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About the Devatas in the Shandilya Bhakti Sutra
This is what he says about the Devatas in Aphorism 50 of Shandilya Bhakti Sutra.
प्रणित्वान्न विभूतिषु
praṇitvānna vibhūtiṣu
Meaning of this statement:
Loving attachment shown to the Vibhutis, persons possessing introspective greatness, glory, might, sublimity, beauty or loveliness and many more qualities of great living beings can never be called Devotion.
Other Devatas such as Indra, Chandra, Surya (not Sri Suryanarayana), too, do not pass this test. They are of no use if the goal is to attain Liberation. In this great work Rishi Shandilya has mentioned in Aphorism 46, that devotees attain Liberation on worshiping any form of Sri Vishnu (such as Sri Rama, Sri Krishna, Sri Narasimha or Sri Varaha), with devotion.
That alone is Bhakti. The same does not hold true for Devatas.
Men with a limited fund of knowledge may assume that if this is the case, performing Bhakti of other elevated and powerful beings or Devatas can also grant liberation. This seems logical, but is far from it.
Worshiping the Great Vishnu Avatars: The Goal of Genuine Bhakti
तद्वाक्यशेषात् प्रादुर्भाविष्यपि सा
tadvākyaśeṣāt prādurbhāviṣyapi sā
Bhakti towards other forms/incarnations of Bhagawan, Vishnu are genuine. Lord Vishnu incarnates in various forms Like Sri Ramachandra, Sri Narasimha Dev, Sri Krishna, etc. It is to be understood that all forms of the Lord are equally potent although they may exhibit limited characteristics.
For example: Sri Rama set the code of Dharma and through His life, He set an example through which human species could apply Dharma in their day-to-day lives. Similarly, Narasimha Deva amplifies the Love of God for His devotee. He shows a specific attribute of ‘savior of His devotees.’
All incarnations therefore intend to display the various moods of Bhagawan, and in no way lack of potency. Conflicts that arise when establishing one Vishnu-form as superior to another is not a sane argument. The incarnations are like the petals of the same flower. They are neither different in their quality nor in their potency.
Sri Rama displayed characteristics of a man throughout His earthly pastimes. But, ultimately he displayed his Veera Ras by slaying the demon king Ravana. This shows that his potency is infinite. But, by his own will conceals them for that incarnation in order to display the human characteristics which was the primary purpose of the incarnation.
Are Devatas and Other Incarnations of Lord Narayana the same?
We understand that powerful beings including Devatas possess a miniscule portion of Bhagawan Vishnu’s potencies. We can consider the Devatas as separated parts and parcels of Bhagawan, quite similar to human beings, but yet possessing powers that exceed those of humans.
They represent the Vibhinamsa (विभिन्नाम्शा vibhinnāmśā, separated powers) of the Lord. However, Sri Rama, Narasimha, Vamana, Narasimha etc are Sva-amsa (स्व-अंशा sva-aṃśā), the same Lord.
They displayed some limited potencies in their pastimes as their goal was to teach a specific lesson to man. They came for a particular cause and displayed the potencies to achieve their purpose of incarnating. We understand that all Sva-amsas can display all potencies of Sri Vishnu.
Sri Krishna is the direct form of the Lord who displayed all His potencies. Sri Rama can display all those potencies which Sri Krishna displayed. But, in His Avatar, he displayed only some of them. His goal was to set the ideal values that man can follow. If he had supernatural pastimes (displaying all his powers), the average person would feel that the ideals set by Sri Ramachandra are inapplicable for them.
But, this would negate the purpose of the Lord. Hence, to meet up the lacking values in the world, the Lord incarnates to guide man through His pastimes.
7/8 Questions from Sanatana Dharma
The scores generated in this Quiz may or may not be absolute. There may be right or wrong answers to each Question. A percentage towards 100 indicates that you are more aligned to the overall subject matter.
What do Shastras say on Devata worship ?
The Shastras proclaim worship of Sva-Amsha and Sriman Narayana as legitimate.
But, worshiping an entity possessing a body made up of the Pancha Bhootas is not acceptable. Such an approach is not according to the Vidhi. Hence the sages do not recommend the direct Worship of Devatas. However the Shastras consider Devatas as a channel to connect with Bhagawan.
The Devata called Agni accepts our offerings in the Fire Sacrifice or Homa and helps us connect with Sriman Narayana. Vidhi means ‘in line with Shastra’. Therefore, those who bear allegiance to Devatas singularly, without due consideration to Bhagawan, with unwavering faith, violate the revealed scriptures.
They do not follow the right method of worship. The Lord deludes them with his external potency called Maya.Devatas are repositories of specific virtues. Like Lord Surya is Knowledge and Vibrance, Chandra Dev represents the Mind, Indra represents Pride and Power, etc.
However, they too are temporary. They possess these qualities only till the time Bhagawan reflects through them. So, worshiping them alone can never grant one liberation. Devatas have material significance of prosperity, wealth, fame, etc.
However, they are extremely short-lived. The wise respect Devatas because they are attendants (sevakas) of Bhagawan, but their Nishtha is towards Sriman Narayana and His Sva-Amshas alone. One still should never disrespect the Devatas, because they carry limited potency of Bhagawan and disrespecting them implies disrespecting Bhagawan.
Does Guru Nishtha grant Liberation?
Worshiping Guru was extremely common in prior Yugas (Satya, Dwapara and Treta Yugas). But, in Kali Yuga, because of the heavy influence of Maya and Kali, it is advisable to worship the only Gurus who depend completely on Sriman Narayana or any of His incarnations.
Sanatana Dharma never recommends respecting and offering prayers to a so-called Guru.
The Qualities of the Guru is a major factor that decides whether one should worship the Guru. If the Guru is not dependent on Devatas, if he depends solely on Sriman Narayana or His Amsas, if he is truthful, honest and not dependent on his disciples, for money, name, fame and recognition, increasing his disciple base, then such a Guru is worth worshiping.
Such a Guru directly connects with Bhagawan and attains the qualities of Bhagawan to a great extent. However, such a Guru will never appreciate his worship but shall instruct the disciple to worship Bhagawan. A disciple should worship such an elevated Guru in his heart and consider him as a conduit who can connect him to Bhagawan.
So one should carry out worship of such Gurus only in one’s heart and never make an open display of their worshipful mood. One should never make a display of devotion externally. One must worship such Gurus in all humility. It is still important to recognize that the goal is Bhagawan, and the Guru is simply a medium that connects the aspirant to Bhagawan.
One should recognize the Guru Tattva and treat the Guru regarding his connection with Bhagawan and not isolate the Guru as a personality. One must keep in mind that our eventual goal is Bhagawan and not Guru. So one must always interact with the Guru with Bhagawan in mind and never interact with the Guru for Guru’s sake. Having respect for one’s guru is important for progress, but one must be careful and check one’s inner mood and must be vigilant about the Guru’s mood.
True Gurus have the experiential knowledge of Bhagawan and this becomes an important lesson for the Sadhaka to receive. A disciple can at best know about God either through the words of a completely enlightened master or through the golden words of the scriptures, provided one has attained immense clarity and maturity through years of sadhana.
One has to remember that the ultimate object of devotion is Bhagawan. Many people get stuck to the Guru as a person and they cannot recognize the Guru-Tattva. This becomes a cause of bondage and stunting of spiritual progress. It stunts the spiritual growth of the Sadhaka.
Therefore, people who engage in Devata worship or hail their gurus without surrendering to Bhagawan do not qualify for liberation. Their allegiance to other powers keeps them away from the goal of Liberation. The Lord assures His devotees: “Those who surrender unto me, attain my eternal Abode without fail and are not subject to birth and death anymore.”
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