viṣṇu-kÄñcÄ«te viṣṇu, hari rahe, mÄyÄpure
aiche Ära nÄnÄ mÅ«rti brahmÄṇá¸a-bhitare
viṣṇu-kÄñcÄ«te - at Viṣṇu-kÄñcÄ«; viṣṇu - Lord Viṣṇu; hari - Lord Hari; rahe - remains; mÄyÄpure - at MÄyÄpur; aiche - similarly; Ära - also; nÄnÄ - various; mÅ«rti - forms; brahmÄṇá¸a-bhitare - throughout the universe.
“At Viṣṇu-kÄñcÄ« there is Lord Viṣṇu, at MÄyÄpur Lord Hari, and throughout the universe a variety of other forms.
All of these forms are mÅ«rti forms, and They are worshiped in the temples. Their names are KeÅ›ava at MathurÄ, Puruá¹£ottama or JagannÄtha at NÄ«lÄcala, ÅšrÄ« Bindu MÄdhava at PrayÄga, MadhusÅ«dana at MandÄra, and VÄsudeva, PadmanÄbha and JanÄrdana at Ä€nandÄraṇya, which is situated in Kerala, South India. At Viṣṇu-kÄñcÄ« is Lord VaradarÄja, and Hari is situated at MÄyÄpur, Lord Caitanya’s birth site. Thus in different places throughout the universe there are various Deities in temples bestowing Their causeless mercy upon the devotees. All these Deity forms are nondifferent from the mÅ«rtis in the spiritual world of the Vaikuṇá¹has. Although the arcÄ-mÅ«rti, the worshipable Deity form of the Lord, appears to be made of material elements, it is as good as the spiritual forms found in the spiritual Vaikuṇá¹halokas. The Deity in the temple, however, is visible to the material eyes of the devotee. It is not possible for one in material, conditioned life to see the spiritual form of the Lord. To bestow causeless mercy upon us, the Lord appears as the arcÄ-mÅ«rti so that we can see Him. It is forbidden to consider the arcÄ-mÅ«rti to be made of stone or wood. In the Padma PurÄṇa it is said:
arcye viṣṇau Å›ilÄ-dhÄ«r guruá¹£u nara-matir vaiṣṇave jÄti-buddhir
viṣṇor vÄ vaiṣṇsnavÄnÄá¹ kali-mala-mathane pÄda-tÄ«rthe ’mbu-buddhiḥ
Å›rÄ«-viṣṇor nÄmni mantre sakala-kaluá¹£a-he Å›abda-sÄmÄnya-buddhir
viṣṇau sarveÅ›vareÅ›e tad-itara-sama-dhÄ«r yasya vÄ nÄrakÄ« saḥ
No one should consider the Deity in the temple to be made of stone or wood, nor should one consider the spiritual master an ordinary human being. No one should consider a Vaiṣṇava to belong to a particular caste or creed, and no one should consider caraṇÄmá¹›ta or Ganges water to be like ordinary water. Nor should anyone consider the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra to be a material vibration. All these expansions of Kṛṣṇa in the material world are simply demonstrations of the Lord’s mercy and willingness to give facility to His devotees who are engaged in His devotional service within the material world.
