Page 209 - Basic Writings of Sriramchandra

Reality at Dawn - Religion
long time they become more and more solid, barring their approach to Reality. The result in such cases is evident to almost every eye. Ancient sages finding worship of the Immaterial Absolute, a difficult task for the masses to start with, had devised certain convenient means for their uplift. They made a start by taking up something apparent in the solid form, which the masses could easily grasp or understand. Now the things, which could be easily grasped or understood, were different for different people. For the people of the lowest standard they adopted something in the apparently solid form. For others, more elevated, some abstract form, e.g., splendour, light or any godly attribute was introduced to start with. For highly cultured minds a subtle idea of God was enough. Thus it was only for the people of the lowest standard that they had adopted the solid form such as picture or image and that too only as a temporary measure. When they attained some progress they gave it up and embarked upon the next stage, taking up a finer form. It is just like teaching writing to a baby making her move her pen along the prints of letters. After a little practice the process is given up and the baby is able to write independently without the help of the prints. Thus the solid form or the image was to be adopted by beginners for a time only, after which, they came to the next stage. Besides, the image set up for the purpose was fully charged with the spiritual force so that those sitting by, in devotion and worship, gained some of its through constant radiation. Now persons of caliber, having
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