Ayappas posture

 Have you all wondered why Lord Ayappa is in this rare posture unlike most idols ?

This is an yogic stance called Yogarudrasiddhaasana difficult to maintain .

Hes in Yogabhaava or in an ascetic stance in deep meditation 

It occupies least earth space as toes are pointed too .

He does not sit on a throne or flowers or rock but on his feet .

Most idols are either sitting standing or lying down postures .

Sitting denotes married deities with laps for partners .

Ayyappa is an eternal bachelor

 (Naisthika Bramacharya )though an incarnate of Dharma Saastha who had two wives Purna and Pushkala .

Ayappas band of cloth tied around his knees is needed for maintaining posture and also denotes yogic discipline is called Yogapatta .

The two mudras of his hand are Chin mudra denoting universatality and Abhaya mudra denoting benevolence and protection of devotees .

Abhaya is refuge or solace or protection to those who seek it .

 One may ask where is all this written ?

Its from our texts and experts on temple idols .

The next question that could rise is why are these important for a religion which believes in Advaita or presence of God in all living and non living things ?

This can be explained in two ways .

All humans are in different states of spiritual development and understanding and need thousands of birth to get into that state of spiritual attainment to merge with God .

Til that spiritual truths are never fully understood .

The complexity and abstractness of a formless energy innervating every other being is a very difficult concept to comprehend, hence symbolic deities, idols and temples are there to  allow most to focus on this energy .

Then comes the question is that the only significance of rituals and rules in a temple and are idols only solid represenations to understand a vague power ?

Well in my understanding its a NO to that question 

 and iam no expert at all .

Why no ?

Because from the Vedas which devoloped aeons before any other religion came to humanity, the intonations pronouncements and vocalisations of the slokas recited carried vibrations which were powerful to produce spiritual inflections .

Similarly idols in temples which are  built under agamic regulations  reflect an aura of strong spiritual intonation which affects living beings positively .

So the prescribed pujas, rituals ,the consecration and the bakti of devotees ,all made an idol a representation of the enigmatic energy in the ether, empowering everything in the universe called God .

This is just my intrepretation subject to correction .