hridayamandu SivuDu kuduruga numDamgaEnglish Gist
Silala mokku TEla jIvulAra!
hridaya mande kAni Silalandu lEDayA
viSvada abhirAma vinura vEma.
O living beings! (Oh men!), why do you kneel before stones, when the God is well-settled in your heart? God lives in hearts and not in stones.
ybrao a donkey's observations
The three sacred scriptures of Hinduism i.e. vAlmiki rAmAyana, vyAsa mahAbhArata (includes bhagavad gita), and mahAbhAgavata , do not mention anything about idol worship. Ancient worship methods pivoted around fire (hOma gunDam).
Hinduism seems to have borrowed idol worship from buddhism.
vEmana lived between 15th and 17th Centuries C.E. Muslim invaders were plundering South India at that time. Idol worship might have reached its peak, because there was a strong need for a savior.
vEmana was apparently not against idol worship per se. his oppositon was against ostentatious worships witout purity of hearts.
The following verse of his, demonstrates his mind.
Atma Suddhi lEni AcAra madi yEla,
bhAnDa Suddhi lEni pAka mEla,
citta Suddhi lEni Siva pUja lElarA
viSvada abhirAma vinura vEma.
Approximate English gist:
What for is the custom (rituals) without purity of soul?
What for is the recipe cooked in an unclean vessel?
What purpose will Shiva worships serve without purity of mind and intellect?
India's National language Hindi in dEvanAgari Script
आत्म शुध्धि लेनि आचार मदि येल
भांड शुध्धि लेनि पाक मेल
चित्त शुध्धि लेनि शिव पूज लेलरा
विश्व दाभि राम विनुर वेम(मा).
आत्म शुध्धि के बिना, सिर्फ पारंपरिक और संप्रादयों पध्धतियों को पालन करने से फायिदा नहीं रहेगा। गंदे पात्र में पकाया हुआ रसोई क्यों। अंतरंग शुध्धि के बिना शिव पूजा क्यों। वॆ निष्फल ही होगे।
