In Gita, Sri Krishna tells that only by believing in me can one attain eternal peace. Doesn’t this mean Sri Krishna is not acknowledging that other forms of worship are meaningless? Does it also mean that worshipping other forms will incur sin – as suggested in other religious texts?
Sri Krishna was not referring to his physical form when he says “me”. In Chapter 4 Krishna talks about himself; his profile – “I am unborn, I do not undergo changes, I am the Lord of all beings, but controlling the nature I manifest wherever I want through my own power, to uplift the dharma.” That is the description on his profile. Hence when Sri Krishna says ‘ME’, he is not referring to his physical form, but the God principle.
अजोऽपि सन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपि सन् ।
प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय सम्भवाम्यात्ममायया ॥
Even after telling the whole Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna asks Arjuna to think, reflect upon the ideas and decide and act according to what he feels right. It is totally left to Arjuna to decide. Where can you find such freedom of thought and choices?
All our Sastras are discussions between the teacher and student. These are no commandments.
Worshipping any form is not meaningless. In Chapter 4, once again Sri Krishna tells that worshipping any form is worshipping me (me = lord of all beings). We worship the Lord through the medium of stone, metal, clay or any other materials. We are not worshipping the stone, we are worshipping the Lord. We see the divine in them. Every being in this world is nothing but divine. Hence we worship everything. There are temples even for ants, lizards, snakes, plants, trees, rivers, land, mountains, sea, fire, air, and even space! almost everything. We worship children, parents, teachers, husbands, wives.. the list is endless. Everything needs to be worshipped and respected and is in line with what Sri Krishna told. Seeing any form we can connect to the divine. In short, by worshipping any form we will reach the divine – because only divine exists. According to Sanatana Dharma Creation and the Creator are not two, but one.
Worship happens when love and respect both exist. When we worship, we earn merit – there is no sin. When we worship our parents, teachers and Guru, we earn the merit.
Sin is not a concept that is properly understood in our context. It has a different connotation in other religious systems. According to Gita, we are results of our own Karma.