That god is formless and invisible is admitted nearly universally. Whereas few deny His existence, it is conceded that a direct access to the Almighty is just not possible. This explains why we visualise an image and adore and worship god through the same.
Kalpana or imagination is however, fundamentally unreal. It is a matter of one's belief and faith only. Moreover, one deity may differ from the other, representing a particular quality simply because the capacity of human imagination is limited and guided by one's own needs under different circumstances. This creates comparisons, with devotees rooting for one deity over another, and could cause friction among the different believers.
With the passage of time, the invisible and formless aspects of the conceived images could recede, leaving us with just symbols and idols and in turn perpetuate rites and rituals shorn of understanding.
Is God really invisible? Since god is believed to be omnipresent, it is said that if we wish to perceive him, we can see him in any object, animate or inanimate, and imagine his presence. This way, he is no longer invisible. This approach, however, does not take us out from the realm of the unreal. The strongest argument behind our conviction remains our own sense of belief, the sense of satisfaction that whatever we have imagined is beyond denial. We consider it as the manifestation of the supreme being, representing him in all his qualities and deserving genuinely the same reverence, adoration and worship as god himself.
Do we ultimately admit that we cannot perceive the formless one? Not really, for there must be some way to access the supreme truth. The only effort you need is to search for and approach a Master who has realised god and is capable of revealing him to others. He will take you out from the visible world, nature or creation and make you enter the invisible part of it, the divine realm of the all-pervading formless one. You will perceive the invisible formless one in you and all around you, all the time and everywhere in all circumstances.
Knowledge of god or brahmn gyan which is bestowed by the true master in his own divine grace is not in the nature of information only, it is in the sense of realisation. The true master takes the spiritual responsibility to act as a mediator between man and god. He sees to it that the link established by him between the formless one and his seeker produces a blissful state of being for the devotee. The believer is no longer confined to the web spun by his own imagination. He enjoys the company of the supreme being practically. He finds god, the formless one, in every object. He associates him in every action. He is always conscious of the 'changeless' in the 'changing'.
The true master takes the devotees above the images as well as the names of god. He links him with the one who has been given these numerous names. Naturally, the devotee rises above the disputes that afflict the man's mind on account of the variety of names assigned to the almighty. In fact he loves the religious faiths professing different names of god as the roads leading to his own destination, god.