Such sculptures were easily misunder stood as objects of worship in them selves, rather than representations that could be consecrated or charged with divine spirit by ritual According to the eighth-century AD philosopher and mystic Shankara, the Supreme Lord may if he wishes assume a corporeal form as a favour to his devout worshippers Theologians interpreted the popular cult of statues of Vishnu as proof of the god's compassion in manifesting himself to devotees and allowing himself to be perceived by the senses even at the risk of being transformed into an idol and of being confused with the material objects he had sanctified with his presence. For Hindus, truth lies beyond the world of appearances and their images of deities are thus illusory manifestations of a single ultimate reality on the left is balanced, on the other side, by that of a female counterpart, softly modeled with voluptuous lips and delicately dressed hair They indicate respectively the male and female, destructive and creative, principles that proceed from the divine essence or Absolute represented by a sublimely aloof androgynous central countenance As a whole this overpowering image so different from the simply conceived and, one might say, naively anthropomorphic deities of the ancient West concrete torn to the mystery of the of the Absolute into the qualities of phenomenal existence. It was not, however, the main object of worship in the temple Aninner shrine with