From http://indianheartbeat.20m.com/PgImageWorship.html
August 11, 2001
Idol Worship
by Thiru A Kathirasen
Many people believe that Hindus worship idols. The truth is Hindus worship God in the form of and through the idol or image. Why do we need images?
Swami Yaishwarananda says we need them because many of us are idolatrous to a great extent. He says we need the use of physical symbols and holy personalities at the beginning of our spiritual lives. The symbol, idol, or image is a means of remembering the Divine Spirit through the association of ideas.
Swami Sivananda says image worship is necessary at the beginning. The image is an external symbol of God for worship. It is a reminder of God. The material image calls up the mental idea.
A flag is only a piece of painted cloth. But for a soldier, it is one that he holds very dear. He is prepared to give up his life defending it. A Piece of paper has no value. But if it carries the signature of the Governor of Bank Negara we respect it as a currency note. Similarly, a piece of stone has no value. But when the image of God is sculptured on it, it becomes a channel through which the heart of the devotee is attracted to God. Just as the flag arouses martial valor in the soldier, the image arouses devotion in the devotee. The Lord is superimposed on the image and the image generates divine thoughts in the worshiper.
Swami Vivekananda has explained the truth of idol or image worship most remarkably:
During the days of his wanderings, the Swami was once questioned by the Maharaja of the State of Ahwar, India, on idol worship. The Maharaja said he had no faith in idol worship and that he could not worship wood, stone, or earth. Looking around, Swami Vivekananda's eyes alighted upon a picture of the Maharaja. Taking it down he asked the courtiers to spit upon it. Shocked at the request, they declined to do it. Swami Vivekananda turning to the Maharaja said, "The picture has the likeness of you. It brings you to their minds and they naturally look upon it with respect. In the same way, the image in the temple brings to the mind of the devotees their chosen aspect of God. They do not worship the wood, stone, or earth from which the deity is made from. The idol remains an idol but the worship goes to the Lord".
He further says, "A symbol is absolutely indispensable for fixing the mind. The mind wants a prop to lean upon. It cannot have a conception of the Absolute in the initial stages. Without the help of some external aid, in the initial stages, the mind cannot be centralized. The people of the whole world, save a few Yogis and Vedantins, are all worshipers of idols. They keep some image or other in the mind".