Gods, devas, etc.

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

The following question and answer was from the recent issue of Tattva Prakasha. To go to the main page (www.indiadivine.com) and enter your email address.

 

"I am interested to know why Hinduism has more than

1,000 gods. Even though, I have been answered that

different people pray to god in different forms, one

in shiva, another in vishnu. This is not convincing.

"

 

What you say is correct. Such arguments are not at all

convincing. The very minimal definition of God must

include "supreme". In Sanskrit God is described as

"asamaurdhva" which means "none equal and none above".

There can never be the existence of two supremes, as

they would mutually contradict each other's supremacy.

 

To understand the actual position of the Absolute

Truth we must take guidance from the divine words of

the shastras. In the ancient text known as Brahma

Samhita we find the following definition of God:

 

isvarah paramah krishnah

sac-cid-ananda vigrahah

anadir adir govinda

sarva karana-karanam

 

"The Supreme Controller is Krishna. He possesses a

spiritual body composed of eternality, knowledge and

bliss. He has no beginning, yet He is the first. He is

the cause of all causes."

 

The first line, isvarah paramah krishnah, establish

who is the ultimate controller. At present do not be

stuck on the name Krishna, as it will only divert your

mind from the answer. First understand the system of

control, and then everything will become clear. The

Vedic texts describe 330 million devatas, or universal

controllers, but we should not confuse these beings

with God. God is beyond the purview of the material

universe. The devatas are controllers of various

aspects of nature within the material realm. For

example, the scriptures describe a personality named

Agni who is incharge of the element of fire. Likewise,

there is the description of the personality named

Indra who controls the rain. And finally there is the

greatest personality Siva (Maha-deva) who is in charge

of material destruction. All of these controllers

(isvaras) belong to God's natural system of material

administration. Within the material realm God has

arranged a hierarchy of control for automatic

administration of nature. Each of these personalities

(numbering 330 million) can be called a controller

(isvara) as they are each in charge of a particular

aspect of nature. They are actually secondary

controllers. It is exactly like a government that has

many levels of control, such as Prime Minister

(national controller), Chief Minister (state

controller) and District Magistrate (district

controller). To an uneducated person, the District

Magistrate is supreme. If one gets his blessings, any

governmental work one needs to get done will be

accomplished. But he is only supreme within his

district. Above him there is a higher controller, who

controls the entire state. If one surrenders to the

state controller and receives his blessings, one need

not fear the district controller. Thus one may think

the Chief Minister of a state is actually supreme. But

above him is the Prime Minister, who controls the

entire country. According to one's level of knowledge,

one will identify a particular level of supremacy.

But factually there is only one supreme authority

situated above all others. Thus this verse begins with

the words isvarah paramah krishnah - "The supreme

controller among all controllers is Sri Krishna." This

is confirmed in the Bhagavad Gita as follows:

 

mattah paratamam nanyat

kincid asti dhananjaya

mayi sarvam idam protam

sutre mani-gana iva

 

"There is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests

upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread."

 

ne me viduh sura-ganah

prabhavam na maharshayah

aham adir hi devanam

maharshinam ca sarvasah

 

"Neither the hosts of devatas nor the great sages know

My origin or opulences, for, in every respect, I am

the source of the devatas and the great sages."

 

We must understand when we use the word Krishna, it

refers not only to the personality present before

Arjuna, but to the entire category of God known as

Vishnu-tattva. God, being absolute, has unlimited

names, the chief most of which is Krishna. The name

Krishna means "One who attracts everyone." This is the

supreme quality of God. Similarly the name Rama means

"the supreme enjoyer", and the name Vishnu means "One

who has entered everywhere." As the Paramatma, God is

present within every atom, within the heart of all

living entities, and between. This category of

Vishnu-tattva includes all of the incarnations of

Narayana, the various Vishnu expansions (Maha Vishnu,

Garbhodakasayi Vishnu, and Kshirodakasayi Vishnu), and

the Lords eternal forms in the spiritual realm. These

various Vishnu forms are one and the same supreme

personality.

 

The second line of this verse, sac-cid-ananda

vigrahah, further defines what differentiates Krishna

from the other devatas. Krishna has a spiritual body

composed of sat (eternality), cit (complete

knowledge), and ananda (spiritual bliss). Within this

material world everyone takes birth according to one's

karma. When we take birth within matter, we are

conditioned and bound within a body composed of

material elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether,

mind, intelligence, and false identification). By

combination of these elements we have a body of skin,

blood, bones, vital organs, etc. Our true identity is

as a spirit soul, completely independent from the

material body. The nature of this body is actually

opposite from the qualities of the soul. The soul's

nature is sat (eternality), cit (complete knowledge)

and ananda (bliss), but the qualities of the material

body are asat (temporary), acit (full of ignorance),

and nirananda (full of suffering). Krishna, or God,

possesses a spiritual body, beyond material influence.

He is neither born, nor does He die. There is no

separate body and self for Krishna, as He is not

conditioned by the material coverings. This is what

separates Krishna from the 330 million devatas within

this material world. The devatas, though very powerful

entities, are ultimately embodied beings just as we

are. The various devatas are actually posts of

control, and not individual eternal entities.

According to one's karma, one is situated within the

universe either in higher or lower planetary realms.

Those who are highly qualified with goodness (sattva

guna) take birth in the higher realms of existence as

devatas. They attain a post as controller within the

material realm. But that post, being within the

purview of the material energy, must ultimately come

to an end. Just as we are an eternal spirit soul,

covered by a human body due to illusion, in a similar

way, even Indra, Ganesha and Brahma are eternal spirit

souls covered by a devata body due to illusion. The

only difference is the quality of illusion that is

conditioning us. We are conditioned more by the lower

gunas of rajas (passion) and tamas (ignorance) whereas

they are conditioned by the higher quality of sattva

guna (goodness). Everyone within this material world

(including the devatas), up to the topmost planet of

Brahma Loka must ultimately face death. In the Gita

this is described as follows:

 

a-brahma-bhuvanal lokah

punar avartino 'rjuna

mam upetya tu kaunteya

punar janma na vidyate

 

"From the highest planet in the material world, Brahma

Loka, down to the lowest, all are places of misery

wherein repeated birth and death take place. But one

who attains My abode never takes birth again."

 

This is the definition of God. He must be situated

beyond time. The higher controlling devatas (Agni,

Ganesha, Subrahmanya, etc.) have a life span of one

kalpa (4,320,000,000 years). Brahma, the topmost

material entity, has a life span equal to the life of

the universe. When the universe is destroyed by Lord

Shiva, even Brahma must face death and his karma, as

all living entities do. Despite their tremendously

long lives, still, having taken birth, they must also

face death. Lord Krishna is "ajah" or unborn: ajo 'pi

sann avyayatma. Whereas the devatas possess material

bodies composed of subtle elements, Krishna's body is

completely spiritual and not different from His self.

Thus He is situated beyond birth and death. Lord

Krishna's body is eternality (sat), knowledge (cit)

and bliss (ananda).

 

The final two lines of this verse further describe the

qualities of God:

 

anadir adir govinda

sarva karana-karanam

 

He is anadih, without beginning. Krishna is situated

beyond the limitations of time and space. Yet he is

also adih, the source of everything. In the

Vedanta-sutras, the absolute truth, Brahman, is

defined as janmadyasya yathah - "From whom everything

emanates." In the Gita Krishna also confirms this as

follows:

 

aham sarvasya prabhavo

mattah sarvam pravartate

iti matva bhajante mam

budha bhava-samanvitah

 

"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds.

Everything emanates from Me. The wise who perfectly

know this engage in My devotional service and worship

Me with all their hearts."

 

Thus Krishna is the cause of all causes, sarva

karana-karanam. Within a government each level of

administration is providing facilities to the

citizens, but ultimately all of the facilities are

coming from the central government. The state

administrator may be providing roads and other

facilities, but the funds have been allocated from the

central government. The ultimate cause is the central

government, and the immediate cause is the state

government. Lord Krishna is the ultimate cause of all

causes, and the devatas are the immediate causes. This

is described in more detail in the Narayana Upanishad.

 

Those who have a very limited vision think the

immediate cause to be supreme, and thus they create a

cult of devotion around a particular deity and

proclaim them to be the supreme absolute truth.

Krishna describes such people in the Bhagavad Gita as

follows:

 

antavat tu phalam tesam

tad bhavaty alpa-medhasam

devan deva-yajo yanti

mad-bhakta yanti mam api

 

"Men of small intelligence worship the devatas, for

their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who

worship the devatas go to the planets of the devatas,

but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme abode."

 

Why these people are described as alpa-medhasam (of

small intelligence) is because the fruits they attain

are temporary. The devatas whom they are worshiping

are themselves temporary, what to speak of their

benedictions and blessings.

 

Why they take to this worship is also explained by

Lord Krishna:

 

kamais tais tair hrita-jnanah

prapadyante 'nya-devatah

"Because their intelligence has been stolen by

material desires they surrender unto various devatas."

 

One can test this statement of Lord Krishna's. Go to a

temple, any temple, and ask the visitors why they have

come to worship. You will receive an assortment of

answers, but they will all revolve around one

principle - expectation. Someone wants a seat in a

college, someone has taken an IAS exam, someone wants

a nice wife, someone wants money, someone else wants

his difficulties removed. Everyone is approaching

"God" simply to gratify their senses. We are so

foolish that we offer 5 paisa worth of incense to

Ganesha and expect him to make us win the lottery!

Such blind ritual benefits no one. We are enjoying and

suffering according to our karma built up over many

lives, yet we believe by offering a stick of incense,

all of the reactions we have built up will simply be

brushed aside and we will be given a special area

within the material nature for unlimited enjoyment.

The fact is Ganesha has no interest whether we become

an IAS officer or not. And the "devotees" actually do

not believe there is a personality named Ganesha. They

will say it is only an image imagined to focus our

concentration. Then why ask it for blessings? Will an

imagined entity who does not factually exist be able

to help us?

 

The truth is these personalities are as real as you

and I. Ganesha is living in his abode of Kailasa just

as I am living in this ashram in Mysore. The Vedas

describe 64 dimensional planes of existence, of which

we can experience only three. On the higher realms of

existence, higher entities live, less limited by the

matter - but still limited. The scriptures describe

400,000 species of human life, both higher and lower

than our own. Species such as the vanara, gandharva,

apsara, kimpurusha, kinnara, yaksha, rakshasa, etc.,

up to the topmost material species of Brahma - whose

species contains only one entity.

 

On the higher planes of existence these entities live.

Sometimes species from the fourth or fifth dimension

will interact with our third dimension. Thus all of

the cultures of the world have stories of unknown

beings such as ghosts, goblins, and alien life. These

are nothing more than yakshas, pisacas, bhutas, and

even lower entities. Just as they exist, so too do the

higher devatas. But such powerful exalted

personalities have little interest to interact with

the degraded people of this age.

 

Through meditation one can perceive these higher

entities - the gandharvas, apsaras, yakshas, and

devatas. By purifying our consciousness we can enter

these higher dimensional planes through our

sukshma-sarira (subtle body composed of mind,

intelligence, and identification) and see these beings

face to face, just as I can see you if you are

standing before me. Ultimately such experiences serve

no spiritual purpose. We have simply raised our

consciousness to a higher material plane. Krishna says

in the Bhagavad Gita: yanti deva-vratan deva. "Those

who worship the devatas attain to the abode of their

object of worship." This worship is not the common

worship we see in temples, where a person simply

tells, "Give me this, give me that." Deva-vrata must

be with full surrender to the particular devata. If

one surrenders unto Lord Shiva or Ganesha, one will

attain to the abode of Kailasa in the next life. In

that abode the enjoyment and oppulences are thousands

of times greater than on this earthly plane. But from

there one will again return to this earthly planet by

the destructive influence of eternal time. Thus one

would have simply succeeded in wasting his valuable

time, while neglecting the actual goal of human life -

self realization.

 

True religion or spirituality must be selfless and

without material motive. We must actually dedicate

ourself to God, and not to external rituals. In the

Gita Krishna says:

 

manushyanam sahasreshu kascid yatati siddhaye

 

"Out of many thousands of men, hardly one will

endeavour for perfection."

 

We must become like Arjuna, who became the topmost

yogi and bhakta while fighting a war on the

battlefield of Kurukshetra. How can one engaged in

killing his enemies be absorbed in complete meditation

on God? If such a feat is possible, then it is

certainly possible for us to elevate ourselves while

working within this world. Only we must cultivate the

spiritual knowledge of Bhagavad Gita and be fixed in

the understanding of the tattvas.

 

Just as you have brought forth this question about the

devatas, your mind should be trained to think and

churn forth thousands of questions about reality.

Through internal meditation and self study the

Paramatma will reveal answers within your heart and

you will advance on the spiritual path.

 

 

 

[melvin]

 

my dear jndas,

i`m so glad of you to be back

sharing to us your devotional

instructions about the Lord.

I realized He is always with

us in this very wonderful web

site. He`s present in the e-

mail page. You see, the letters

I wrote in it during the past

days regarding my present situa-

tion had been favorably answered

by Him. I don`t know how our

worshipable Lord Krishna does

these things but I have always

observed around me His works of

protecting the devotee who is

fully surrendered unto Him. The

results are so Divine that one

never forgets His lotus feet in

every step His devotee makes just

to please Him. I have never seen

anything like Lord Krishna`s e-

mail. It`s the topmost e-mail in

cyber space. Hence, anyone who

uses It goes home, back to Krishna.

How I wish to see you there.

 

------

 

[viji_53]

Every body is not matured enough to undrestand that there is only one Supreme God. Also all are not religious to understand the goal of life. Most of the people are materialistic. Hindu religion does not force anybody to accept anything blindly. In order to cultivate the habit of developing faith in God our religion encourage people to gratify their materialistic wishes by offering prayers to God. Prayer to Ganesh removes obstacles, prayer to Saraswati gives education prayer to Lakshmi grants money etc. That is why there are so many Gods in our religion. If one understands Gita , he can easily understands that Lord Krishna ( Narayana) is the ultimate God; by surrendering to Him one can easily attain Him by short route. Others who worship other Gods take long route to attain Him. Lord Narayana has given us thinking capacity & analysing mind; we have to use it & surrender to Him alone & attain Him.

Hari Bhol!