Worshiping Many Deities
Question:
In my family, we have a tradition of worshiping multiple Gods and Goddesses (Ganesh Ji on Ganesh Chaturthi, Mahalaxmi on Diwali, Bhagwan Shankar on Maha Shivratri, Durga Maiya on Dura Puja etc.) as per the occasion or festival. You propagate devotion to Shri Radha Krishna alone. I am worried of the consequences, if any devi-devata gets upset with me, if I stop worshiping them. What should I do?
Answer:
Now-a-days multiple deities are worshiped in most Hindu families. All Vedic scriptures unanimously state that there is only one Supreme God (परात्पर ब्रह्म) acclaimed by all. That Supreme God has numerous incarnations with different forms and attributes, hence His position is above all and He is respected by all. Since it is the same Supreme God who takes on different forms at different times, the question of different deities is meaningless.
Let us understand this concept in greater detail:
In my family, we have a tradition of worshiping multiple Gods and Goddesses (Ganesh Ji on Ganesh Chaturthi, Mahalaxmi on Diwali, Bhagwan Shankar on Maha Shivratri, Durga Maiya on Dura Puja etc.) as per the occasion or festival. You propagate devotion to Shri Radha Krishna alone. I am worried of the consequences, if any devi-devata gets upset with me, if I stop worshiping them. What should I do?
Answer:
Now-a-days multiple deities are worshiped in most Hindu families. All Vedic scriptures unanimously state that there is only one Supreme God (परात्पर ब्रह्म) acclaimed by all. That Supreme God has numerous incarnations with different forms and attributes, hence His position is above all and He is respected by all. Since it is the same Supreme God who takes on different forms at different times, the question of different deities is meaningless.
Let us understand this concept in greater detail:
Apart from the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna and His incarnations, there are 330 million (33 crore in Hindi numerals) celestial beings. They are under the control of Maya, just like we are under the control of Maya. However, unlike us, the body of these celestial beings is ethereal which means it is not made of five gross elements.
Worship of these celestial beings is prevalent in our society due to ignorance of their true personality. Their worship does not yield any spiritual benefits as they too are material beings.
The right of accepting Pooja is reserved with Shri Krishna alone. So when we worship any celestial being, the Pooja goes to Shri Krishna and He provides fruit according to the devotee’s faith in a particular celestial being. Celestial beings have no right to accept Pooja or impart any fruits of the Pooja. The Gita says, -
- Each of these celestial beings has been made a master of one material power by the almighty God; for example
- Agni is the master of heat,
- Indra is the master of majesty,
- Varun is the master of water,
- Kuber is the master of wealth and so on,
Worship of these celestial beings is prevalent in our society due to ignorance of their true personality. Their worship does not yield any spiritual benefits as they too are material beings.
The right of accepting Pooja is reserved with Shri Krishna alone. So when we worship any celestial being, the Pooja goes to Shri Krishna and He provides fruit according to the devotee’s faith in a particular celestial being. Celestial beings have no right to accept Pooja or impart any fruits of the Pooja. The Gita says, -
यो यो यां यां तनुं भक्तः श्रद्धयार्चितुमिच्छति ।
तस्य तस्याच्लां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम्॥ गीता ७.२१
Yō yō yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ śrad'dhayārcitumicchati.
Tasya tasyāclāṁ śrad'dhāṁ tāmēva vidadhāmyaham. Gītā 7.21
तस्य तस्याच्लां श्रद्धां तामेव विदधाम्यहम्॥ गीता ७.२१
Yō yō yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ śrad'dhayārcitumicchati.
Tasya tasyāclāṁ śrad'dhāṁ tāmēva vidadhāmyaham. Gītā 7.21
“A devotee who worships a celestial being with faith and with a particular desire, I grant the reward of one’s worship according to his faith and reverence in the celestial being”.
As opposed to celestial beings, the incarnations of God viz; Lord Ram, Krishna, Shankar, Durga and Hanuman Ji etc. are divine and a part of Supreme God Himself. Each of them is endowed with all divine powers of the Supreme God Shri Krishna. Being divine Their powers are limitless and Their existence is forever.
Hence, per your own liking you can choose any one incarnation of God as your deity (इष्ट देव). Worship or performing devotion means to love God. Perfect devotion means exclusive and unfathomable love for your deity with absolutely no material desire. If you change your deity as per the day or occasion, your love for any form of God will not be stable. When one and the same God appears in different forms, then why put in extra effort and end up distracting the mind by switching from one deity to another? Furthermore, since the same personality has manifested Himself in various forms, questions like worshiping a different deity or comparing the greatness of one deity over the other is irrelevant. In fact, scriptures say that comparing deities is a serious spiritual transgression. Hence abstain from all comparisons.
The aim of devotion is not to collect the idols of various deities. The sole aim of devotion is to love God wholeheartedly with complete surrender of the mind. And to accomplish this goal, one has to become ananya (अनन्य) which means to perform single minded devotion to one deity only. Only then, can you establish an intimate relationship with God. Read the history of saints and you will find that every single one of them was dedicated solely to one form of God.
The poet saint Tulsi Das Ji has very beautifully stated this fact:
As opposed to celestial beings, the incarnations of God viz; Lord Ram, Krishna, Shankar, Durga and Hanuman Ji etc. are divine and a part of Supreme God Himself. Each of them is endowed with all divine powers of the Supreme God Shri Krishna. Being divine Their powers are limitless and Their existence is forever.
Hence, per your own liking you can choose any one incarnation of God as your deity (इष्ट देव). Worship or performing devotion means to love God. Perfect devotion means exclusive and unfathomable love for your deity with absolutely no material desire. If you change your deity as per the day or occasion, your love for any form of God will not be stable. When one and the same God appears in different forms, then why put in extra effort and end up distracting the mind by switching from one deity to another? Furthermore, since the same personality has manifested Himself in various forms, questions like worshiping a different deity or comparing the greatness of one deity over the other is irrelevant. In fact, scriptures say that comparing deities is a serious spiritual transgression. Hence abstain from all comparisons.
The aim of devotion is not to collect the idols of various deities. The sole aim of devotion is to love God wholeheartedly with complete surrender of the mind. And to accomplish this goal, one has to become ananya (अनन्य) which means to perform single minded devotion to one deity only. Only then, can you establish an intimate relationship with God. Read the history of saints and you will find that every single one of them was dedicated solely to one form of God.
The poet saint Tulsi Das Ji has very beautifully stated this fact:
एक भरोसो एक बल, एक आस विश्वास ।
ek bharoso ek bal, ek aas vishvaas .
ek bharoso ek bal, ek aas vishvaas .
“Trust and perform exclusive devotion to one deity only to become successful.”
यथा तरोर्मूलनिषेचनेन तृप्यन्ति तत्स्कन्धभुजोपषाखाः ।
प्राणोपहाराच्च यथेन्द्रियाणां तथैव सर्वार्हणमच्युतेज्या ॥ भा ४-३१-१४
yatha tarormoolanishechanen trpyanti tatskandhabhujopashaakhaah .
praanopahaaraachch yathendriyaanaan tathaiv sarvaarhanamachyutejya . bha 4-31-14
प्राणोपहाराच्च यथेन्द्रियाणां तथैव सर्वार्हणमच्युतेज्या ॥ भा ४-३१-१४
yatha tarormoolanishechanen trpyanti tatskandhabhujopashaakhaah .
praanopahaaraachch yathendriyaanaan tathaiv sarvaarhanamachyutejya . bha 4-31-14
The whole tree can be sustained only by watering the roots. Conversely, even if you were to water the entire plant, flowers, leaves stems, etc., but if the water does not reach the root, the plant will surely die. In the same way devotion towards Supreme God Shri Krishna encompasses the worship of all other forms of God, while the combined worship of all does not give the same result as that of the worship of Shri Krishna.
The Padma-Puran also states -
येनार्चिनो हरिस्तेन तर्पितानि जगंत्यपि । रज्यंते जन्तवस्तत्र स्थावरा जंगमा अपि ॥
Yēnārcinō haristēna tarpitāni jagantyapi. Rajyantē jantavastatra sthāvarā jaṅgamā api.
“The one who worships Shri Krishna, satisfies the entire world including all the mobile and immobile creatures.”
Let us review the topic of exclusive devotion (अनन्यता) in greater detail.
The Padma-Puran also states -
येनार्चिनो हरिस्तेन तर्पितानि जगंत्यपि । रज्यंते जन्तवस्तत्र स्थावरा जंगमा अपि ॥
Yēnārcinō haristēna tarpitāni jagantyapi. Rajyantē jantavastatra sthāvarā jaṅgamā api.
“The one who worships Shri Krishna, satisfies the entire world including all the mobile and immobile creatures.”
Let us review the topic of exclusive devotion (अनन्यता) in greater detail.
Shri Krishna is the Supreme Lord, the Lord of all Lords, He is called “Avatari” which means the source of all the incarnations.
He bestows His unlimited powers and bliss to all His incarnations, but those individual incarnations exhibit the powers only as per the need of the moment. By worshiping these incarnations, one can accomplish bliss according to the nature of one’s chosen deity. eg.
He bestows His unlimited powers and bliss to all His incarnations, but those individual incarnations exhibit the powers only as per the need of the moment. By worshiping these incarnations, one can accomplish bliss according to the nature of one’s chosen deity. eg.
- Devotion to Mother Durga provides liberation
- Devotion to Lord Shankar, either provides liberation or Tarak Mantra of Shri Krishna to attain bliss of Bhakti
- Devotion to Lord Hanuman, bestows the divine love of Dasya-Bhav (servitude)
- Devotion to Shri Ram, imparts the bliss of Dasya (servitude), Sakhya (friendship) and Vatsalya (motherly) bhav.
- To attain the highest bliss of Madhurya-bhav one has to selflessly worship Shri Radha Krishna exclusively. It means there must not be any trace for desire of self happiness at any time. Such devotees think only about the pleasure of the divine couple. They attain the most exclusive divine bliss of “Maharaas” by the grace of Shri Radha Rani.
So, one can choose any deity to worship according to one’s liking and interest or the guidance of one’s Spiritual master.
However, make a note, do not ever discriminate between the different forms of God. An exclusive (अनन्य) devotee sees his Lord in each and every particle of the universe.
However, make a note, do not ever discriminate between the different forms of God. An exclusive (अनन्य) devotee sees his Lord in each and every particle of the universe.
खं वायुमग्निं सलिलं महीं च ज्योतींश्च सत्वानि दिशो द्रुमादीन्।
सरित् समुद्रांश्च हरेः शरीरं यत्किञ्च भॣतं प्रणमेदनन्यः ॥ भाग ११.२.४१
khan vaayumagnin salilan maheen ch jyoteenshch satvaani disho drumaadeen.
sarit samudraanshch hareh shareeran yatkinch bhltan pranamedananyah . bhaag 11.2.41
सरित् समुद्रांश्च हरेः शरीरं यत्किञ्च भॣतं प्रणमेदनन्यः ॥ भाग ११.२.४१
khan vaayumagnin salilan maheen ch jyoteenshch satvaani disho drumaadeen.
sarit samudraanshch hareh shareeran yatkinch bhltan pranamedananyah . bhaag 11.2.41
“An exclusive devotee sees Shri Krishna in everything: the sky, air, water, earth, fire, all the creatures, rivers and oceans without any discrimination.”
So we should become an exclusive devotee of any one form of God. Only then can we attain the goal of God-realization. Shri Krishna has clearly stated in the Gita:
So we should become an exclusive devotee of any one form of God. Only then can we attain the goal of God-realization. Shri Krishna has clearly stated in the Gita:
अनन्याश्चिन्तयन्तो मां ये जनाः पर्युपासते ।
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यम ॥ गीता ९-२२
ananyaashchintayanto maan ye janaah paryupaasate .
teshaan nityaabhiyuktaanaan yogaksheman vahaamyam . gita 9-22
तेषां नित्याभियुक्तानां योगक्षेमं वहाम्यम ॥ गीता ९-२२
ananyaashchintayanto maan ye janaah paryupaasate .
teshaan nityaabhiyuktaanaan yogaksheman vahaamyam . gita 9-22
Our ultimate goal of unlimited divine bliss can be accomplished only by worshiping divine personalities like Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, Goddess Durga, Lord Shankar etc. Pure devotion towards Shri Krishna alone, can bless us with unlimited divine love-bliss. Lord Shankar, Brahma and Vishnu also adore Shri Krishna. The celestial Gods worship Him constantly. So never fear that they will be annoyed for this reason. Rather they will be happy and sing your glories if you worship Him exclusively.
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