When we posit that God is outside us, as the Abrahamic religions do (particularly Islam), then God becomes an object to us, the subject. We then represent God in various ways, with solid objects (like the murthis in Hindu worship), sound (the word Allah used in Islamic worship) etc. When the experience of oneness occurs (as spoken of in Advaita), the subject-object dichotomy evaporates and idol worship becomes redundant. Till then idol worship in whatever form is vital. Islam, which has foreclosed evolution in spiritual matters with its dogmatic stand on the Quran, is destined to remain an idol worshiping religion. Hinduism, which does not bind us to any text but encourages us to seek the spirit behind the texts, permits us to transcend idol worship.
http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/hinduism-dir/97720-idol-worship.html#post2005766
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