14 Jun 2025
[Shri PVNM Sarma asked:- Paadanamaskaaram, Swami. To a devotee, who was regularly going to the temple at Bhadracalam from Hyderabad to see God Rama, You told not to travel so frequently and advised him to overcome the illusion of space. To another devotee, who is visiting You regularly in Hyderabad and is pained to see You leaving Hyderabad now and then, You told that her devotion is very good instead of advising her to overcome the illusion of space. Why is this difference?]
Swami replied:- The first devotee here is frequently visiting the temple that contains the statue of God Rama. Worship of statues in the temples is called indirect worship (Pratīka Upāsanā) since God does not exist in the statue directly (Na tasya pratimā asti… - Veda). Even then, God answers the problems of the devotee through statues also. The second devotee here is frequently visiting the Sadguru, who is the human incarnation of God. The worship of Sadguru is called direct worship (Sākṣāt Upāsanā). In one angle, both types of worships are equal since the response of God to the worldly problems is one and the same. The second devotee is more encouraged than the first devotee because the second devotee alone has the chance of clarifying doubts in spiritual knowledge from Sadguru. The first devotee is not having this special advantage because the statue does not speak. Hence, the second devotee is more encouraged than the first devotee.
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