Text 36] The Glories of Devotional Service 1045
present state it is not possible to see God in His spiritual form because our
material eyes and senses cannot conceive of a spiritual form. We cannot
even see the spiritual form of the individual soul. When a man dies we
cannot see how the spiritual form leaves the body. That is the defect of
our material senses. In order to be seen by our material senses, the Supreme
Personality of Godhead accepts a favorable form which is called arca-
vigraha. This arca-vigraha, sometimes called the arca incarnation, is not
different from Him. Just as the Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts
various incarnations, so He takes on forms made out of matter—clay, wood,
metal, jewels, etc.

There are many Sastric injunctions which give instructions for carving
forms of the Lord. These forms are not material. If God is all-pervading,
then He is also in the material elements. There is no doubt about it. But
the atheists think otherwise. Although they preach that everything is God,
when they go to the temple and see the form of the Lord, they deny that
He is God. According to their own theory, everything is God. Then why
is the Deity not God? Actually, they have no conception of God. The
devotees’ vision, however, is different; their vision is smeared with love of
God. As soon as they see the Lord in His different forms the devotees
become saturated with love, for they do not find any difference between
the Lord and His form in the temple, as do the atheists. The smiling face of
the Deity in the temple is beheld by the devotees as very transcendental
and spiritual, and the decoration of the body of the Lord is very much
appreciated by the devotees. It is the duty of the spiritual master to teach
how to decorate the Deity in the temple, how to cleanse the temple and
how to worship the Deity. There are different procedures and rules and
regulations which are followed in temples of Visnu, and devotees go there
and see the Deity, the vigraha, and spiritually enjoy the form because
all of the Deities are benevolent. The devotees express their minds before
the Deity, and in many instances the Deity also gives answers. But one
must be a very elevated devotee in order to be able to speak with the
Supreme Lord. Sometimes the Lord informs the devotee through dreams.
These exchanges of feelings between the Deity and the devotee are not
understandable by atheists, but actually the devotee enjoys. Kapila Muni
is explaining how the devotees see the decorated body and face of the
Deity and how they speak with Him in devotional service.

TEXT 36
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