When Lord Krishna revealed His Viswarupa to Arjuna, the latter could see it only because the Lord conferred divine eyesight on him. So, without such divine eyesight, can we see Him?
The only way for us to witness His splendour is to see His archa form in temples. That is a joy not equalled even by being in Sri Vaikuntha. That was why Tondaradippodi Azhvar said that he would far rather be in Srirangam, worshipping Lord Ranganatha in archa form, than in Sri Vaikuntha. All, whether sinner or a doer of meritorious deeds, can see the Lord’s archa form. Worshipping Him in archa form requires no difficult penance.
There are certain lakshanas for the Lord, in His manifestations of para, vyuha, vibhava and antaryami. So the question might arise whether these are present in His archa form. The answer would be in the affirmative. The archa form of the Lord lacks nothing, said M.S. Srikanth, in a discourse. His archa form is as auspicious as His other forms. And this is true of all His archa forms, whether the idols are consecrated by sages or kings, or whether they are swayam vyakta — that is self- manifested idols like Bhuvaraha of Srimushnam, Ranganatha of Srirangam or Srinivasa of Tirumala. Swayam vyakta means that the Lord appeared of His own volition in idol form.
Vedanta Desika, whose inordinate love for Lord Varadaraja of Kanchipuram is seen clearly in his Varadaraja Panchasat, says, “vaikuṇṭha vAsE pi na mE abhilAshah”. In other words, to Desika, even the desire for Sri Vaikuntha is lost, because he has seen the beauty of Lord Varadaraja.
A hunter, who needs good meat, will not take aim at a crow when there is a rabbit available. Likewise, when He is accessible in archa form, why would a devotee seek anything else?
