Swami
Dayanand was first scholar in modern times to proclaim that idolatry or
worship of God in forms of idols is not sanctioned in the Holy Vedas.
Although many reformers in past like Adi Shankracharya, Guru Basava,
Guru Nanak, Sant Kabir, Dadu, raja Ram Mohan Roy etc have openly
disagreed with the Idol worship but swami Dayanand view of idolatry is
based not merely on observations of demerits of idolatry as his
predecessors but also on proofs and evidences mentioned in different
Vedic texts. In same age of swami Dayanand a class of scholars in west
also tried to explore The Vedas and other texts with special interest
and different motives. Many of them were influenced by Christian
upbringings and political pressure of their Christian state while some
of them were real truth seekers too. Overall their views are acceptable
up to that extent
until they are with the truth and nothing else.
In this article we will
read different quotations by European scholars on idolatry and our main
motive is to give message to the readers for their spiritual elevation
by giving them lesson of worship of one supreme formless God.
Maxmuller-
It has sometimes been asserted that the Vedic religion is extinct in
India, that the modern Brahmanic religion as founded on the puranas and
tantras consists in a belief in Vishnu, Shiva and Brahama and manifests
itself in the worship of the most hideous idols – Origin and Growth of
religions page 154
Monier
Williams says - It is very doubtful whether idolatry existed in the
time of Manus compilation of the smriti- Indian wisdom page 226
H.H.Wilson
says- There is (in the Vedas), no mention of any temple, nor any
reference to public place of worship and it is clear that the worship
was entirely domestic – Wilson’s Rigveda- Introduction, volume 1, page
xv
H.H.Wilson
says–And yet Manu notices no Avatara, no Rama and no Krishna and is
consequently admitted to belong anterior to the growth of their worship
as set forth in the Ramayana and Mahabharata- Wilson’s Rigveda-
introduction, volume 1, page xi, xii
H.H.Wilson
says – But the worship of defied heroes is no part of that system, nor
are the incarnations of deities suggested in any other portion of the
text, which I have yet seen, though such are sometimes hinted at by the
commentators.
It
is also true that the worship of the vedas is for the most part,
domestic worship, consisting of prayers and oblations offered in their
own houses, not in temples by individuals, for individuals good and
addressed to unreal presences, not to visible types.
In a word, the religion of the vedas is not idolatry
H.H.Wilson- Vishnu purana preface page 111
J.I.Wheeler
says- They appear to have had no temples but either performed their
sacrifices in the open air or else in a sacrificial chamber set apart in
each dwelling- Wheeler’s History of India introduction page 11
Mr
Mill says- Idolatry is an altogether after growth springing from the
mind incapable of entertaining the elevated abstract notions of the
permitive creed- Mills History of British India, quoted in the Vedic
magazine may 1918 page 117
Mr
Mill says but they (Brahmanas) never, like the priests of other pagan
nations, or those of the Jews, conducted public worship, worship for
individuals indiscriminately, worship in temples or make offerings to
idols is held as degraded and unfit to be invited to religious feasts-
(Manu II 152,180) Mills History of British India vol II page 192 F.N.
M. Elphinstone- There seems to have been no images and no visible types of the objects of worship.-History of India page 40
M. Elphinstone-At the same time, they erected no temple and addressed no worship to the true god-History of India page 93, 94
M.
Elphinstone-Mr. Colebrooke avowedly confines himself to the five
sacraments which existed in Manu’s time; but there is a new sort of
worship never alluded to in the institutes, which now forms one of the
principle duties of every Hindu. This is the worship of images before
which many prostration and other acts of adoration must daily be
performed.-History of India page 40
There
are many more quotes from different scholars to prove that the Idol
worship is not sanctioned in The Vedas. We must accept truth and follow
the message of the vedas as ultimately
“Truth only will be Victorious”
By Dr. Vivek Arya
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