Lets say someone likes a God who is modern in aspect. Like instead of wearing traditional clothes ,he wears modern dress like jeans, shirt, etc. I am not telling about changing the Krishna outfit to modern wears, but creating a New form of Bhagavan who wears modern dress and worshipping him.
I was just curious about what are the different possibilities that exists in Sanatana dharma. What will happen to such person. But the condition is he/she is sincere and he/she has not compromised spritual foundation.
It is not the form but the faith one puts into the form and the spirit and aspiration with which one meditates that one gets into contact with God. The whole universe is a form of God and God dwells in every form. Even meditating upon a stone with the right feeling and faith that it is God can get one to Him. There are so many stories of various saints who had the living contact with the Divine through the power of their faith and aspiration. That is the main thing. God is everywhere and in everything and anything can become a means for His revelation. Even form is not necessary, it is enough to meditate upon His Name or simply on His Presence with the idea that He is within and around us. Traditional forms have only one advantage that since they have been used since milleniums for invoking the Divine Presence they carry the power of collective suggestion. It becomes therefore easier to connect.
However, as you rightly feel, many modern youth may find it easier to connect with a form which is somehow connected with our present life. This need is not unjustified and God understands it and artists often take liberty and create it through impression and suggestions. But since the form should represent the Divine it should ideally reflect something of His Peace, Beauty and Delight. This is not so much dependent upon the dress as it is on the face. There is also the truth about the symbol that a form represents. Sri Rama looks best with a bow than a gun slung upon his shoulder and Hanuman ji with a gada or mace adds to the idea of strength than he would be if he was shown with a bow. These are symbols that carry a meaning. Flute upon Sri Krishna’s lips is a symbol of call of the soul and the peacock plume of mastery over nature. Conch is the sign of victory. Replacing flute with the guitar would be an inadequate representation. While God would not mind any of this as He knows the heart of the devotee and has a wonderful sense of humor yet the form constructed by the mind should best be one that is worthy of inviting the Divine Presence that is All-Beauty and Strength and Peace and Wisdom and Delight. Since it is difficult for the human mind to conceive it and since there is a genuine need to feel the Divine in contemporary form that there is the idea of seeing God in one’s Guru.
Of course there is no sin etc in making God wear jeans but there is no special merit either. If there is a sin it is to play the game of deception by trying to imitate God by wearing the traditional attire representing Him. This is dangerous as one is trying to fool gullible people by using the form as a cloak to attract worship. Though this too is accepted by God and He reveals Himself to every sincere seeker in whatever way and through whatever form He is worshipped.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
