(From the discourses of Pujya Sri Swamiji)

Compiled by Swami Datta Pada Renu

The Lord declares: "at the end of many births (of striving) the man of wisdom attains Me." It may be asked why a devotee is not able to reach Godhood in a single birth. The reason is that absolute non-attachment and freedom from passion can not be attained all of a sudden. And without these two, no one can reach the highest plane of spiritual development. It is a process of evolution and one has to proceed step by step. When one reaches the last stage of evolution, he gets the vision of God. The dawn of knowledge proclaims the end of his struggle. Then he realises that the Lord pervades the entire universe. This whole world is full with ‘Vasudeva’, the Supreme Lord. Such a great soul is very rare to find. There are many who worship the Lord to get some benefits to gratify their selfish desires. But a devotee who sees the Lord everywhere is very difficult to find. This is the idea.

"Deprived of discrimination by this or that desire, (people) resort to other deities, following this or that rite, led by their own nature." (20-VII)

Ordinary people have a number of desires and they direct all their efforts towards the fulfillment of those desires. A desire arises in the mind and as soon as it is fulfilled, another one arises. Like this one after another desires crop up in the mind and there is no end to it. And it is for the fulfillment of these desires that people make use of their intelligence and energy and run about here and there seeking objects of their desire. Thus, they are always busy and restless. They have no time to think about their own soul or soul-progress. They are people whose discrimination is destroyed by their desires (kaamaih hritajnaanaah).

They worship other divinities (prapadyante anya devataah) seeking their blessings and favour in the gratification of their desires. These divinities or deities are lower in order and are of different nature. Some are good in nature because the element of Sattva is dominating in them. Others are active by nature due to the dominance of Rajas in them and in those deities in whom the element of Tamas is predominant are given to sloth and inactivity. People choose and worship deities in accordance with the influence exercised over them by their own nature or tendencies (prakrityaa nityatah svayaa).

Thus, although the Supreme God is one, there are many minor Gods or divinities like Indra, Varuna, Agni, etc., subordinate to the Supreme Godhead. They are called ‘Devas’, meaning bright spirits. They are just in the intermediate state between the human and the Supreme Godhead. Again, the Supreme Being has different aspects. Each aspect of his is considered as God. Thus in his aspect as Creator, He is called Brahma, as sustainer He is called Vishnu and as destroyer He is called Shiva. His creative aspect is called ‘Shakti’ or Lakshmi, who is also the presiding deity for wealth. Like that, the Supreme Being has innumerable aspects and He can be worshipped in any one of these aspects or forms. Therefore the Lord says:

"Whatever form (of his choice) any devotee seeks to worship with faith – that faith of his do I make unswerving".

When a devotee worships a particular form of God with faith, that faith of his is made unswerving by the Lord. Each man is free to choose and worship any form of the Lord. Different devotees may worship different Gods of their choice and the paths may be different. But ultimately all of them have to come to the one Supreme Being.
Ordinary men cannot acquire this Universal vision of the Supreme Godhead. So, they are allowed to worship any form of their choice which appeals to their imagination depending upon their past ‘Samskaras’ or tendencies. The only condition is that they should have faith in their choice of form and worship. Then the Lord blesses them with increased faith and greater devotion in their chosen Gods.

"Possessed of that faith he engages in the worship of that form; from that divinity he gains his desires – being indeed dispensed by Me alone" (22-VII).

All Gods or divinities like Indra, Varuna, Agni, Vayu, Brahma (Creator), Vishnu, Shiva, Ganapati, Lakshmi, Saraswati etc., derive their status and powers from the Lord Himself who is the Supreme Godhead. Therefore, and gift received from these Gods comes from the Supreme Lord alone as sanctioned by Him. The rewards may appear to have come from a particular deity, but they have their source in the Lord alone.

People worship the deities in order to attain some boons or material welfare. Their devotion is mainly motivated by worldly needs like mitigation of sufferings, securing wealth or some status in Life and when the worship of a particular deity is found yielding results many become votaries of that deity. But these ignorant devotees do not understand that the powers of the deities are derived from the Supreme Lord. It is He who answers their prayers and gives them what they want through the medium of the deities. Therefore if these devotees are able to look upon their chosen deities as symbols of the Supreme Lord, they would be able to convert their worship into the worship of the Supreme Godhead and attain not only material benefits but also enlightenment and realisation at the end. This is the idea.