IDOLATRY AND DOGMATISM: THE VEILS OF MAYA

From non-being lead us to Being, from darkness lead us to Light, from death lead us to Immortality.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.3.28

I was the father of the human race and I became the Sun.
Vamadeva, Rig Veda, IV.27.1

All this in the beginning was God. It knew itself as "I am God." Therefore it became all. Whoever among the Gods, seers or men has awakened to That, he also became That.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad I.IV.10

Idolatry and Dogmatism: The Veils of Maya

The greatest charge that predominant Western religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism have made against other religions, particularly Hinduism, is that of idolatry - that they worship a God other than the One God and are therefore committing a great sin or error. The greatest charge that people make against these religions in turn is that of dogmatism - that self-created religious authorities are trying to impose an arbitrary set of beliefs upon all people, which favors one group over another and leads to oppression and exploitation.

There is no doubt that religion should question our attachment to the outer world and the missing of our true connection with the Divine. Yet when religion mistakes that inner reality for a particular code of belief, it becomes guilty of the same outwardness it is criticizing. It becomes dogmatic, which is another form of idolatry, or trying to limit truth to a particular fixed form.

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