Hey Cape, Let me put my disclaimer first up :" I am not a very religious person'. Well now coming to idol worship, what's wrong with it mate? Just come to think of it do people not keep photographs of their spouces/children in their wallets etc? Is it bcoz they dont know (or forget)how they look? If there was an idol of your mother kept in front of you and you were asked to spit on it(no offence plz), would u do it? anyway it's not 'your mom' instead it's 'your mom's idol'. you would not do it. it's natural for humans to seek tangible symbols and objects to get a grip on abstract concepts. In fact even in 'so called' non-idol worshipping religions like Islam and Christianity, you do find people having photos of Kaba, the crescent painted, people wearing crosses, praying in front of a cross etc., Is this not idol worship? It's just that these are very simple symbols and in Hinduism, the symbols are more rich and vivid .
