Lord Ganesha
The beginner has to start with Idol worship. One can easily focus his devotion into the visible deity which in fact is merely a representative of the abstract Power Supreme God. Over a period of time the faithfuls mind becomes a little more educated spiritually. He can visualize the presence of the deity without even looking at it. Even when he is not sitting before the idol he can see it through his mind’s eye. A little more training takes him to level where he sees God behind that worshiped deity.
Some more progress enables one to connect with God spiritually. The deity image now gets transformed into merely a window in the mind through which he can see God, feel His force or energy flowing in.
Lord Vishnu Statue
Similarly in the beginning one says the prayers or mantras loudly. After some time it gets reduced to merely a murmur. Then only lips move without making any sound. A little move progression leads to a stage where one repeats mantras or chants only mentally. A stage comes where words are not needed. The mind simply locks in to the deity. The final union with creator becomes just a matter of time.
Up to which level one reaches depends on one’s quality of devotion and the spiritual capacity. Shastras define these various levels as Murti pooja. Parthiv pooja, Manas pooja and Satviki Murti Pooja. Parthiv pooja is the worship of symbolics. Here the deity is in symbolic form as Lingam is symbolics of Lord Shiva. ‘Shriyantra’ is symbol of Goddess Laxmi. In this kind of worship the mind’s relating power is prominent.
The Bible says in Philippians 1 v 6, “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,” which means that the Holy Ghost has called you in the beginning to accept Christ, and it is He that will bring us through to the time of Jesus return. For He is the Spirit of promise, and He is our guarantee that He will never ever leave us or forsake us.
Let us always remember that when we accepted Jesus as Saviour, the Bible says that our old life was crucified with Him on that cross at Calvary. But now we live, yet not ourselves but Christ liveth in us, and the life that we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave His life for us.
My song shall be of Jesus; His mercy crowns my days, He fills my cup with blessings,
And tunes my heart to praise; My song shall be of Jesus, The precious Lamb of God,
Who gave Himself my ransom, And bought me with His blood.