Worship the Deity through sadhu, sastra, and guru—not whimsy—to see God where He abundantly gives us access.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.28.20 — October 30, 1975, Nairobi 751030SB-NAIROBI [32:15 Minutes] SB-03.28.20_751030SB-NAIROBI Harikeśa: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Three, Chapter Twenty-eight, text number twenty. [leads chanting of verse, etc.] tasmiû labdha-padaṁ cittaṁ sarvāvayava-saṁsthitam vilakṣyaikatra saṁyujyād aṇge bhagavato muniḥ [SB 3.28.20] [01:17] Translation: "In fixing his mind on the eternal form of the Lord, the yogī should not take a collective view of all His limbs, but should fix the mind on each individual limb of the Lord." Prabhupāda: tasmiû labdha-padaṁ cittaṁ sarvāvayava-saṁsthitam vilakṣyaikatra saṁyujyād aṇge bhagavato muniḥ [SB 3.28.20] So as we have explained many times, that this arcā-mūrti... The rascal class of men, they cannot understand arcā-mūrti. They think that "They are worshiping idol." Even amongst the Hindus there are so-called followers of Vedas, they also say that "What is the necessity of worshiping Deity in the temple?" They made very vigorous propaganda in India to stop temple worship.
For a short time it has got some reaction, but now it is finished. That rascal propaganda not to worship the Deity in the temple is finished. Nobody cares for that. They think that God is everywhere—except in the temple.
[laughter] That is their view. And God is everywhere; why not in the temple? No. That is their poor fund of knowledge.
They cannot accommodate. No. God is everywhere, but not in the temple. This is their intelligence, rascals.
So we have to follow therefore ācārya. Ācāryavān puruṣo veda [Chāndogya Upaniṣad 6.14.2]: one who has accepted ācārya... One who knows the śāstra and practically behaves according to the regulation of śāstra, he is called ācārya. Acinoti śāstrārthaḥ. So all the ācāryas... In India there are many thousands and thousands of temples, very, very big temples, especially in South India.
Some of them you have seen. Each temple is like a big fort. So all these temples were established by the ācāryas, not that the people whimsically established. No.
Still there is very prominent temple, Bālajī temple, Tirupati, Tirumalai. People are going, and the daily collection is more than one lakh of rupees still. Although they have been propagated so vigorously not to visit temples, but people... That is the birthright in India—they are automatically Kṛṣṇa conscious.