A story is narrated that Gabriel once heard an aerial voice repeatedly saying 'Labbaik, Labbaik' meaning here I am. He followed the direction of the voice which ultimately led him to a temple. There, Gabriel found a geber a member of an esoteric religious sect crying with tears of joy before an odol and uttering the words 'Oh Rab, Oh Rab' meaning 'Oh God, Oh God' and hearing the reply voice 'Labbaik'. Gabriel was enraged and wanted to cut down the geber for his idolatery. But the voice of God told him 'Oh Gabriel although the geber has lost the object of worship, the worshipped has not lost himself. He is the worshipped in any place and in any condition. This deterred Gabriel from carrying out his fanatical act of cutting down the geber.

The mode of worship of God depends on the individual. If he wants an idol he is like a toddler requiring a support. Matured thinking does not encourage the worship of idols or spiritual symbols. Darsanopanishad mentions a conversation between Dattatreya and his disciple in which the master clarifies for the edification of the disciple that the worship of external symbols is inferior to the internal way of meditating on the same symbols which are situated in one's own body itself. He points out that the crest of the body is Sri Parvatha, the forehead is Kedara, the junction of the nose is Benares or Kasi, the breast is Kurukshetra, Prayag which is the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and Sarawathi is the lotus of the heart. Chithakasa (the ether of consciousness) is in the middle of the lotus heart. Kamalalaya the abode of the lotus is in the Muladhara. The master having clarified the proper way of meditation ends his instructions by saying that one who has abandoned all the above mentioned sacred places situated in one's body and goes after external symbols and places of pilgrimage, is like one going after glass pieces abandoning the precious stones in his possession.

Jabala upanishad also does not countenance the worship of images. It says as follows:

"Sivam atmani pasyanti
Pratimasu na yogina
Ajnanam Bhavanarthaya
Pratima parikalpita