Many people
do not like the concept of naked statues in the walls of temples while we find
these statues in a number of shrines including some famous ones. If you
personally ask me my opinion is that it should not be there. But let us find
some genuine reasons behind such a practice. People must have questioned about
it in the earlier days, but still the practice is going on. So there must be
something solid behind it.
Firstly, God
is the biggest entity in this world. He/She is the supreme power. Thus, only
the blessed ones get a chance to have His/Her glimpse. Putting the naked
statues is a test for concentration as well as devotion. We have heard about
mythological stories where, the moment a person starts ‘tapasya’, God himself
put a number of good and evil things around him to distract him from the
meditation. In the case of great devotees like Prahllad, Dhrub, sage Biswamitra
and others, they successfully completed the meditation without being distracted
by these external factors. Likewise when you visit a temple your devotion
should be pure and no other thing should distract you from God. But many
devotees get trapped in these statues and forget the God inside the temple.
Moral is that you can see these statues, but don’t involve yourself here,
rather concentrate your mind and soul in the God.
Secondly,
earlier, when there was no invention of light, the temples used to be the
centre of attraction. There is a concept of ‘Natya Mandap’ where the cultural
programmes were carried on. Also, many earlier kings were religious and they
preferred to carry on the important happenings in the temple premises with an
intention that whatever is done should get blessings of the God. So, temples,
in the earlier time, were the main venue for showcase of culture and heritage.
We find statues of dancers and musicians in the walls of temples. Probably this
was done to showcase the artistic talent and cultural glory of the kingdom.
Thirdly, in
Odisha some people believe that putting naked statues in the walls of the
temple makes the temple safe from lightning. Even I have come across instances
where initially the temple was free from these types of statutes but later on
these were built after witnessing some negative symptoms.
Whatever
may be the reason the bottom line is that if you concentrate on the idol (God)
in the inner sanctum (Garbha gruha) you will not be distracted and will surely
get the divine blessings.