Are demigods and demons present in the spiritual world?
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Question from Anantavallabh Prabhu, Srimad Bhagavatam 2.9.10, translation. In that personal abode of the Lord, the material mode of ignorance and passion do not prevail. Nor is there any of their influence in goodness.
There is no predominance of the influence of time. So what to speak of the illusory external energy? It cannot enter that region. Without discrimination, both the demigods and the demons worship the Lord as devotees.
So the question is based on this translation. In the abode of the Lord, we have heard that there are no demons. But how to understand the translation where it says that both the demigods and the demons worship the Lord as devotees.
Even Srila Prabhupada doesn't say anything about this point in the purport. Answer, the spiritual abode is the abode for performing pastimes, for leela. And whatever is required for the leela is arranged by the Lord.
So we know that, for example, Lord's body is not material. But in the material world, when the Lord manifested and Bhishma shot arrows at Lord Krishna's body, then there were apparently blood marks over there. So where did the wounds and blood, how did it come from? That was just there to enhance the rasa.
The virya rasa that was being exchanged between Bhishma and Lord Krishna. Similarly, just as in the material world when the Lord descends, he manifests whatever is required for enriching and embellishing the reciprocations between him and his devotees. Similarly, in the spiritual world, whatever is required is manifested by the Lord.
So now, as far as Vrindavan is concerned, we are talking about Goloka Vrindavan, the spiritual world, the prajavasis don't worship Krishna as God there. They certainly love Krishna as the very life of their lives. But at the same time, they don't worship Krishna.
So then, if they are not worshipping Krishna as God, then are they worshipping somebody as God? Or is Goloka Vrindavan like an atheistic society where there is no worship of God? No, obviously not. It's not an atheistic society. So there, whatever is required for the performance of the pastimes of the vrajavasis as cowherd men and as cowherd villagers is there.
So it is described in our Gaudiya Vaishnava literature that Nanda Maharaj has his own deities. He doesn't worship the deity of Krishna. He has the deity of Narasimhadev, whom he prays to for protection of Krishna.
And similarly, there is the awareness of the various devatas. So, for example, Ananda Vachampu describes that when Krishna was caught in the coils of Kaliya, at that time all the vrajavasis started chanting the names of Shiva. And they started rushing towards the banks of the Yamuna river where Kaliya had captured and confined Krishna.
Now, obviously, vrajavasis are not Shiva bhaktas, they are Krishna bhaktas. But in that particular situation, they spontaneously called out to Shiva. Now, they know that Krishna is supreme, but the rasa is such that because they do not consider Krishna as supreme, so they feel that we have to invoke someone else's blessings.
Someone else has to protect Krishna. We will try to protect Krishna, but when the dangers are so great that we cannot protect Krishna, then what? So, we know in the Krishna book and in the 10th canto it is described that how Ishwadamayi would apply a Vishnu tilak on the body of Krishna so that Krishna would be protected from inauspiciousness. So, just as the vrajavasis may invoke Vishnu's presence, they may also invoke Shiva's presence.
The idea is that they are just focusing on the service of Krishna. And they want to have everything best for Krishna. They want Krishna to be safe, to be happy, to have the best of everything.
So, this is from the vrajavasis' point of view. From their point of view, they do call out to the devatas, not so that they can get some material benefits. They are in the spiritual world and they have nothing to do with anything material.
But to be able to enter deeper into a relationship with Krishna, whatever is required, they have that. And they even use the standard forms of the Vedic culture, like worship of Vishnu and worship of other devatas, as means of deepening their devotion to the Supreme Lord. So, this is with respect to the vrajavasis' conceptions.
Now, what about independent of their conceptions, what is the objective reality? Are there demigods there in the spiritual world? Are there demons there actually in the spiritual world or not? So, firstly, when the Bhagavad Gita gives us sentences by negation, we have to understand what the context and the purpose of the negation is. For example, the Bhagavad Gita says in 15.6, नतद्भासयते सूर्यो यशिषान्कोलपावकहा यद्गत्वान्निवर्तुन्ते धावपर्मंमम यदादित्यगतम्तेजो The sky which has come in, in which the sun is there, the sun is illuminating the whole world. So, the sun illuminates the whole world in material existence.
But there is no such dependence on the sun in the spiritual world. Similarly, Krishna says in that verse that there is no moon and there is no fire also. At the same time, if you look at the Raas Leela, the Raas Leela is performed when the moon is there.
When the full moon comes, that's why Krishna performs the Raas Leela. So, now the Bhagavad Gita is saying that there is no moon and the Bhagavatam clearly says that when the full moon rises, then Krishna performs the Raas Leela. So, how do we reconcile this? What we understand is the Bhagavad Gita is helping us understand ourselves better.
So, basically, in the material world, there is the requirement for the sun or the moon because they provide light, otherwise it's dark. So, when Krishna says that there is no sun or moon in the spiritual world, what it means is that because everything is self-luminous over there, there is no dependence on them. But they are there to play their roles and enhance the pastimes of the Lord.
So, Chandra is very much there in the Raas Leela pastime, in the daavan and other pastimes also. And if Chandra is there, Chandradev will also be there. And if Chandradev is there, then Suryadev is also there, in the sense that Suryadev, it is described in the 10th Canto, how the Gopis are discussing that the sun is shoring down, it's sending down its hot rays, and the clouds are competing to offer themselves as an umbrella to Krishna and to shield himself from the discomforting effects of that sunlight.
The point is the sun is there, if you look at descriptions like this. So, the essential point of the difference between the material and the spiritual world is that there is no ignorance. There is no misdirection of desires.
But when we say the spiritual world is a reflection of the spiritual world, then in principle, whatever are the broad details that are present in the reflection need to be present in the reality. So, the spiritual reality is endlessly fascinating. And that fascination in spiritual reality is revealed in the Vedic scriptures.
And by understanding this reality, we will understand that even demigods are there. So, demigods, they are not specifically made to do particular administrative functions. It's not that the sun is needed to give light or Indra is needed to give rains.
But whoever are required for enhancing the pastimes of the Lord, they are manifest over there. So, similarly, what about demons? There are different accounts given over there. Actually speaking, in some places, especially in the Bhagavata Amrit, it is indicated that there is not only the fear of the demons, but there are also demons there.
But the demons don't destroy or kill anybody. Before they can kill, Krishna comes as an excuse and makes the whole pastime free, refreshable. Krishna, at least in the first pastime that he speaks, So, therefore, the important point to recognize over here is that whichever devatas are required for Krishna's pastime, then whichever demons are required, they are not exactly in demoniac roles where they will be devouring and killing people in the spiritual world.
Everybody is eternal over there. But to bring about the rasa of horror and fear, bhaya and bhyankar or bhyanaka, so how will those rasas come about? So, those rasas come out. So, in the Brihad Bhagavata Amrit, there are some verses which seem to indicate that they are not just rumors of demons in the spiritual world, there may be demons also.
But those demons don't kill. Those demons just create the circumstances necessary for the rasa. And that is the way they are serving Krishna.
So, that's why Prabhupada is saying over there that when the demigods or demons are serving as devotees, that means the demigods and demons are actually present there forever and they are as devotees, they are playing, they are actually devotees, but they are playing the roles of demons and demigods over there. That is how we understand the statement. Everything in the spiritual world is meant for enhancing rasa and certain roles are given, just like we have Jatila and Kutila, who are apparently hostile to Krishna, who criticize Krishna and they create obstacles for Krishna, but through that they are enhancing the rasa.
That is of course very lofty. But similarly, in a small way, the demigods as well as demons also, by their presence and their service, enhance the rasa in the spiritual world. Thank you.