# Deity ## 1. Is the Lord’s Deity form directly the Lord Himself? Kṛṣṇa’s Deity form is directly Kṛṣṇa Himself. It is said, “You are not an idol but directly the son of Vraja’s king.” The Deity is the form of the Lord that accepts His devotees’ worship. The Lord of our heart appears before us in the form of a Deity. ## 2. What is the Lord’s Deity form? The Lord’s Deity form is His direct manifestation to accept His devotees’ offerings. Caitanya-caritāmṛta states, “You are not an idol; You are directly the son of the king of Vraja.” We should not look upon the Deity as if He were an idol. Unlike the conditioned souls, there is no difference between the Deity’s body and self. The Deity is sat-cit-ānanda, most merciful, and an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. ## 3. Is Deity worship idolatry? The godless atheists say there is no need to worship the Lord’s Deity. In their opinion, Deity worship is against Vedic injunction. They say the Vaiṣṇavas’ Deity worship is like the Buddhist philosophy—unauthorized. If they are fortunate, they will one day understand that to bestow mercy on the living entities the Supreme Lord has appeared in this world in His Deity. The proxy or replica of the spiritual subject matter, which is not perceived through the material senses, appears before us in the form of the Deity, holy name, pictures, and so on. The Lord’s holy name is the Lord Himself. To think there is a difference between the Lord and His name, form, qualities, or pastimes is to oppose the conception of advaya-jñana. Therefore my spiritual master used to warn us that we should never consider the Lord’s Deity a material object meant for our enjoyment. To do so is to commit an offense leading to hell. Due to ignorance of our relationship with Kṛṣṇa we consider the Lord’s Deity separate from the Lord. This mentality is most unfortunate. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Gaurāṅgadeva, says in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līla 6.166-167): īśvarera śrī-vigraha sac-cid-ānandākāra, se-vigrahe kaha sattva-guṇera vikāra śrī-vigraha ye nā māne, sei ta’ pāṣaṇḍī, adṛśya aspṛśya, sei haya yama-daṇḍī The transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is complete in eternity, cognizance and bliss. However, you describe this transcendental form as a product of material goodness. One who does not accept the transcendental form of the Lord is certainly an agnostic. Such a person should be neither seen nor touched. Indeed, he is subject to be punished by Yamarāja. Idol worshipers are degraded because they consider the Lord’s Deity form stone. They think śalagrāma-śilās and gaṇḍakī-śilas are nothing but ordinary stone. They also think the spiritual master an ordinary human being. This is hellish mentality. The Vaiṣṇavas are not idol worshippers. They do not consider the worshipable Deity stone. They do not begin to worship before they have purified themselves thoroughly. They do not worship with their material senses by which external objects related to form, taste, and smell are accepted. By serving the Supreme Lord, who is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss, with their spiritual senses, they give pleasure to their worshipable Lord. Śrī Caitanyadeva has displayed the pastime of seeing Śrī Jagannāthadeva as nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda. He did not worship with the same conception of the idol worshipers— that the Lord had manifested within the nīm wood. Rather, He said, “You are not an idol. You are directly the son of Nanda Mahārāja.” ## 4. Some people say that Deity worship is a means to an end. Is this correct? It is a huge blasphemy to say that Deity worship is a means to an end. Śrīman Mahāprabhu states: prākṛta kariyā māne viṣṇu-kalevara, viśṇu-nindāāra nāhi ihāra upara One who considers the transcendental body of Lord Viṣṇu to be made of material nature is the greatest offender at the lotus feet of the Lord. There is no greater blasphemy against the Supreme Personality of Godhead. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Ādi 7.115) And: īśvarera śrī-vigraha sac-cid-ānandākāra, se-vigrahe kaha sattva-guṇera vikāra śrī-vigraha ye nā māne, sei ta’ pāṣaṇḍī, adṛśya aspṛśya, sei haya yama-daṇḍī The transcendental form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is complete in eternity, cognizance, and bliss. However, you describe this transcendental form as a product of material goodness. One who does not accept the transcendental form of the Lord is certainly an agnostic. Such a person should be neither seen nor touched. Indeed, he is subject to be punished by Yamarāja. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 6.166-67) Lord Viṣṇu’s Deity form is fully spiritual. He is not a manmade God like the ordinary demigods. Caitanya-caritāmṛta states, ’nāma’, ’vigraha’, ’svarūpa’—tina eka-rūpa, tine ’bheda’ nāhi,—tina ’cid-ānanda-rūpa: “The Lord’s holy name, His form, and His personality are all one and the same. There is no difference between them. Since all of them are absolute, they are all transcendentally blissful.” (Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya 17.131) Kṛṣṇa’s Deity form is directly Kṛṣṇa. The Deity is an incarnation of the Supreme Lord. The worshipable Lord of our heart mercifully manifests Himself externally in the form of a Deity. ## 5. What two representatives of the Supreme Lord exist in this world? There are two representatives of the Supreme Lord in this world, the transcendental sound vibration of the Lord’s holy name and the Lord’s Deity, who enjoys eternal spiritual pastimes. We cannot see with our eyes; smell with our nose, taste with our tongue, or touch with our body that object that is at present far from us, just as we cannot touch London with any of our senses from this place. None of the above four senses can touch an object situated at such a distance. All we can do is use our sense of hearing to gather knowledge about that object. We can learn about London even while sitting here by hearing about it, perhaps over the telephone. Reading is considered an extension of hearing because printed words are simply visualized sounds. The scripture is revealed transcendental sound that has been visualized in the form of writing. We can hear the transcendental sound vibrations through writings, vibrations that were made by sādhus thousands of years ago. Therefore the śāstra, the work of saintly persons, is the Deity form of transcendental sound vibration. Mundane sound does not work in the same way. With mundane sound, there is a difference between the name of an object and the object itself. For example, the sound “London” is different from the place London. The sound “water” is different from the substance that is water. In the spiritual world there is no difference between an objects name and the object iself. In Vaikuṇṭha, the sound and the object are synonymous. A name is nondifferent from the person who is called by that name. The Lord’s holy names are not products of matter but have incarnated from Vaikuṇṭha. Maya has no jurisdiction over the transcendental sound vibrations that have descended into this world. Such transcendental sound is directly the Supreme Brahman, who is full of spiritual variegatedness. Therefore those who constantly hear transcendental sound are constantly in touch with the Supreme Brahman. Just as a person who lives at a distance from an object gathers information about that object with the help of transcendental sound, and upon meeting the object offers prayers, praise, and adoration, thereby attaining proper realization of the object, similarly in the spiritual sense, it is vital to hear transcendental sound vibration if one wishes to understand the Supreme Object. This is true both for the sādhaka and the siddha. Jagad-guru Śrī Caitanyadeva, crest jewel among ācāryas, glorified the process of hearing transcendental sound and taught us to engage in the congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy name as both our sādhana and our śādhya. Chanting becomes useless when the Supreme Lord is not the beneficiary of the chanting but we use it to fulfill some temporary self-interest. If a servant calls the master to eat, or the master’s wife and children call him to give him pleasure, would we consider such calling in vain? Rather, to refrain from calling is useless. Devotees chant Kṛṣṇa’s holy name simply to give Him pleasure, to serve Him, and not to fulfill their own sense gratification. We do not care about those who consider the Deity an idol. The Lord’s Deity form is His merciful incarnation, who enjoys eternal pastimes in Vaikuṇṭha as well as in the material world. The Deity is a direct manifestation of the Lord’s personal form and as such is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Deity is supremely worshipable. Lord Caitanya said about the Deity that He was not an idol but directly the son of Nanda Mahārāja. Vaiṣṇavas are not idol worshipers who simply imagine that the Lord has a material form. Nor do they deny that the Lord has any form at all. Such thoughts are for those endowed with material conceptions. To them, any form reflected in the heart must be an idol. Impersonalists worship matter as the Supreme Lord and they are therefore idol worshipers under the shelter of imaginary formlessness. We see the Lord’s spiritual form as sat-cid-ānanda and not as lumps of matter. Thus we worship Him with the proper recitation of mantras and devotion-filled hearts. It is only possible to communicate with the Lord when we are living our spiritual propensity. Only those whose intelligence and current of thoughts have been materially influenced, who have no information about spiritual propensities, consider the Deity an idol. The Lord’s Deity form is worshiped by chanting His holy name. Spirit is served only by spirit. ## 6. Is seeing the Lord’s Deity the same as seeing the Lord Himself? There is no difference between the Lord and His body. To award me the opportunity to serve Him the Lord of my heart has appeared in this world. As long as one thinks the Deity nothing but an idol or piece of stone, one cannot understand the Lord’s transcendental nature. If one does not see the Deity as directly the Lord Himself, then what is the question of one’s finding fortune? Śrī Caitanyadeva saw Śrī Jagannāthadeva as Śyāmasundara, player of the flute. He saw Him as neither an idol nor a concocted image, but as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. ## 7. Are all devotees qualified to offer food to the Lord in the temple? An initiated kanisṭha-adhikārī, under his spiritual master’s guidance, offers food to the Deity while chanting the proper mantras. Liberated souls also offer food to the Lord, but they offer with love and devotion. A madhyama-adhikārī, instead of offering food directly to the Deity sometimes offers it to the worshipable Lord in his heart. Then he takes the Lord’s remnants. A mahābhāgavata thinks, “Whatever I have received has been sent by the Lord as His remnants.” Such a soul sees the Lord’s presence in each and every object. After hearing this, no one should think that mahābhāgavatas never offer food to the Lord in the temple. Śrī Rāghava Paṇḍita, Śrī Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita, Śrī Raghunandana Ṭhākura, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, and many other exalted devotees have fed the Lord in the temple by offering Him food with love. The Deity of the Lord does not speak with me because I am full of anarthas. But He certainly speaks with His devotees and eats the food they offer Him.