The idea that the Supreme Being has projected the universe out of That makes it easy for us to think of Bhagavan. We are accustomed to think of anything through its form. A formless, abstract idea cannot be conceived by human beings. So, we may look upon the whole universe as God himself. And this is the reason for worship of form in bhakti – devotion through idol worship. It will be easier still if we choose any object and loon upon it as God. That too is a form through which God has expressed Godliness. All the deities being manifestations of Bhagavan, any one of them may be looked upon as the Supreme Truth and worshipped with equal devotion. The higher the manifestation, the easier it is for us to look upon it as the God.
To love God in a human form is the easiest way. We need not strain
our imagination too much to love God through such a human form.
Gauni (preparatory) bhakti involves sincere effort to fix the
mind on the Supreme Deity through any of the forms of creation of God, from a
blade of grass to the great creator Brahma Vishnu Mahesha. Each and every one
of these, being manifestation of Bhagavan, is nothing but God. The shaligrama
(Vishnu), Shivalinga (Shiva) or other such symbols may be seen as God.
The mind can initially dwell more on the finite and concrete
manifestations. These are called pratikas (symbols). They represent God. Worship
of God through any of these forms is called Pratika upasana.
The divine forms of God are, moreover, represented by
pratimas (images) or pictures. These images are made of clay, stone, metal and
wood. The usual symbols of worship are the shaligrama, Shivalinga, a precious stone,
a yantra (sacred cosmic diagram, a flower and so on). Through the Pratima, the
devotee worships God and none else. The Pratika or the Pratima are concrete objects,
and they help us to draw our minds away from the other sense objects to itself
and through it for God. This is an aid to our spiritual exercise. Forms and
ceremonies help us to attains supreme love for God, that is, para bhakti.