What standard of Deity worship should householders follow?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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thus we keep moving steadily towards Krishna. So, thank you very much.
and especially the mind, it takes one thing and makes it into everything. So, if we have deities at our home and we just make that as the most important and then, you know, I would rather not come to the temple. Why? Because I’m worshipping my own deities.
We have to see that actually with the same Krishna I’m serving the temple. If I’m coming to the temple, I’m also serving that same Krishna. I go to the temple.
So, the basic principle is that we want to have a visible manifestation of the Lord at our home. So, that’s how we have altar. We have a possible home or at least section of our house which is devoted to the Lord.
And then we, by the presence of the Lord, by regularly offering our food to Him, by performance and worship to Him, we re-conceptualize ourselves as His servants. So, this is His law. This is His house.
We are servants of Him. And that re-conceptualization, it happens very, it is more likely to happen if we have a visible manifestation of the Lord. So, having deities is important for us.
Now, as far as what practical level, so that we have to see according to our, should at least make some offerings in the day. And in the day, maybe at least one meal or something like that. We can do some offering in the evening when we come back or whatever.
But the more important thing is that we don’t see deity worship at home as something that is, that is, that overrides everything else that we do. Prabhupada writes in the 10th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita that intelligence means to see things in their proper perspective. So, proper perspective means we have a relationship with Krishna.
In that relationship, we have various services. So, in the light of the various services that I’m doing, how much of this service can I give? And according to the saint, some devotees who may be fully focused in preaching, they may have a very simple standard of deity worship at home. If they have elaborate standard of deity worship, and because of that, they can’t, they can’t conduct programs, they can’t share Krishna with others.
That is not, that won’t be so easy to do. So, the more important thing is to, as I said, have a visible manifestation and try to reconceptualize oneself as a servant of the deities, as the house is belonging to the deities. Specifically, what we do that we can anticipate all the time.
We can consult ours, our devotee group, friends and devotee guides, and we can arrive at a practical