Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva & Subhadra
Because He is full of inconceivable potencies,
God can accept our service through any sort of medium, and He can
convert His different potencies according to His own will.
Non-believers argue either that the Lord cannot incarnate Himself
at all, or that if He does He descends in a form of material
energy. These arguments are nullified if we accept the existence
of the Lord's inconceivable potencies. Then we will understand
that even if the Lord appears before us in the form of material
energy, it is quite possible for Him to convert this energy into
spiritual energy. Since the source of the energies is one and the
same, the energies can be utilized according to the will of their
source. For example, the Lord can appear in the form of the
arca-vigraha, a Deity supposedly made of earth, stone or wood.
Deity forms, although engraved from wood, stone or other matter,
are not idols, as the iconoclasts contend.
In our present state of imperfect material existence, we cannot
see the Supreme Lord due to imperfect vision. Yet those devotees
who want to see Him by means of material vision are favored by
the Lord, who appears in a so-called material form to accept His
devotees' service. One should not think that such devotees, who
are in the lowest stage of devotional service, are worshiping an
idol. They are factually worshiping the Lord, who has agreed to
appear before them in an approachable way. Nor is the arca form
fashioned according to the whims of the worshiper. This form is
eternally existent with all paraphernalia. This can be actually
felt by a sincere devotee, but not by an atheist.