One Abraham broke a number of idols to pieces but left the largest of them intact. The people asked him whether he had broken them. Abraham replied: “Nay, this was done by this the biggest one! Ask them, if they can talk” (Quran 21:58-63)…. The same story is given in the Jewish text Midrash Bereishit 38:13.
Now let us examine Rama’s stand on this matter. I did not find any reference in the Valmiki Ramayana of Rama worshipping idols of, say, Ganesha or Kali. The Ramayana does tell of Rama going to temples but does not disclose whether there were idols in these temples or not. The living tradition, however, says that Rama established Shivalinga at Mandvi and Shuklatirth in Gujarat (Picture 1). Therefore we may assume he did worship the Shivalinga.
Idols with or without human form:
Now, there is a difference between idols having human form which were broken by Abraham, and the Shivalinga which is a plain stone without any human form which were worshipped by Rama. Recall that when Abraham’s grandson Jacob was fleeing from Haran to Gilead, he put a stone and worshipped it: “So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar” (Genesis 31:45, Picture 2). Shivalinga is such a stone.
One possibility is that the idols opposed by Abraham were those having human form. Abraham may not be opposed to a Shivalinga which is like the stone worshipped by Jacob.
Now let us examine whether Abrahams’ opposition to idols is consistent with the Hindu philosophy. The Bhagwata Purana reports Lord Krishna as saying, “I do not like my four-handed form more than the Brahmans. Because the Brahmans are all-pervading and I am all-pervading. Unwise men only worship idols not recognizing this; and decry my all-pervading form” (10:86:54-55). It is quite possible that Rama indeed opposed the mindless worship of idols as said above in the Bhagwata Purana and the Quran.
Prahlad’s Idol Worship:
Now, let us assume for a moment that Rama did worship idols in human form. His thinking in such worship is explained by the Yoga Vasishtha. The text describes how Prahlad worshipped an idol of Vishnu: “Thinking that his body was the abode of Narayana, he thought like this, ‘I am seeing mentally that this Lord Vishnu has emerged from inside me and assumed another body… He has four hands… I now start his mental worship. Thereafter I will worship his idol externally” (Upsham 20; Picture 3). The formless Lord Who resided in the heart of Prahlad was worshipped later as an idol.
No Partners of God:
We can now examine whether such worshipping idol violates the Quran. The Quran says that there Allah has no partners (6:22). The external Vishnu here is not a partner of the internal Vishnu, rather his is the same as internal Vishnu. Again the Quran says, “Allah has said, ‘Take not two gods.’ For He is just One God” (Quran 16:51). Prahlad’s external Vishnu, however, is not another god. The internal and external are the same. Such worship, it seems, would not violate the Quran.
In conclusion the Semitic and Hindu texts are consistent with both Abraham and Rama not worshipping idols in human form. If yes, that will strengthen our hypothesis that they were the same person who lived in the Indus Valley.
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