Keeping Idol of Durga in House - is it bad?

[kappy]

Dear Friends,

I was recently advised by a well respected Hindu Spiritual guru that one must avoid keeping IDOLS of Hindu gods inside the house especially those associated with Durga or Kali IF you are not willing to do abhishekam and prayer on a regular basis - is this correct?

His reasoning was that an idol requires a high degree of care and maintenance (compared to pictures) and the warrior forms of Devi were inappropriate for a house where one should be striving for peace and harmony (ie: no conflict). In his view keeping pictures of any Hindu god is fine but when you are keeping idols you need to avoid the aggressive forms and adhere to a strict worship regime.

Tbh, I have never drawn a distinction between pictures vs idols....has anyone else heard of such beliefs?

Regards
Kappy

[Sree.sree]

The people who propitiate Durga,chandi,kaali,Dhumavati...etc engergtic modes of Goddess under naming as "Tantrik Upasanas" like
saint RamaKrisna Parama Hamsa.

If U want to Upasanas Energtic female[noted above] Male gods like lord Siva,Narasimha,Anjaneya.. at home by Idole must dially do Deepa[jyothi],pooja&Nyvadya.

Also those idoles must keep away from Asouchas [bad cermonies] like Menstruals cycle,death..etc.

So if U stricktly dially perform Lightning jyothi,pooja,Nyvedya U can continoue Idole at home.Otherwise not.

[Talib]

Dear Kappy
in my humble opinion this is a very tricky field to discuss on because of our own views of Divinity.
First of all if a respected Guru has suggested it then maybe it is a remedy or advice to be followed coming from the intuition of that Soul.
Some believe that this rule of abhishek and naivedya applies when prana pratishta has been done of the murthy. That doesnt mean if prana pratishta is not done that abhishek and naivedya are not ever required. Cleanliness, suchi, proper respect is always required in all schools of thought
Regarding warrior forms it depends on how one views Goddess and how She presents Herself. Some say that having Gitopadesha picture in the house is bad as that Upadesha is in the middle of the warfield and that can make the home a warfield, however the mahabharat is going on regardless in our own minds and Gita is that which purifies the whole thing so who is correct?
Here is my opinion, Listen to the signs when worshipping Her, listen to Her, Listen to you heart and if this is unclear follow the book to the tee and ask for forgiveness every second and Love Her

Love
Talib

[USR]

Any idol of height 3" (Angusta matra{thumb size}) doesn't harm and simple puja can be performed.Idols above require regular nyvedya(offering prasad).

[kappy]

Thanks all for your comments.

The "thumb size" rule, is that documented anywhere of just general accepted practice..?

[mannu_33]

Hello,

First of all, better not to keep those idols which are ugra rup. Sometimes, other kind of idols wont be suitable for your stars, and can give negative results. its better to do prayers on Deity's pictures/photo which is safe to do.