Traditionally, the human form of the living Guru, especially if he or she is a Real-God-Realizer of the highest degree, is considered to be the most auspicious and potent form or manifestation of the Divine. Since an individual cannot be in the physical Company of such a One twenty-four hours a day, spiritual practitioners in every religious tradition have always created statues, paintings, photographs, and other representations--usually depicting an aspect of the Guru’s bodily human form--to help direct their feeling and attention to the Divine in occasions of meditation and ceremonial worship and in the midst of even all the ordinary moments of daily life. |