When you humble yourself before a divine image, a profound shift begins. It’s a silent, powerful declaration that your allegiance is now absolute. Once your head is bowed to the ultimate reality, whether personified as Shiva or another divine form, it signals the end of bowing to anything else. No other idol, no human personality, no fleeting idea, no alluring greed, and no paralyzing fear will hold sway over you anymore. This single act of surrender becomes your liberation. You might wonder, if the ultimate reality is formless, why bother with an idol at all? This paradox often arises, especially for those who speak of non-duality, where the divine is perceived as everywhere and everything.
The truth is, an idol is not the destination, but a powerful gateway. It's a crutch for those on a journey, a temporary focal point to help you anchor your devotion. The omnipresent, formless divine reality, needs no stone or metal to exist; it simply is. It is there whether an image is present or not. The idol's true purpose is to guide you, to help you shed your attachment to the countless distractions and lesser "idols" of the material world. Once you stop bowing to external pressures, fleeting desires, and crippling anxieties, you eventually transcend the need for the physical image itself. Then, the idol too will vanish from your perception, leaving only the pure, formless essence of the divine—the omnipresent reality that encompasses all. It's a journey from the visible symbol to the invisible truth, designed to lead you beyond form, into the realm of the boundless.
