PAMHO, Prabhus!
Below is a comment on Sri Isopanisad, Mantra 8.
This mantra offers a description of the transcendental nature and eternal form of the Absolute. The Mayavadi philosophers find that the Supreme Lord has no form, but in this sruti-mantra, we find that the Supreme does have a form; however, that form is not like the form found in the material world. It is a transcendental form. This means that while humans have a mechanical form where all things work to a particular order, the Lord does not. Veins pump blood through the system, impulses from the brain cause actions in the body. We feel with hands, see with eyes, taste with tongue, and so forth. With the Supreme Lord, this is not the case. Each part of His body can do the work of the other senses. So the Lord may see through eyes, mouth, hands, etc..
When humans describe the Lord as formless, it simply means that the Lord cannot be conceived--He is devoid of a form we can imagine, since it is wholly "other" than what we know in this material world. In addition, there is no difference in the Supreme Lord between body, mind, or soul as there is for us. We are born in this materialistic world and must learn that we are not these bodies. We must find our true selves. For the Lord, there is no such division. "He is the Complete Whole, and His mind, body, and He Himself are all one and the same" (p. 56).
Some may believe that this means that the forms of the Lord found within the temples are merely man-made idols; but again Sri Isopanisad clarifies this point. As Prabhupada explains: "The Lord's worshipful form, which is installed in temples by authorized acaryas who have realized the Lord in terms of Mantra seven, is nondifferent from the original form of the Lord. The Lord's original form is that of Sri Krishna, and Sri Krishna expands Himself into an unlimited number of forms, such as Baladeva, Rama, Nrsimha, and Varaha. All of these forms are one and the same Personality of Godhead" (p.57). So, in worshiping the arca-vigraha, the worshipful form of the Lord within the temples, one is worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. When the Lord appears to us, it is so we can know Him personally and surrender to Him through devotional service. This is something the Mayavadi philosophers will never attain, nor even understand.
The Christian community will be celebrating Christmas in a couple of months, which is the celebration of the birth of Christ into this world. Christ is another expansion of the Supreme (Christ and Krishna are identical). When Christians recognize God in human form, entering into this world, and form a relationship with God through Lord Jesus, the Christian is being initiated into understanding of the concepts discussed above. Many Christians may be too caught up in commercialism and material desire to accept the True gift they have been given, both through the mercy of the Lord, it is given all the same.
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