Idol Worship
The worship of murtis (icons) is an important part of several Hindu traditions, such as Vaishnavism and Shaivism, although some Hindu denominations like Arya Samaj and Satya Mahima Dharma have rejected idol worship. Sikhs do not believe in worship of any sort of physical idol, symbol, picture, or statue. Pictures of Gurus and the book itself are not directly prayed to or revered in place of Sikhism's formless God. Pictures of Gurus are not a requirement in the Gurdwara, and they are often not even displayed in the Darbar Sahib (prayer hall), but by the eating areas and the shoe-removing areas. This shows the low level of spiritual reverence for physical representions of the Gurus, as opposed to prayer (Prayer is not a "verbal idol"). Fanning of the Guru Granth Sahib is a tradition carried over from Punjab to protect the Granth and its reader from airborne debris, as outside worship was common. Only recital of prayers and listening to hymns make up Sikh prayer. As the following quote states:
Aad Guru Granth Sahib - page 637 — "ਦੇਵੀ ਦੇਵਾ ਪੂਜੀਐ ਭਾਈ ਕਿਆ ਮਾਗਉ ਕਿਆ ਦੇਹਿ ॥ ਪਾਹਣੁ ਨੀਰਿ ਪਖਾਲੀਐ ਭਾਈ ਜਲ ਮਹਿ ਬੂਡਹਿ ਤੇਹਿ ॥O brother, you worship gods and goddesses. What can you ask of them and what can they give to you? O brother, the stones/idols you wash with water sink in water (in other words how could these stones help you cross the ocean of worldly temptations)"
Read more about this topic: Hinduism And Sikhism, Differences, Differences Between Sikhism and Specific Hindu Traditions
Famous quotes containing the words idol and/or worship:
“One should never direct people towards happiness, because happiness too is an idol of the market-place. One should direct them towards mutual affection. A beast gnawing at its prey can be happy too, but only human beings can feel affection for each other, and this is the highest achievement they can aspire to.”
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918)
“If worship have kept me, I had not gone.
If wit might have me saved, I needed not fear.”
—Sir Thomas More (1478–1535)