sukadeva Gosvami said, "There was no scarcity in his royal style because he had a very beautiful temple wherein the Deity of the Lord was decorated with costly paraphernalia and offered high grade food"
T
- Temple Deity worship is realized by the devotees to be the same as direct service to the Lord
- The advanced devotee does not see the worshipable Deity as having a soul within a body like an ordinary human being
- The all-powerful Lord accepts the humble service of His devotee in devotional activities of the arcana, His form as the worshipable Deity in the temple
- The arcana-marga, or the devotional path prescribed in the Pancaratra system of devotional service for worshiping the Deity in the temple, makes the devotee think constantly of the Lord; that is samadhi, or trance
- The brothers and sister (of Sikhi Mahiti) went to the temple of Jagannatha, and there they saw Lord Caitanya in the Jagamohana kirtana hall, looking at the beauty of the Sri Jagannatha Deity just as in Sikhi Mahiti’s dream
- The common man who is puffed up with his material position and does not bow down before the Deity of the Lord in the temple
- The common man, who is expected to become at least a third-class devotee, is advised to visit the temple of the Lord and bow down before the Deity, even though he may be a very rich man or even a king with a silk turban or crown
- The Deities of Radha & Krsna, Laksmi & Narayana, Rama & Sita are very attractive to devotees, so much so that when they see the statue decorated in the temple of the Lord they become fully absorbed in thought of the Lord. That is the state of liberation
- The Deity is known as the arca-vigraha or arca-avatara, an incarnation of the Supreme Lord in the form of a material manifestation (brass, stone or wood)
- The Deity of Gopala had been buried within the jungle for many years, and although He was installed and was offered thousands of pots of water, He still felt very hot. He therefore asked Madhavendra Puri to bring sandalwood from the Malaya province
- The Deity of the Lord in the house of a pure devotee can act exactly as He can in His original transcendental personality
- The deity presiding over the hands is Indra, and the presiding deity of movement is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu. Visnu appeared on the appearance of the legs of the virat-purusa
- The demon Ravana was a fierce figure before the demigods, but when he was before Lord Ramacandra he trembled and prayed to his deity, Lord Siva, but to no avail
- The devotees express their minds before the Deity, and in many instances the Deity also gives answers
- The dress for the Deity should be first class, the food offered to Him must be first class, and the place where He is situated in the temple must be first class or even more than first class. Furthermore, the temple should always be as clean as glass
- The form of the Lord as worshiped in the temples is called arca-vigraha or arcavatara, the worshipable form, the Deity incarnation. This facility is offered to neophyte devotees so that they can see the real form of the Lord face to face
- The incarnation of the goddess of fortune known as Godadevi or Sri Andal was one of the twelve Alvars, liberated persons known as divya-suris. She was married to the Deity of Lord Sri Ranganatha, and later she entered into the body of the Lord
- The last king of the Pandavas, Ksemakanta, worshiped the Deities (of Sita-Rama) in that palace (where Bhimasena brought the deity). Later, the same Deities were kept in the custody of the kings of Orissa known as Gajapatis
- The Lord can appear in the form of the arca-vigraha, a Deity supposedly made of earth, stone or wood. Deity forms, although engraved from wood, stone or other matter, are not idols, as the iconoclasts contend
- The Lord is always in favor of the brahmanas and the cows, and therefore it is said, go-brahmana-hitaya ca. Lord Krsna, or Visnu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is also the worshipable Deity of the brahmanas
- The madhyama-adhikari is not only interested in the Deity, but he can also discern between devotees and nondevotees. He can also understand that this man is innocent and that this man is not
- The members of the Krsna consciousness movement engage daily in transcendental activities - Deity worship, offering food to the Deity and distributing food to the first-class brahmanas and Vaisnavas and even to the people in general
- The Moksa-dharma Vedic scripture indicates that Pradyumna is the Deity of the total mind, whereas Aniruddha is the Deity of the total ego
- The people who came to see the Deity of Gopala brought all kinds of food to offer the Deity. They brought all the food they had in stock, and they came before the Deity not only to accept prasadam for themselves but to distribute it to others
- The process of Krsna consciousness should be very vigorously propagated all over the world. Simply by seeing the Deity or simply by joining in chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra, people will derive tremendous benefit
- The regulative principles for worship of the Deity are also simultaneously essential
- The renovation of Lord Jagannatha is also known as Nava-yauvana, which indicates that the Jagannatha Deity is being fully restored to youth
- The same God is represented by the Deity in this material world, which is only one quarter of His creation
- The sastric injunction declares: One who does not offer respect to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to His Deity in the temple or to a tridandi sannyasi must undergo prayascitta - atonement
- The smarta-brahmanas reject the fact that maha-prasadam (food offered to the Deity) is transcendental and materially uncontaminated
- The smiling face of the Deity in the temple is beheld by the devotees as transcendental and spiritual, and the decoration of the body of the Lord is very much appreciated by the devotees
- The spiritual master’s duty is to engage his disciples in preparing varieties of nice foods to offer the Deity. After being offered, this food is distributed as prasadam to the devotees. These activities satisfy the spiritual master
- The supreme worshipable Deity is Narayana. The demigods are recommended secondarily for worship in relation to Narayana because the demigods are assisting hands in the management of the universal affairs
- The system is that for 8 days the Deities remain on the seaside, and kirtana goes on, prasad is distributed, and people offer flowers, fruits, etc. to the Deities
- The third-class devotee - who is not advanced in knowledge of the Absolute Truth but simply offers obeisances with great devotion, thinks of the Lord, sees the Lord in the temple & brings forth flowers and fruits to offer to the Deity - becomes liberated
- The truly advanced devotee sees that he is not a devotee but that everyone else is a devotee. The kanistha-adhikari, the neophyte, simply concentrates on the Deity, and that is required in the beginning
- The Vaisnava never accepts another Vaisnava on the basis of birthright, just as he never thinks of the Deity of God in a temple as an idol. And to remove all doubts in this connection, Sukadeva has invoked the blessings of the Lord, who is all-powerful
- The whole idea is that the Deity is considered to be the proprietor of the whole establishment, and all the priests and other people taking care of the temple are considered to be the servants of the Deity
- The worship of the Deity (of Gopala) is very luxurious, and one who goes there (Nathadvara) can purchase varieties of prasadam by paying a small price
- The worship of the Visnu Deity in the temple is also visnu-yajna. In all Visnu temples, therefore, the priest who takes care of the arcana-vidhi must be very clean
- The youth said, - Don't promise this, for your family will never agree. I am such a poor man, and you are aristocratic, so this marriage will not take place. Don't promise this way before the Deity
- Then the younger brahmana addressed the Deity, saying, "My dear Lord, You are my witness. I shall call for You to testify if it is necessary later on"
- Then this gentleman said in front of the Gopala Deity, 'My dear Lord, please bear witness. I have offered my daughter to this brahmana in charity'
- There are 35 items of devotional service, & they are as follows: (1) hearing, (2) chanting, (3) remembering, (4) worshiping, (5) praying, (6) serving, (7) engaging as a servitor, (8) being friendly, (9) offering everything, (10) dancing before the Deity
- There are 35 items of devotional service: (21) smelling the incense and flowers offered to the Deity, (22) accepting prasada (food offered to Krsna), (23) attending aratrika ceremony, (24) seeing the Deity, (25) offering palatable foodstuffs to the Lord
- There are many other prohibitions, such as one should not cross or step over the flowers offered to the Deities, nor should one take a vow in the name of God
- There are many varieties of prasada, prepared very nicely with grains and ghee, offered to the Deity and distributed to the brahmanas and Vaisnavas and then to the general public. This is the way of human society
- There is even a temple of Hanuman near Govindaji temple in Vrndavana. Formerly this temple was in front of the Gopalaji temple, but the Gopalaji Deity went to Orissa to remain as Saksi-gopala
- There is no special other program, this (roaring kirtana and offering feast to the Deities with special preparations) is standard, and that is our festival
- These terms (jiva, mind and ego) identify these Deities (Sankarsana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha), just as the terms ‘sky’ and ‘light’ sometimes identify the Absolute Brahman
- These two were then initiated by Madhavendra Puri, and he entrusted them with the daily service of the Lord. This service was performed continuously, and the worship of the Deity became very gorgeous. Thus Madhavendra Puri was very pleased
- They (The devotees) accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the dearmost friend, the dearmost relative, the dearmost son, the dearmost preceptor, the dearmost well-wisher or the dearmost Deity
- They may worship the statue of Gandhi or someone else, but when asked to come see the worship of the Deity they will say, - No, this is idol worship
- Third-class devotee engages in devotional service according to the directions of the spiritual master, or engages out of family tradition, and worships the Deity of the Lord, but he is not cultivated in knowledge of devotional service
- This Deity (of Sri Varahadeva in Yajapura) is especially important and is visited by many pilgrims
- Thus it is the duty of every householder to install Deities of the Lord at home and to begin the process of worshiping along with all of his family members
- To hear Srimad-Bhagavatam, (4) to see the decorated temple and the Deity and, if possible, (5) to live in a place like Vrndavana or Mathura. These items alone can help a devotee achieve the highest perfectional stage
- To nullify this mistake, one who is actually learned and advanced worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead as his spiritual master, worshipful Deity and source of life. He thus worships the Lord by the process of unalloyed devotional service
- To practice the regulative principles of bhakti-yoga one should collect flowers to offer to the Deity, cook foodstuffs to offer to the Deity, take prasadam, and so on. There are various rules and regulations which one should follow. BG 1972 purports
U
- Under Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami’s order, one of his disciples constructed the Govinda temple. Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami supplied all the ornaments of the Govinda Deity
- Unless you are fully trained, don't establish Deity to make a farce. Better learn it perfectly in the temple, and when you think that the members of the household are also now as good as the devotees in the temple, then you must establish the Deity
V
- Vedic culture has taken advantage of keeping cows & chanting the holy name of Visnu since the beginning of history, and persons who are still following the Vedic ways, especially the householders, keep at least one dozen cows & worship the Deity of Visnu
- Venkatesvara Deity is in the form of Lord Visnu, and the place where He is situated is known as Venkata-ksetra
- Visnu is the authorized Lord who maintains the created cosmos, and He is also the principal Deity who makes adjustments when there is improper administration in the cosmic creation
- Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura informs us that the demigods worship the Supreme Lord in His various Deity forms (arca-vigraha) because except in the spiritual world, the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be directly worshiped in person
W
- We are asking our disciples to rise early in the morning and offer mangala arati, then bhoga arati, to the Lord in His form as the Deity in the temple
- We improve on Deity worship by regulated puja, purified chanting and bold and enthusiastic preaching work. Those are the real ornaments with which to decorate the Lord
- Whatever a pure devotee does is done by the dictation of the Supreme Lord. Thus it is confirmed by the author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta that whatever he (Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami) wrote was written under the direction of the Sri Madana-mohana Deity
- When one gets the opportunity of a suitable auspicious time and place, one should, with love, offer food prepared with ghee to the Deity of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and then offer the prasada to a suitable person - a Vaisnava or brahmana
- When people forget or become engaged otherwise, rascaldom, at that time He comes. He comes Himself or sends His representative to make this rascal know that, "Here is Krsna." In the form of name, in the form of Deity, in the form of picture, so many ways
- When Sudarsanacarya was an old man, the Muslims attacked the temple of Ranganatha and killed about twelve hundred Sri Vaisnavas. At that time the Deity of Ranganatha was transferred to the temple of Tirupati, in the kingdom of Vijaya-nagara
- When the Jagannatha Deity is carried, at intervals He is placed on cotton pads. When the ropes broke, the cotton pads also broke due to the weight of Lord Jagannatha, and the cotton floated into the air
- When the senses are purified by the process of hearing, chanting, remembering, and worshiping the lotus feet of the holy Deity, etc., the Lord reveals Himself proportionately to the advancement of the quality of devotional service
- While Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami was living with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord blessed him by offering him betel nuts offered to the Jagannatha Deity and a garland of tulasi said to be as long as fourteen cubits
- While worshiping the Deity, one should ring a bell with his left hand and offer padya, arghya, vastra, gandha, mala, abharana, bhusana and so on. In this way, one should bathe the Lord with milk, dress Him and again worship Him with all paraphernalia
Y
- You can see very beautiful Deity, you can hear very beautiful sound, you can talk on Krsna philosophically from Bhagavata and Bhagavad-gita. So everything in Krsna consciousness. There is no stoppage
- You take fruit. Fruit is also offered to the Deity. There are varieties of prasadam. So whichever suits, you can take. Anything artificial is bad