Hatred of Idol Worship

Hatred of Idol Worship

Zoroastrian influence on Judaism is also evident in the evolution of Jewish ideas about good, evil, and the End of Time.

(https://www.quora.com/Whats-wrong-with-idol-worship/answer/Priya-2079)
What's wrong with idol worship?

In 1891, there was a Maharaja of Alwar who was not a believer of idol worship. It was heard that he often made fun of idol worship just to appease britishers.

One day Swami Vivekananda was invited by Dewan (Minister) of State of Alwar, to the palace for discussion on problems of people with Maharaja.

In the meeting the Maharaja kept on asking questions wanting to divert the discussion from important topics but Vivekananda kept on replying strictly sticking to the issue.

Just then Maharaja took a different tack and asked, “Well, I see all these people worshiping idols but I don’t believe in idol worship. Can you tell me what will happen to me?”

Vivekananda replied, “To each his own belief..”

And then suddenly, Vivekananda asked for a portrait of Maharaja which was hanging on the wall to be removed from there and bought in front of Maharaja.

Then Vivekananda asked minister to come forward and spit on that portrait.

Listening to it, minister shockingly replied “What! What are you saying? How can I spit on the portrait of our Maharaja?”

Vivekananda replied, “It’s just a portrait, he is not physically inside that portrait. It can not move or speak like Maharaja and yet you are unwilling to spit on this portrait!

It’s because this portrait reminds you of your Maharaja and you know that spitting on it would mean insulting your Maharaja.”

Then Vivekananda turned toward Maharaja and said, “Though you are not present inside this portrait, your men feel they will insult you if they spit on it.[1]

Then he continued, “The king is sitting in front of you in person. This picture is merely a paper – it does not speak, hear, think or move. But still you did not spit because you see a shadow of your king in it; spitting on it was like spitting on the king itself.” The king looked at Swamiji and bowed down, clearly understanding what he was referring to.

(https://www.quora.com/What-religions-worship-idols/answer/Max-Ludwig-7)
What religions worship idols?

Actually, none. The concept of an idol is a piece of Christian propaganda, which is still widely accepted as it fits to Christian believes and to the stereotype of Asian countries (where the worship of divine figurines survived) being somewhat primitive compared to the West.

We Hindus believe that the whole of reality ultimately unfolds from one entity: Brahman, you might call that entity God. As it is the whole, it has an infinite number of names and forms. We are modes / aspects of this entity, so we are neither absolutely identical nor absolutely different from it. (There are everlasting debates about the exact nature of our relationship to that entity amongst Hindu philosophers.)

There is a hierarchy in its forms in the sense that some help us to understand and access the nature of the whole (Brahman) while others don’t or do to a limited degree only. The divine figurine (Murti) is one of the best forms for us to access Brahman. Murtis are highly coded symbols. All details - the deity itself (which can be both a Deva, which is a higher being but not Brahman or an avatar, Brahman manifesting here on Earth), it’s posture, ornament, weapons etc tell us something about Brahman and can be contemplated upon.

But no Hindu believes that the Murti is identical to Brahman. It is more like an antenna, a portal.

Buddhism and Jainism are ancient offsprings of Hinduism, so their view on Murtis is comparable. Tribe religions are naturally quite diverse but so far, everything I learned points to them having a similar understanding: divine symbols are doors, portals, antennas to the divine, not the divine itself.

(https://www.quora.com/Why-does-Islam-so-vehemently-oppose-idol-worship/answer/Prassun-Saha)
Why does Islam so vehemently oppose idol worship?

I'd say this:
Every hero needs a villain to survive. The entire existence of the hero is defined by the equation it has with the villain.

Going into islam's history a bit, and seeing from an outsider's perspective.
Islam is a montheistic Abrahamic religion, and came up to replace the many pre existing Arab tribes. These tribes, like most other cultures of ancient times, were built around worshipping forces of nature, and consider nature as God. Just like Hinduism, they had many deities, each representing some aspect of nature.
Islam arrived to unify these many tribes, and the best way to do so was to declare the individual deities as false.
While in concept it was a noble attempt, this concept now has grown to define the very identity of Islam, as the same ground is to be taken while bringing newer cultures into its fold.
So when the Arabs arrived in Persia ( which was a highly sophisticated culture at that time, and worshipped fire and similar deities ) the same stance of declaring idol worship as balsphemous was taken, thus wiping out the indigenous faith and establishing Islam.
The same was done in Mesopotamia, Egypt and wherever Islam went.

So now the very identity of Islam is defined by its opposition to idol worship. Something that can not be given up, and represents the other end of the spectrum to faith systems which allow idol worship.

At the other end of the spectrum we have Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Kurd religion, Yezdi religion. For us nature is a manifestation of the divine itself, and can be worshipped in any form we want.

(https://www.quora.com/profile/R-Singh-298/A-fundamental-mistake-Hindus-make-is-to-play-on-the-Abrahamic-playing-field-and-accept-the-definition-of-our-Philosophy)
A fundamental mistake Hindus make is to play on the Abrahamic playing field, and accept the definition of our Philosophy of Dharma as a religion.

Our term Deva is not cognate to the Abrahamic term God.

Dharma ‘s goal is Enlightenment.

Dharma has no holy book, no scriptures, created by some god, and cast in stone ala the Bible or Koran.

The vedas are not scriptures.

They are revealed

They are a corpus of knowledge, a library.

Zoroastrianism, Yazidism. Buddhism, Sikhism, Shinto, Jainism etc are all.part of Dharma.

Let us be careful not to use Abrahamic terms for ourselves.

Isaiah 44:9-20 shows the hatred of idol worship

(https://www.quora.com/Do-idol-worshipers-believe-in-God/answer/Rami-Sivan)
Do idol worshipers believe in God? (Has Images)

All those who worship anything engage in idolatry.

An idol is a symbol of that which you hold dear - a symbol which helps to focus your mind on the transcendent and reminds you of an Ultimate Reality.

Every religion has its idols. An idol doesn’t have to be anthropomorphic - it can be an abstract symbol as well. Here are some examples of prominent “idols” - but each religion has many more symbols.

Judaism - the western wall

Islam - the black-covered cube and the black stone.

Christianity - the crucifix

Buddhism - an image of the Buddha

Jainism – an image of the Jina

Sikhism – the Guru Granth

Zoroastriansim - the sacred Fire

Hinduism – we are the richest of all the religions in symbology - our idols range from geometrical designs called yantras.

to the colourful and garish icons that everyone is familiar with and which earn the holy envy of every religious person!

There is even a temple - Chidambaram with an empty shrine-room - with just garlands hanging in it, to signify Shiva as the formless void - the primeval vacuum - Chidākāśa – from which the universe arises.

Not one of these symbols in the post are in fact GOD in themselves - they are all sign-posts or maps of what we all hold dear, symbols which are focussing devices upon which to hang our thoughts during contemplation, meditation and worship.

The map is not the terrain, the sign-post not the destination - only fools would think that.

So denouncing or deprecating the symbols of others while maintaining the authenticity of your own symbols is the highest form of religious hypocrisy.

What's wrong with idol worship?

Idol is a pejorative term coined by the invaders of India to denigrate the local people and their religion.

The proper and appropriate term is ICON.

The icons which we choose to worship (or meditate upon) are our Graphical User Interface.

Cosmic consciousness is all pervading like the internet - in order to access apps we use icons. Each and every aspect of the icon is a symbolic language, which, when understood, gives us access to deeper understandings and insights into life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Icons are there to provide content for our mind during meditation (upāsana).

So there’s nothing wrong with a technique if it works!

Hatred of Idol Worship

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