Indian man (5): Swamiji, there is a school of thought amongst Hindus that condemns idol worship and the concept of avatāra. Would you kindly elaborate on these concepts?
Prabhupāda: Idol worship, that is not idol. Just like if you worship your leader in some picture or some statue, that is not idol worship. That is actually fact. You show your respect to your leader. Similarly, when we worship the Deity of the Supreme Lord, Kṛṣṇa, it is not idol worship. It is worshiping Kṛṣṇa. The difference is, as we have already discussed, Kṛṣṇa is Absolute. In the ordinary case the picture of your father and the father is different because it is material body. But Kṛṣṇa, being absolute, His form, Deity form, and He, there is no difference. It is Kṛṣṇa's mercy that He comes before you in the Deity form made of so-called wood or stone because we cannot see at the present moment except wood and stone. We cannot see. Just like I was explaining we cannot see even our father, the spirit soul. And how we can see the supreme spirit? So when we worship Deity, it is not idol worship. It is worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa, and the Deity is not different from the person. This is the idea. We have to understand. It is a science. Just like the holy name of the Lord. It is as good as the Lord Himself. Nāma cintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto 'bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ (CC Madhya 17.133). When we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, this means Kṛṣṇa is dancing on my tongue. Otherwise why these people are chanting twenty-four hours, "Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa"? If you ask them to chant some other name, "Mr. John, Mr. John, Mr. John," it will be not possible. He will be tired: "No more." But you go on chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa twenty-four hours. You'll never feel tired. That is the proof that the holy name of God and God is nondifferent.
Indian man (7): Idea of avatāra? (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: We have already explained. The idol, it is not idol. It is Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa is all-powerful. He can present Himself in a manner which you can see, because Kṛṣṇa is everything. Bhūmir āpo 'nalo vāyuḥ khaṁ mano buddhir eva ca (BG 7.4). He is everything. God is everything. So you cannot see at your present status the God. But you can see His form, and the business will be done. If you offer everything, Kṛṣṇa will eat. Business will go on. There is no difference. It is His mercy that He presents Himself in a form which we can see.