A Hindu may worship an image of a male god. Or a female god. Or a lingam made of stone. Or a tree, a cow, a snake, the sun, …. Or worship a form less god.

 So who is the true god of the Hindus?

 This question does not bother most Hindus. In fact, a Hindu pays respect even to the gods others worship.

 The reason is that for the Hindu, god is a gate way for his ultimate goal, mukti, liberation. If someone else seeks mukti by worshiping another god, surely, that god deserves to be equally respected.

 Hindus chant what is called a stuti. It is a song of their god’s various qualities. For instance qualities like: Self-created, self- conceptualized, omni present, a guru, a mother of all, all caring, reliever of suffering, providing nourishment, managing karma, epitome of beauty, three eyed, embodiment of time, carrying the trishul, bestower of mukti….

 They do so to express love and devotion towards their god. But perhaps the repeated chanting of these qualities, done with utmost devotion, over time, gives a person the mystic experience of these dimensions of their guru, their god. A step towards spiritual upliftment. This can't be mentally judged, it can only be experienced by one who practices it correctly.

Thus for Hindus, the idol is a means for their spiritual upliftment. This is the reason why Hindus, after a few days of intense worship, immerse the idols of Ganesha and Durga in water bodies, to mingle back into the earth as clay of which they were made. Reflecting the eternal truth: when the body has served its purpose, it has to be replaced. 

I am enclosing a video of a touching, expression of love of a devotee for her god, Linga Bhairavi, through dance and song. How vividly she expresses the qualities of the Devi. Won't some of the qualities, of spreading love, releaving pain and suffering in others etc become ingrained deep within her as she performs with devotion again and again?

Much of the fog in my mind about what Hinduism really is gradually being cleared away after hearing Sadhguru’s talks. One of them is about energy consecrated to the idols. If you have the time I would recommend watching: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1InBj1-VZl8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1InBj1-VZl8)

Idol worship of the Hindus!