Worshiping Diffetent Deities

August 3, 2005

Hare Krishna. Pranam to all Vaishnavas,

Woshiping Different Deities.

The word ‘Hinduism’ had originated from a Persian word ‘Hind’(means river ‘Sindu’). The ‘self- styled ’scholars of ‘Hinduism’ define the religion “ Hinduism is more a way of life and a civilization rather than a religion. It is a congregation of religions and has neither a beginning nor a founder. There is no central authority, hierarchy or organization. It incorporates a variety of elements and is a complex and continuous whole and has many religious, social, literary and artistic aspects. It is a

composite of diverse doctrines, cults, and ways of life. “

The patriotic children of this sacred land ‘Bharata’, do not accept the ‘secular’ definition mentioned above . Their religion is ‘Sanatana Dharma’ (Righteousness for ever ‘of’ that which has no beginning or end). It basically started with Sruti “that which is heard”. The master of vedic age known as ‘Rishis’, heard eternal truths in their heart and they taught their disciples orally, to transfer their thoughts which were later compiled as Scriptures.

‘Eternal truths’ of ‘Sanatana Dharma’ have no relation whatsoever with the hypocritical “secular views” of so called ‘Indian historians’ . All those who are confused by the contradictory concepts of so called ‘Hinduism’ must be aware of the following decree of Bhagavan Sri Krishna , ( Gita, Chapter 4, Sloka 40) :

ajnas casraddadhanas ca / samsayatma vinasyatinayam loko 'sti na paro / na sukham samsayatmanah( Those who are ignorant, faithless and of a doubting nature are ruined. For the doubting person, there is happiness neither in this world nor in the next. )

The scriptures can not be understood by mere bookish knowledge. One should surrender to the Supreme God and submissively hear from His pure devotee.

Jagadguru Aadi Sankaracarya, has recommended that every vedic follower should be focused in the ‘sadhana’ (spiritual practice) by worshiping a ‘personal god’. In this regard, Acharya Sankara has repeatedly admitted in his text ‘mantra-sastra’ as well as his commentaries on Bhagavad Gita and Vishnu Saharanama that Sri Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Also, Sankara urges in his hymn ‘Bhajagovindam to worship ‘Govinda’

(Krishna) .

Let us refer to the authorized scriptural texts, to understand the logic of worshiping different deities :

Gita , Chapter 9, Sloka 23 :ye 'py anya-devata-bhakta / yajante sraddhayanvitahte 'pi mam eva kaunteya / yajanty avidhi-purvakam(O Kaunteya, those who worship other Devatas with faith, actually worship Me alone, but in a way that is

unauthorized.)

The following doubt may be raised, "In accordance with the sloka of Bhagavad-gita 9.15, jnana-yajnena capy anye, You said that worship of You is of three types. The statement, “ bahudha visvato mukham” , explains the third type, whorship of Your universal form. You revealed the nature of that form by statements such as, 'I am yajna, I am the Vedic ritual', etc. (Gita 9.61-19). No Devata exists independently from You ; such is the nature of the universal form. It can be concluded from this that those who worship Devatas such as Indra, are in fact worshipping You, so why will they not be liberated? Furthermore, You have said

that those who have material desires become entangled in the cycle of birth and death (Gita 9.21) and attain perishable results. Why is this so?"

In response, Bhagavan Krishna says, "It is true that they worship Me, but they do so without following the prescribed rules to attain Me. They therefore remain in the material world."The following point may be raised, " The Devatas are Bhagavan's vibhuti-svarupa (forms of opulence) and the limbs of His body. It does not matter how those who worship the Devatas perform their worship, ultimately it reaches Bhagavan. Those who worship a ‘Devata’ attains the planet of that ‘Devata’ and, after enjoying the perishable fruits there, they return to this earthly plane. The unalloyed worshippers of Bhagavan Krishna, however, do not return to this material world after attaining Krishna in His abode, so if both types of worship are meant for Bhagavan, why do their end results differ?"

In response to this, Sri Krishna is explaining to Arjuna, "The Devatas are not separate from Me nor are they controllers independent of Me. The worship of those who consider them as such is unauthorized.”"This subject is also clearly explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.31.14) :yatha taror mula-nisecanenatrpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhahpranopaharac ca yathendriyanamtathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

("By properly watering the root of a tree, its trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers and so forth all become nourished, just as by eating food the life air and the senses become nourished. In the same way, by worshipping Bhagavan Krishna everyone, including all the Devatas, are worshipped.")

By pouring water on the root of a tree its branches and sub-branches become nourished, but the same result is not achieved by pouring water on its leaves, branches, fruits and flowers. Somebody may say that there is no harm in giving water to the branches as well as to the root of a tree; rather there is some benefit. Therefore, if one worships the Devatas along with worshipping Sri Krishna, then what is the harm? In response to this another example is given. The life air is sustained by supplying food to the stomach, thus all the body's organs and senses become nourished. However,

if one gives food separately to the ears, eyes and nose, then one will become deaf and blind and ultimately one will die. In the same way, by worshiping the various Devatas, considering them independent Gods, one will only attain adverse results. The authorized process therefore is to exclusively worship Bhagavan Krishna . Moreover, Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.40.9-10) says :

sarva eva yajanti tvam / sarva-deva-mayesvaramye 'py anya-devata-bhakta / yady apy anya-dhiyah prabhoyathadri-prabhava nadyah / parjanyapuritah prabhovisanti sarvatah sindhum / tadvat tvam gatayo 'ntatah

When reading these slokas, most people will understand them to mean, "Just as rivers flowing from the mountains become filled with rain water, divide into various branches and enter the one ocean from various directions, in the same way, the worship performed by those on various paths ultimately culminates in worship of Sri Bhagavan alone. Subsequently, by worshipping other devas one will also receive the result of worshipping Sri Krishna." However this understanding is not correct, and the true meaning of Krishna’s statement is explained below

..

"Karmis, Yogis and others actually worship Me only because I alone am the embodiment of all the Devatas and the Supreme Controller of all controllers. A person who thinks, 'I am worshipping Siva, I am worshipping ‘Surya’, I am worshipping ‘Siva', considering himself to be devoted to them, actually only worships Me. However, if it is said that in this way they worship Me alone and as a result will surely attain Me, it is not so. The worship performed by them certainly comes to Me, but the worshippers do not. The rivers flowing from the mountains become full of rain water. The clouds pour forth water all over the mountains and eventually this water takes the form of rivers. All the rivers, flowing their independent courses through different places, finally enter the ocean. The rivers coming from the mountains enter the ocean, but

their source, the mountain, does not. In the same way, worship performed by persons practicing various processes comes to Me only, However, their source, the worshipper, does not."Here, Bhagavan Krishna is compared to the ocean, the Vedas to the clouds, the various types of processes of worship to the water, the worshippers to the mountain and the various Devatas to the different places. Just as rivers pass through various lands and enter the ocean, the worship of various Devatas comes to Bhagavan Vishnu and, just as the mountain does not reach the ocean, the worshiper of the Devatas does not reach Lord Vishnu.

Ocean water evaporates to form rain clouds over the mountains. Upon falling, that same water gathers as a river and passes through different lands. It is known by different names and finally it reaches the ocean. In the same way, the different types of worship as described in the ‘Srutis’ originally came from Bhagavan Sri Krishna. They are performed by various qualified persons to different ‘Devatas’ and they are known by the names of those various types of worship. Their worship finally comes to Bhagavan Vishnu through the medium of the ‘Devatas’ . However by worshiping a particular ‘Devata’ in this manner , a person only attains a temporary position in the planet of his ‘Devata ‘ . But, not an eternal position in the Supreme eternal abode of Bhagavan Sri Krishna.Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura quotes Krishna as saying, "In reality I, the embodiment of sac-cid-ananda, am the only Paramesvara, Supreme Controller. There is no Devata independent of Me. In My own svarupa, I am the transcendental sac-cid-ananda reality, eternally beyond the material creation. Many persons worship Devatas such as Surya. In other words, conditioned human beings in the material world give honour to the majestic feature of My maya-sakti in the form of various Devatas and worship them.

But by proper deliberation it can be understood that My vibhutis, the Devatas, are simply My guna-avataras. Those who worship these Devatas knowing their actual position and the reality of My svarupa, consider them to be My guna-avaratas. In this way, their worship is authorized and approved of as the progressive path. But those who worship the Devatas, thinking them to be eternal and independent of Me, worship in an unauthorized way which does not follow the prescribed rules, and so they do not achieve eternal results."

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!!!

SriKrishnaDasa Rajeev

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Note – The above is based on different articles written by vedic scholars.

To:-

Date:-Tue, 02 Aug 2005 00:08:03 +0000

-"jignesh shah" <jjshah84

Subject:-RE: Avoid Obstacles in Bhakti-yoga

I fully understand the first ten. But the eleventh one i.e. not worshipping other deities is not what hinduism teaches. The whole purpose of worshipping is to focus your mind and, thereby, attain a mental and eternal peace. So, it is irrelevant which deity you worship. I beg your pardon and would appreciate further explanation on that.

With respect & honor,

Jignesh Shah.Sabhi to hai jinse milta hoon (Its everyone whom I meet)Sahi jo hai inse kehta hoon (Its truth I tell them)...Kitno ko dekha hai ham ne yahaan, (Seen so many here (in this

world),)Kuchh Sikha hai ham ne unse naya (Learnt something new from each)

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