Murti's provide Hindus with an image that they can focus their attention on. Images make prayer and worship easier as it takes abstract concepts such as a 'universal soul' and tri-murti and simplifies it so younger generations can relate and understand.
Also it's a symbol of the deity, for example, the Himalayas in the background of Shiva images symbolize the purity of the god's mind.
If I got that question, I would also put:
Because the deity is believed to inhabit the image in the temple and during puja, so it IS the god, so it's important to Hindus.
And because much of puja is physical actions directed towards the murti, such as anointing it and bathing/dressing it, so link this back to Matt's point about murtis simplfying an image.
Murti's provide Hindus with an image that they can focus their attention on. Images make prayer and worship easier as it takes abstract concepts such as a 'universal soul' and tri-murti and simplifies it so younger generations can relate and understand.
ReplyDeleteAlso it's a symbol of the deity, for example, the Himalayas in the background of Shiva images symbolize the purity of the god's mind.
ReplyDeleteIf I got that question, I would also put:
Because the deity is believed to inhabit the image in the temple and during puja, so it IS the god, so it's important to Hindus.
And because much of puja is physical actions directed towards the murti, such as anointing it and bathing/dressing it, so link this back to Matt's point about murtis simplfying an image.