Islam, Christianity believe that God is somewhere Above and the only link between man and God is through the teachings given by the founders of these religions. Therefore they do not believe in worshipping God in any human form. Though these religions still worship their sacred book, the founder and the sites associated with the founders!
Sanatana Dharma and religions that have sprung from its core experiences believe that God not only dwells Above but within, around, everywhere. Not only does God dwell within man according to the Vedas, Upanishads and the Gita, man can discover and unite with God through ‘Yoga’. The consciousness of such a person is full of the consciousness of God and therefore such a person becomes a representative of God in humanity. It is the tradition of the Guru or Master who is considered even beyond the gods because he has discovered and become one with the Supreme.
In fact according to Sanatana Dharma one can worship almost anything idol, river, mountain, sun, fire, moon, tree, cow, even snake and, if done sincerely with the right attitude and aspiration and get a response from God because God dwells in everything. But human beings are specially privileged to be able to unite their consciousness with God and such people are worshipped and revered as God. That is why we have worshipped countless human beings such as Rama, Krishna, Chaitanya, various Rishis of the past and present. It enriches rather than diminishes man’s approaches to God.
So as you see, mankind has followed two conceptions of God. One is narrow and limited. It creates a rigid barrier between God and mankind leading to fanaticism. The other is a wide conception of God that sees God beyond the world as well as within it. It leads to wideness, inclusivity and tolerance. It is now upto each one to follow whatever conception they want to follow. As is our faith so does God reveals Himself to man.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
