demigods

[Guest guest]

>The demigods are considered to be devotees of Krsna. Question is why do

>they not engage their devotees, in service of Krsna which they know is the

>correct path for the people in general. Just like Vaishnavas who won't

>like people to engage in their service, but would rather engage them in

>service of Krsna.

 

Dear Vidura Priya Prabhu,

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

This is answered exhaustively in the following verse and purport:

 

***************************

 

SB 11.2.6

 

bhajanti ye yatha devan

deva api tathaiva tan

chayeva karma-sacivah

sadhavo dina-vatsalah

 

TRANSLATION

 

Those who worship the demigods receive reciprocation from the demigods in a

way just corresponding to the offering. The demigods are attendants of

karma, like a person's shadow, but sadhus are actually merciful to the

fallen.

 

PURPORT

 

The words chayeva karma-sacivah are significant here. Chaya means "shadow."

The shadow of the body precisely follows the movements of the body. The

shadow has no power to move in a way different from the movement of the

body. Similarly, as stated here, bhajanti ye yatha devan deva api tathaiva

tan: the results the demigods award to living beings correspond exactly to

the living beings' actions. The demigods are empowered by the Lord to follow

precisely the particular karma of a living entity in awarding him happiness

and distress. Just as a shadow cannot move independently, the demigods

cannot punish or reward a living being independently. Although the demigods

are millions of times more powerful than the human beings on earth, they are

ultimately tiny servants of God whom the Lord allows to play as the

controllers of the universe. In the Fourth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Prthu

Maharaja, an empowered incarnation of the Lord, states that even the

demigods are subject to punishment by the Lord if they deviate from His

laws. On the other hand, devotees of the Lord such as Narada Muni, by their

potent preaching, can interfere in the karma of a living being by persuading

him to give up his fruitive activity and mental speculation and surrender to

the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In material existence, one works hard

under the bondage of ignorance. But if one becomes enlightened by

association with a pure devotee of the Lord, one can understand one's actual

position as an eternal servant of God. By rendering such service, one

dissolves his attachment to the material world and the reactions of his

previous activities, and as a surrendered soul he is endowed with unlimited

spiritual freedom in the service of the Lord. In this regard, the

Brahma-samhita (5.54) states:

 

yas tv indragopam athavendram aho sva-karma-

bandhanurupa-phala-bhajanam atanoti

karmani nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhajam

govindam adi-purusam tam aham bhajami

 

"I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, who burns to the root all the fruitive

activities of those imbued with devotion. For those who walk the path of

work—no less for Indra, king of the demigods, than for the tiny insect

indragopa—He impartially ordains the due enjoyments of the fruits of

activities in accordance with the chain of works previously performed." Even

the demigods are bound to the laws of karma, whereas a pure devotee of the

Lord, having completely given up the desire for material enjoyment,

successfully burns to ashes all traces of karma.

 

....

 

In this regard, Sri Madhvacarya has quoted the Uddama-samhita:

 

sukham icchanti bhutanam

prayo duhkhasaha nrnam

tathapi tebhyah pravara

deva eva hareh priyah

 

"Rsis want happiness for all beings and are almost always incapable of

tolerating the unhappiness of men. Nevertheless, the demigods are superior

because they are very dear to Lord Hari." But although Srila Madhvacarya has

placed the demigods in a higher position than the merciful rsis, Srila Jiva

Gosvami has stated, sadhavas tu na karmanugatah: the sadhus are actually

better than the demigods because the sadhus are merciful regardless of the

pious or impious acts of the conditioned souls. This apparent disagreement

between Madhvacarya and Jiva Gosvami is resolved by Bhaktisiddhanta

Sarasvati Thakura, who points out that in the statement by Srila

Madhvacarya, the word rsi, or "sage," indicates the so-called sadhus or

saintly persons among the karmis and jnanis. Ordinary fruitive workers and

speculative philosophers certainly consider themselves to be at the summit

of pious morality and altruism. However, since they are ignorant of the

supreme position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, they cannot be

considered equal to the demigods, who are all devotees of the Lord and aware

that all living beings are eternal servants of the Lord. Even such demigods,

however, cannot be compared to the pure devotees such as Narada. Such pure

devotees are empowered to award the highest perfection of life to both pious

and impious living beings, who have only to follow the orders of such pure

devotees.

 

*******************

 

And to support Jan Prabhu's point -- that demigods can indeed grant one

devotional service to Krsna -- one may quote SB 4.12.8-9:

 

"The great sage Maitreya continued: My dear Vidura, when thus asked to

accept a benediction from Kuvera the Yaksaraja [King of the Yaksas], Dhruva

Maharaja, that most elevated pure devotee, who was an intelligent and

thoughtful king, begged that he might have unflinching faith in and

remembrance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for thus a person can

cross over the ocean of nescience very easily, although it is very difficult

for others to cross.

 

The son of Idavida, Lord Kuvera, was very pleased, and happily he gave

Dhruva Maharaja the benediction he wanted. Thereafter he disappeared from

Dhruva's presence, and Dhruva Maharaja returned to his capital city."

 

As Madhavananda Prabhu once said on this conference about 6 years ago:

 

"The devas, including Durga have dui-daya, two types of mercy:

 

1) Kapata-krpa (false or cheating so-called "mercy")

2) Niskapata-krpa (genuine mercy)

 

Kapata-krpa is vancana or cheating because it is dahika or only benefiting

the temporary material body. Niskapata-krpa is paramarthika, transcendental.

It is mercy by which one obtains Krishna-bhakti."

 

For instance, in their capacity of specially empowered devatas, who are like

an interface between material and spiritual world, Lord Siva and Goddess

Durga can give only impersonal liberation. Srila Sanatana Goswami specifies

in the quote, that the ability to give liberation was granted to them by

Lord Krsna.

 

But in their capacity as greatest Vaisnavas (vaisnavanam yatha sambhuh) they

may grant pure devotional service, because Lord Krsna gives them, as any

other pure Vaisnava, the power and, indeed, the charge to do so. Lord Siva

even started his own Rudra sampradaya, and many exalted Vaisnavas, including

Srila Sridhara Swami and Vallabhacarya appeared in it. Some Vaisnava

historians say that Srila Bilvamangala Thakura also belonged to his

sampradaya too.

 

Yet, as a humble devotee, Lord Siva does not ever think himself capable of

giving devotional service or even liberation to anybody, and later on in

Brhad Bhagavatamrta himself dismisses all praises by Narada as mere

exaggeration by saying (3.37):

 

lokeso jnana-do jnani

mukto mukti-prado 'py aham

bhakto bhakti-prado visnor

ity-ady-aham-kriyavrtah

 

"I am covered by various false identities. I consider myself the lord of the

universe, the perfect knower of everything and giver of knowledge, the

liberated giver of liberation, and a devoted giver of devotion to Visnu."

 

I hope this helps.

 

Your servant,

Madana-mohana das