Gita Study Mumbai 2012 Gita 09.16-9.25 The Krishna factor in worship of the Universal Form and demigods

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Great.
Then we continue with the 9th chapter. We discussed elaborately 9.15 yesterday. So, we started with 9.10, which is a transition between knowledge about Krishna’s relationship with the material world, to knowledge about how different people with different interactions, with different inclinations, interact with Krishna.
So, 9.11 and 12 discussed the Mayavadis. 13, 14 discussed the devotees, their external and internal characteristics. And 15 discussed those who are intermediated in three categories.
They practise Jnana, Yajna, Ekatvena, Prataktvena Bahudha. Ekatvena are the Angropasakas. Prataktvena Bahudha are the Pratikopasakas.
And Vishvatomukham are the Vishvarupapasakas. So now, among these three categories, Krishna will elaborate elaborate the Vishvarupapasakas in the next four verses. So, Translation.
So, all these words have specific meanings. So, here, what does Chakravartipada explains that Kratu refers to the sacrifice mentioned in the Shrutis, like Agnishtoma. And Yajna, Aham Kratur, Aham Yajna.
Yajna, generally we refer to Yajna as all fire sacrifices. That is the understanding that we have currently. And that is fine.
But, within the fire sacrifices also, there are different categories of fire sacrifices. So, those which are in the, like we have a Prabhupada disciple, whose name is Kratu Prabhu. So, Kratu refers to the Shruti Vedic sacrifice, Shruti sacrifices.
The Yajna refers to the Smriti Vedic sacrifice. The example is the Vaishvadeva Homa. And then, Aushadham, normally we think of it as medicine.
But in this context, it refers not just to medicine, but there are medicinal herbs. And then, the food that is offered as Naiveda during the Yajna, then that is made from the medicinal herb that is called as Aushadhi. So, Aham Kratur, Aham Yajna, Swadham, Aham Aushadham.
So, Swadha refers to the offerings made to the ancestors. Like Shraddha is there, during that time we make some offerings. Swadham, Aham Aushadham.
Mantra, Mantra refers of course to the mantras that are chanted. So, the word Mantra also originally referred to the Rig Vedic verses. Now, Mantra refers to many, any sacred sound that is repeatedly chanted that is called as a Mantra.
So, the meanings of words change over time and this happens even in Sanskrit. So, Ijyam and Uttam. Ijyam is of course ghee.
So, Mantra, Aham Aham Evajyam, Aham Agnir, Aham Uttam. So, Aham Evajyam. So, I am the ghee that is offered.
So, in the Yajna, you saw the initiation ceremony, Yajna was performed. Of course, we don’t perform too many Yajnas over here. They are performed distributed.
But you have seen Yajnas, isn’t it? So, when Yajnas are performed, ghee is one of the oblations. But along with that, there are other things that are offered. So, for example, there was a Prabhupada disciple, when he was initiated, everybody was given bananas to offer.
The devotee took the banana and he was wondering when I am supposed to eat it. Before the fire sacrifice was started, the whole concept of food was it was meant to be eaten. And then he was wondering, the banana I am holding for a long time.
And then somebody said, put it in the fire. What? Why put it in the fire? But the idea is, is it just a waste that you put ghee and silk, sometimes silk and wheat and things like that in the fire? Actually, the idea is that which is dear to us, the fire represents the mouth of Vishnu. That which is dear to us, we offer that to the Lord.
The Lord doesn’t need anything. The Lord doesn’t need anything at all from us. But when we offer that which is dear to us to the Lord, actually by that offering, we give the Lord a place in our heart.
Because that object has a place in our heart. So, when we offer that to the Lord, what happens is, that place comes in our heart. That place is offered to the Lord in our heart.
So, the principle is of sacrifice over here. The principle is, certain things have to be sacrificed, which are dear to us. So, if you see the same Vedic tradition, which one says, offer silk, you know, it will also offer say something like, when people go to Tirupati Balaji, they offer their hair.
Now, hair is actually considered muchi. Hair is considered unclean. Then why should hair be offered at that time to Balaji? Why? Because although on one side, ghee is shuchi and hair is muchi, the principle is that we are attached to both.
So, when we offer, the principle is that we are attached to. If we offer that, then by that we become, we will go closer to Krishna. So, here the idea is that when ghee or other things are offered, so hutam refers to other oblations.
Oblations means that which is offered. So, all these are the traditional rituals that are performed and Krishna is saying that he is the, he is the, it is he who is manifested in those rituals. It is he who is manifested in those rituals.
Ultimately, it is he who is their objective. That he will mention a little later in the same chapter. I think 9.24 he will explain.
So, I’ll just discuss a theme over here. How personal, ok no, how Krishna’s position is revealed progressively in the Gita. That means, now if you see, do you think, is there any verse in the Gita which is similar to this verse, what we just now discussed, 9.24, 9.16. Actually it is 4.24 uses the word Brahma and the same theme is here, but the word used is Aham over here.
What is 4.24? Brahma Aarpanam Brahma Haver Brahma Agno Brahmana Hutham Brahma Iva Tena Gandhavyam Brahma Karma Samadhena So, it is a very Brahma creating verse, what it means. But the idea is, it is also talking about Yajna. Brahma Aarpanam, Brahma Haver, I am the fire, I am that which is offered, I am the person who is doing the offering.
So, there the focus is on Brahma and now here in 9.16, the focus has become Aham. So, initially, now it is understood that the whole sacrifice is spiritual. But what does it mean spiritual? Actually, ultimately it is manifestation of Krishna.
So, there is a progressive revelation. Yesterday I discussed a similar verse, where there is a more progressive revelation. Yes, we discussed 7.20, where the word Mahatma was there.
You remember? 7.19 So, now, there and then, yesterday we discussed on 9.40. The same theme is there, but it is elaborated. So, there, what was the word? Sarvamiti. So, Vasudeva Sarvamiti.
Now, somebody may say, ok, what is Vasudeva? Vasudeva can refer specifically to son of Vasudeva. Vasudeva can refer to, ok, some abstract, absolute truth also. So, there it was Vasudeva Sarvamiti.
9.40, what is it? So, they understand me. So, here mam is what? So, basically, that in 7.19, the absolute truth identified Vasudeva. Here, the absolute truth is identified with Krishna himself.
So, the same theme is carried forward. Another thing we discussed was in, if you remember, the same chapter earlier. In 8th chapter, it was said, in the verses 17 to 19, how the yugas, how universe is created and destroyed.
Yeah, but then 9.7, what happens? 9.7 to 9, it is said, the same theme is repeated, but it is said, all this happens under my control. So, what is happening over here? That which is general Vedic knowledge, how it is permeated with the devotional essence, that is being revealed. So, I am emphasising, I’ll repeat what is spoken over here, and then I’ll bring it to the floor.
See, in 4.24, the verse says that actually the yagya that is performed, all the aspects of yagya are spiritual. That is offered, the fire, just take it off the hook. The fire, everything that is offered is, all that is Brahman.
Just take it off the hook. Otherwise, somebody might call. This will start being a noise after a minute.
Just take off the, or below the phone, below the phone. So, there it was said that, all the parts of the yagya are Brahman. Which is fine, but what is Brahman? Now it is, all the parts of the yagya are me.
That means, Brahman is me. So, what is revealed over here is, in that progression, Brahman is equal to me, that is Krishna. So, for example, it is said that, this whole country is ruled by the Prime Minister.
That is said in one statement. And maybe, in that same article, it is said this whole country is ruled by, say, Manmohan Singh. Now, what will I conclude by that? Obviously, that the Prime Minister is Manmohan Singh.
So, the whole yagya is Brahman. And now it is said that actually, all the aspects of the yagya are me. Therefore, I am Brahman.
I am that absolute truth. So, the devotional specifics are becoming more and more clear. So, earlier I was telling how sometimes people object that Prabhupada gives Krishna and bhakti everywhere.
But what I had mentioned that time is that, actually Krishna is progressively revealing bhakti and himself more and more in the Gita. And towards the end, it will become explicit and emphatic. So, how that is happening, we are tracing in the Gita right now.
So, what Krishna had mentioned in generic way as Brahman, now he is telling in a more specific way as as me. So, here first, the absolute truth is called Vasudev. And now, that is referred to be as is me.
So, in case there is some ambiguity, who is that Vasudev? Because very clearly, it is me. It is Krishna. Similarly, here, in this section, universal controller is Krishna.
So, in this way, the Bhagavad Gita is making its devotional thought more and more as I said, explicit and emphatic. So, let’s move forward now. Is this clear? Any questions about this? Is what I am trying to say clear over here? So, let’s move to the next verse.
… … … … … … So, here, only three Vedas are mentioned. Why? The cha refers to the fourth Veda. Cha is Atharva.
So, cha is the fourth Veda over there. Now, this purport is a little confusing, if you just look at it literalistically. So, as such, these living entities who appear to be our father, mother, etc., are nothing but Krishna.
Not only are our father and mother parts and parcels of Krishna, but the creator, grandmother, grandfather are also Krishna. Also, actually, any living entity being part and parcel of Krishna is Krishna. So, now, Srila Prabhupada is here shifting between saying he is part and parcel of Krishna and is Krishna.
You are seeing this here? First he is saying the mother and father is Krishna and then he is saying mother and father are nothing but Krishna. Then he is saying mother and father being part and parcel of Krishna are Krishna. So, here, Srila Prabhupada is giving us a demonstration of Achaitya Veda.
So, at one level, there is Abhed, they are nothing but Krishna. But then he says, yes, they are parts and parcels. So, there is Bhed also.
So, actually speaking, this verse, how do we understand it? Pitamaham asya jagato, I am the father. And then he is saying I am the grandfather also. So, tell me, are you the father or are you the grandfather? So, actually, Krishna plays not just a single role, not just a double role.
Ultimately, he plays all roles. In the sense that anybody, whatever he is doing, that person is actually getting the power to do that from Krishna. So, you know, there is that famous verse in the 11th canto, that we have so many different debts, but one who surrenders to Lord Mukunda, then he becomes free from all the debts.
He doesn’t have any debt to the father, to the mother, to the ancestors, to the Rishis. Why is that? Because we have these debts to all these people because they have done something for us. But ultimately, it is not they who have done it.
It is Krishna who has done it through them. So, the mother may have given us breast milk, but the mother did not produce the breast milk. It is Krishna who made the breast milk in her breast and then through her he gave it.
So, when Krishna is saying, oh, Pitamata, I am all that, he is talking in an absolute sense over here. So, what is this whole section talking about? It is about Vishwaroopapasana. So, when we say Vishwaroopapasana, it is not just that, okay, you think of the Vishwa and think, okay, this is the eyes, the sun and the moon are the eyes, and this is the head, the mountains are the bones.
That is one way of Vishwaroopapasana. The other is to see everything as a manifestation of God. So, okay, I see the Yagya, I see everything in the Yagya as a manifestation of God.
Then I am surrounded by relatives, I see all my relatives, Mata, Pita, then Dhata, Nurse, and then my Grandfather, all of them are manifestations of Krishna. That means, in this way, I see the whole Vishwa as nothing but Krishna. So, this is also a kind of Vishwaroopapasana.
And then, there is the secular world and there is the religious world. Secular world means I have material relatives, mother, father, and then there is the religious world, there are religious rituals. So, all of them are Krishna.
And then here Krishna will move forward from here and he will say that actually, everything that gives us shelter and support in this world, I am that. This is the most broad verse. Gatirbharta Prabhusakshi, Gatirbharta Prabhusakshi, Nivasasharanamsurat, Nivasasharanamsurat, Prabhavapralayasthanam, Prabhavapralayasthanam, Nidhanambijamavyayam, Nidhanambijamavyayam.
Yes. So, Gati is goal or destination. Then, Bharta, if I have to go to a particular goal, that goal I have to go to is Krishna.
Fine. But is it that there is a prodigal son story is there? All of you know the prodigal son story, isn’t it? So, there the idea is when the father, when the son comes back, the father welcomes him very much. So, the father is the goal of the son.
And he is going back to the father. But actually, the reality, it is not that Krishna is only waiting to welcome us back in the spiritual world. Krishna is maintaining us along the journey back to the spiritual world also.
Now, Rohini Priya was today quoting, that was, Naivopayanti Apichitam, that actually, that if we consider how long, how much the Lord has been with us, tolerated our neglect and still works for our redemption, then we have to be forever grateful to Him singing His glories. So, somebody is neglected but still that person works for the welfare of another. That is quite rare.
So, He is our Bharata right now also. He is not just our destination, Gartir Bharata. And He is, what is our relationship with Him? He is our Prabhu, He is our Master.
And then whatever we do, He is the Sakshi. He is watching our misdeeds and misdeeds, watching our pleasures and pains. Then, Nivasah Sharanam Suhrut.
So, what is the difference between Nivas and Sharanam? Actually, Nivas is an external shelter. Sharanam is an internal shelter. Nivas means, okay, I am staying in this particular place.
Aapka Nivasasthan kaha hai? Where do you stay? So, okay, I stay in the temple at 7K Munshi Mark. So, that is the address. So, Nivas refers to the external staying place.
Sharanam refers to the internal shelter that we have. And why is Krishna our Sharanam? Because He is Suhrut. He is our closest friend, greatest well-wisher.
So, where does the word Suhrut come famously? Yeah, 5.29. It also comes again in 6.9. Suhrut Mitra Rehu Dasinam Adhyastha Dvesha Bandhushu. This is the third time this verse occurs now. Now, Prabhava Pralayasthanam.
That means, Prabhava, so, okay, His whole material existence is there. I am the beginning of it, I am the middle of it, I am the end of it. So, Prabhava is the beginning, Pralaya is the end.
And Sthanam is the middle, you know, that G-O-D, it is sometimes called as generator, organiser, destroyer. So, the concept of God as a destroyer may not be very easy to digest for people. We’ll discuss about that more in the Virata Rupa chapter, because that shows God as a destroyer.
But Nidhanam. So, now, Nidhanam, it can mean many things. Prabhava takes that as resting place.
Chakravarthi path says that Nidhi, Nidhi means treasure. Nidhanam means I am the ultimate treasure. So, there can be many meanings.
Beejam Avayam. So, this is special. There are many beejas.
But normally speaking, when a beej gives a tree, the beej gets destroyed. Beej gets exhausted. But Krishna is a beej who gives many trees and still remains as He is.
That is Beejam Avayam. So, Om Purnam Adah Purnam Purnat Purnam Udachyate. Purnasya Purnam Ayadaya Purnam Evavashishyate.
So, although many things come out of Him, still He remains the same. So, that is hinted at in Beejam Avayam. So, this is actually that means whatever we connect with in this world.
In this world, I have a destination. I have a sustainer. I have a home.
I have an internal shelter. I have a witness. I have a friend.
I have my life as beginning, middle and end. So, all that is Krishna’s. So, in this way, we see our whole existence as permeated with Krishna.
So, now what is Krishna telling by all this? See, Krishna is not giving here simply an analysis of Vishwaroopapasana. That is already known in the Vedic culture. Krishna is showing how within the Vishwaroopapasana, one should see Him everywhere.
So, Vishwaroopapasana means to see nature and to conceptualise. There is some God whose body is the universe. But who is that God? They don’t know.
To show that actually, I am that Absolute Truth. He is not just teaching Vishwaroopapasana over there. He is teaching how through the Vishwaroopapasana one should connect with Him as the Absolute Truth.
Then, TAPAMYAHAM VARSHAM TAPAMYAHAM VARSHAM NIGRUNAMI UTSRUJAMICHA NIGRUNAMI UTSRUJAMICHA AMRUTAM JAIVAM RATHYUSHCHA AMRUTAM JAIVAM RATHYUSHCHA Oh Arjuna, I give you and I report and send forth the rain. So, the first and second lines here refer to how Krishna is the ultimate controller of all universal controllers. I give heat, I withhold.
I give rains, I withhold. So, basically, what he is saying is, there are, we know there are devatas, there is Surya and there is Indra and others who are in charge. Krishna is saying that actually, ultimately, I am in charge of all of it.
And what does AMRUTAM JAIVAM RATHYUSHCHA refer to? Krishna has already hinted that roughly in the earlier chapter in 8.4 and 5. So, it says, for those who remember me, I am immortality. For those who forget me, I am death. This was talking about two contradictory things.
Till now, what was talked about was not contradictory. I am the father, I am the mother, I am the destination. AMRUTAM JAIVAM RATHYUSHCHA.
So, I am death and I am immortality also. So, for those who want to stay attached to material existence when their body gets sick and weak, Krishna comes at death and takes them to another body so that they can continue on their fantasies about material enjoyment. And for those who are fed up with material enjoyment and become devoted to him, Krishna comes and then takes them back to the spiritual world.
So, depending on our desires, depending on our orientation, Krishna can become as immortality and Krishna can become death. What is Prabhupada’s example for this? Death comes as Krishna, yeah. Death comes as Krishna and Krishna comes as death.
This is for a kitten, the cat is, cat’s mouth is love. And for a rat, the cat’s mouth is death. So, like that.
AMRUTAM JAIVAM RATHYUSHCHA. Now, this word sadhasad has attracted a huge amount of commentaries from the Acharyas. What does this refer to? So, we will not go into that.
We will just focus on what Prabhupada takes over here. So, sadhasad refers to spirit, asad refers to matter. And I am matter and spirit.
How? Both are my energies. Krishna has talked about this in 7.4 and 5. Sadhasad cha hamarjuna. So, now, after talking about, in four verses, 16, 17, 18 and 19, he has talked about vishwaroopapasana and how to see, not just vishwaroopapasana, but how to see him as the ultimate goal of vishwaroopapasana.
Now, Krishna will, from verses 20 to 28, will compare demigod worship and his worship. Actually, it is not exactly a comparison of demigod worship and his worship. That he has already done in the 7th chapter.
You remember? Antavattu param tesham tat bhavaty alpamehitasam. 7.20 to 23, he has already compared this. Here, what he will do is something more.
So, here, I will just talk about this one. So, 7.22 to 23, what he is talking? Krishna worship is better than demigod worship. You remember this? Tat bhavaty alpamehitasam.
They are less intelligent. But now, here, when Krishna will say that, from here, we will talk from 9.20 to 9.28, here, there will be an additional theme. Demigod worship is also ultimately meant for me.
So, Krishna is in this 9th chapter. What he is doing? He is revealing the hidden connection of him with everything. So, he is revealing that over here.
This is also hinted in the 7th chapter. But here, it will be made more clear. But, my direct worship is much better.
So, we will see how and why it is better. So, let’s start with this. So, in this section, Krishna will tell that how the demigod worship is ultimately meant for me, but people don’t know about it.
And that’s why they worship the demigods separately from me. But it is ultimately meant for me. Then, should somebody just keep doing demigod worship only and ultimately thinking it will go to Krishna? No, that is not advised.
Why? We will discuss that now. So, the key word in this verse is maam. The first line, third word.
So, the remaining is actually just a description of the process of the Vedic sacrifice. This is talking about Karmakand. So, what happens? They do yajna, and they are not desiring to come to me.
That is for what? They are doing prarthana to get swarga. And they will go to when they acquire adequate punya, they will go to Surendra Lokam. Surendra is Indra.
So, this is the only reference to Indra in the whole Bhagavad Gita directly. Actually, the word Indra is also related with the word Indriya. Because Indra is very expert at Indriya Sukh.
So, Indra and Indriya are related that way. So, Surendra Lokam. So, they will attend Indra’s abode.
And They will enjoy a lot of pleasure over here. So, now, the word Divya doesn’t always mean transcendental. Divya, in English, there are two words.
There is celestial and there is transcendental. Celestial, okay, I’ll just write it. I’ll explain this.
So, semantics refer to meanings of words. So, there are many semantics subtleties which you have to be careful of. So, broadly, there are these four levels.
Transcendental, Celestial, Terrestrial and Subterranean. So, Transcendental refers to the spiritual world. Celestial refers to the heavens.
Terrestrial refers to the earth. Subterranean refers to the hells. Now, the word Divya, it just broadly refers to higher.
Something connected with the higher reality. So, now, what it specifically refers to, so, for example, in 4.9, that is the most famous verse where this occurs. What is 4.9? Anyone remembers? Janma karma chame Divyam.
So, there Divya refers to transcendental or, as you said, divine. But the divine word is also a little ambiguous. It can refer to gods also.
And here, in this particular verse, 9.20, Divyam, what does this refer to? It simply refers to celestial. So, basically, any higher realm. So, above the earth is celestial and transcendental.
So, Prabhupada translates here as Divyam is celestial delights. And he uses that in the word-to-word translation and in the literal translation he uses godly delights. So, they don’t enjoy transcendental pleasures in heaven.
They are celestial pleasures. So, Krishna is telling the crux of this verse is what? Okay, you do Yajna, you go to heavens by doing Punya and enjoy. But, actually, Trayvidya mam somapapudpapa.
So, actually, they are worshipping me. Their prarthana is for me. But they don’t know this.
They themselves don’t know this. And then what happens to them? They will go to swarga. Somebody may say that, okay, I’m worshipping Krishna indirectly, ultimately.
When I’m worshipping the demi-god also. Now, what is the problem? There is a problem. That he’ll describe in the next verse.
te tam bhuktva swarga lokam vishalam swarga lokam vishalam shreene punye martilokam vishanti shreene punye martilokam vishanti evam traidharma manu prapanna evam traidharma manu prapanna gatagatam kama kama labhante gatagatam kama kama labhante So, Krishna is still emphasising. What happens? swarga shreene punye When the punya gets over, they fall back. So, it’s like somebody works and earns money and goes to a hill station to enjoy.
When the enjoyment is over, he has to come back again. shreene punye and evam traidharmam traidharmam refers to the dharma given in the three Vedas. anu prapanna, one follows that gatagatam comes and goes.
kama kama So, kama kama is the kama kama, one who desires, desires. One who desires mortal enjoyment. The same word came in 2.70 apurya manamachala pratishtham samudra maapapravashanti yathvat tadvat kamayam pravishanti sarve What was the last line? na kama kami So, kama kama.
Krishna told that don’t become a kama kami. But now what is he saying over here? One who becomes kama kami gatagatam. This person continues on the cycle of birth and death.
So, after describing this now he will describe that contrast this with his devotees. What are the results the devotees get? ananyas chintayanto mam tesham nityabhi yuktanam tesham nityabhi yuktanam So, here they say you go to heaven but you lose everything. You just fall back helplessly.
So, clearly if you understand the Vedic scriptures they say that devatas are amara. Krishna is saying it’s not amara. Repeated references are there.
But here whatever you have, it will be preserved and whatever you need, it will be provided. So, in this way Krishna gives a very direct personal assurance. All of us know this story.
Vahamyaham. I personally provide. So, that is a very intimate and reassuring verse that of Krishna’s personal intervention and protection in the life of a devotee.
Krishna Prabhupada writes that in one of his purport that a preacher of Krishna consciousness should not be afraid because he is never unprotected. Wherever he goes in the world he is always, Krishna is there to protect him. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu when he was going towards South India he was going you know at that time Bengal was under Muslim rule, Orissa was under Hindu rule.
There were perpetual conflicts between the two. So, when he was going along the area so he was going through a boat and in that boat he started dancing and the boat started rocking and the boatman got frightened not only because of his dancing that boat may capsize but also that he said there are bandits in that area and not only bandits there are soldiers of the king in that area. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said that actually where a Sankirtan is performed, first Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did not pay any attention but finally when the devotees stopped Kirtan, then Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s ecstasy stopped and he came out and said why did you stop Kirtan? He said no this boat may capsize.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said why are you afraid? He said where the Kirtan is going on, the lord is personally there with the Sudarshan Chakra to protect. So, similarly it is said that Ambarish Maharaj we still see that when Ambarish Maharaj is in danger the Sudarshan Chakra came to protect. That doesn’t mean that we deliberately go into danger that is we are not performing devotional service.
It is not that somewhere riots are going on. We deliberately go and Kirtan is over there just to we are not there to demonstrate we are not to brag about our fearlessness. We have to see how best we can do service but while we are doing service we understand that Krishna protects always so that protection may sometimes be at a material level, sometimes be at a material and transcendental level sometimes may be only at a transcendental level but the principle is that the protection will always be there and here we can take this at a material level also but the primary emphasis of this verse is at a transcendental level that whatever, even the Punya when a person goes to Swarga and comes back he can’t take any even, he cannot carry any material wealth with him but even the Punya gets over Punya is not a gross wealth, it is subtle wealth and that will get over but the Bhakti, it will always stay it will always stay so now Krishna will carry this further the same theme and these two are very important verses to understand the connection between the Devi God worship and His worship … … … … … so, there is a popular Hindu website which use the Bhagavad Gita and there they have translated this verse without the last line that means those who worship the other gods, they also worship me only now if you look at the context the most emphatic part is the very last line I will explain why, let us recite the next verse then we will be able to understand why there is such an egregious neglect to omit that part … … … … … … … … … … … … … … so, if you see what is the flow in these verses you understand that and we will see what is Krishna trying to say over here so, I am just paraphrasing the verses … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … So, that yajantya abhidhipurvakam is an extremely important factor which explains the difference in the results.
So, earlier if you remember, in the explanation of 9.12, mokhasha, mokha karmano, mokha jnana, so what was the problem for all these people? They misunderstood Krishna’s form to be material. And that’s why they fell away. Similarly, here, here they are not misunderstanding Krishna’s form to be material, but they are not understanding Krishna’s position as the supreme, as the ultimate yajnebhukta.
And because they don’t understand Krishna as the ultimate yajnebhukta, what happens? They also fall back. Of course, they don’t go to rakshasi, asuri, chaiva, like there, they just fall back in material existence. So, now, to elaborate this, let me make one more point, then I’ll have question and answers.
So, conceptions about Krishna of demigod worshippers, so, or rather I’ll just make it, conceptions of demigod worshippers. What all conceptions the demigod worshippers can have, you know, the demigod is the absolute truth. You know, he is the supreme.
That is one conception that they can have. Another conception that they can have is demigod is one among many gods, with no one as supreme. Demigod is a symbol of Brahman.
Then, demigod is a representative and devotee of Krishna. So, now, let us look at this conception. So, this is pashandi.
Pashandi is often. What is the verse? Anyone remembers? From the Padma Purana, Prabhupada often quotes that verse. yas tu brahma rudrādhi devataṁ samatvenaiva pasheta cha pashandi bhavedruvam yas tu nārāyaṇa devaṁ brahma rudrādhi devataṁ samatvenaiva vikṣeta cha pashandi bhavedruvam One who thinks that actually these other gods, they are supreme or they are equal to Krishna, they are equal to Nārāyaṇa, they are pashandis.
So, this is the Hindu karma kāṇḍi idea. Sunday you worship one god, Monday you worship another god, Tuesday you worship another god. So, is there any supreme? I don’t know who is supreme.
It doesn’t matter to me. Whether I get what I want, that is what matters to me. This is the idea.
Then, this was talked of as, in 9.415 as pratikopasana. And this is what say the Gopīs did or Gopīs worship of Katyāyana. So, the fourth is acceptable.
But the earlier three are not acceptable. So, they will not lead to any specific result. Now, in between, so now, these particular people who are worshipping demigods, what will happen to them? Krishna will explain that they will not get the eternal result.
Why? Because they are not seeing the Krishna connection. So, if one sees the Krishna connection and worships the demigods, so that one can ultimately attain Krishna’s feet, then that is fine. But if one is not having that goal, so, yes, demigod worship is also worship of Krishna.
So, there is that verse, what is that? It says that when a drop of water falls from the sky, then all the drops of the water go to the ocean. Something like that the verse is. Now, first of all, what is just as a drop of water falls from the ocean, it goes to the ocean.
So, in the sky it falls to the ocean. So, like that, whichever God you offer obeisances, ultimately the obeisances go to Lord Narayana. And Krishna confirms that, yes, they are also worshipping me.
But Vishwanath Chaturthi takes this analogy and he says, yes, their worship goes to Krishna, but the worshipper doesn’t go to Krishna. So, why is that? Because the worshipper doesn’t know Krishna. The worshipper is not devoted to Krishna.
And that’s why the worshipper will not go to Krishna. So, if it were all just normal, then Krishna wouldn’t have to say, yantya vidhi purvakam. But all worshippers don’t go to Krishna.
And this is talked about in, as stated in the next verse, 9.25. So, in 9.25, first line is referring to goodness. Yanti deva vrata devan. Worship of the ancestors is in passion.
Worship of the ghosts is in ignorance. And worship of Krishna is transcendental. So, that’s how this verse is.
It’s saying that different paths lead to different results. This is a very strong verse as far as that is concerned. Different paths lead to different results.
Because different paths are taken up by people with different modes. And accordingly, they will get the results. So, let us revisit the verse over here where we are discussing the flow.
So, here what was happening in this verse, if you saw, the conclusion is, met different destinations. So, all the demigod worshippers are also worshipping me. But depending on who is the intermediate object of worship, accordingly they will get the result.
They will not get the result of worshipping me. So, matra deva bhava, yes, the mother is also Krishna. The father is also Krishna.
But how is that Krishna? If they connect us with Krishna. But if somebody just keeps worshipping the mother and father, and serving the mother and father, will they come to me? Will they come to Krishna? No. Because it is not just that the mother and father is a representative of Krishna.
There are two issues over there. Is the mother and father linking us with Krishna? And are we linking the mother and father with Krishna? So, only when both are there, then our worship becomes linked with Krishna. So, I will explain this once again.
I will talk with demigod and come to father. I am here. The demigod worshipper is here.
And Krishna is here. So, in a sense, the demigod is in an intermediate hierarchy between me and Krishna. I am in the terrestrial realm.
The demigod is in the celestial realm. Krishna is in the transcendental realm. Like that.
So, I could say that the demigod can act as a link between me and Krishna. Let me take it like this. Here, terrestrial, I am here.
Celestial, the demigods are there. And the transcendental, Krishna is there. So, the demigods could act as a link between me and Krishna.
But for that linkage to happen, two things have to happen. First is that the demigod should link me with Krishna. The demigod should tell me about Krishna.
And secondly, I should be able to see the link between the demigod and Krishna. I should understand that the demigod is a representative of Krishna, is a devotee of Krishna. So, if you see, when the gopis are worshipping Krishna, Katyayani, what is their understanding? They are able to see that Katyayani by this worship.
So, basically, it’s like, you could put it this way now. I can establish a Krishna connection through like this, like this. You know, I can go to the demigod and through the demigod to Krishna.
Otherwise, I can go to Krishna directly. Now, Krishna is saying that if, what the 24th verse is saying is, that if you don’t know the connection between the demigod and me, then what is going to happen? You will not move forward. Then this will give you one destination and this will give you another destination.
So, the important thing is, so, if I am connecting with the demigod, I am connecting with Krishna. They will give different results because what is my consciousness? What is my conception? So, now, if through that connection with the demigod, I become connected with Krishna, then that is anukul to my bhakti. So, now, we may say that we worship the spiritual master, we do guru puja.
But why don’t we worship the demigods? Because, firstly, the spiritual master is directly connected with Krishna. Have the demigods connected with Krishna? No. The spiritual master is playing a formative role in connecting us with Krishna.
So, the spiritual master is a devotee of Krishna, demigod is a devotee of Krishna. But has the demigod played the specific role of connecting us with Krishna? Unlikely. Therefore, we don’t necessarily have to worship the demigod.
We respect the demigod. So, Krishna is sitting over here. If this connection is there, then it is progressive.
Otherwise, it is avidhi purvakam. Why avidhi purvakam? Because you will go up to here and you will come back. Go up, go up, come back.
Here only. So, on the other hand, if you just do like this, you will become transcendental. You will attain eternal destination.
Is this clear? Yes, we had a question. Okay. So, the question is, those who know about Krishna supremacy, then why do they have to approach demigods to attain Krishna? So, this could be in two different situations.
For the gopis, actually, it is an expression of their desperation to get Krishna. That somehow or the other we want to attain Krishna. And in vraja leela, Krishna doesn’t directly play the role of being supreme.
Krishna is in that leela playing the role of a cowherd boy. And the vrajavasis, if they are in Vrindavan, they are not worshipping Krishna as God. So, then is the whole vraja community atheistic if they are not worshipping Krishna as God? No, it is a part of traditional Vedic culture.
So, they also have demigod worship. But the demigod worship is ultimately intended for Krishna. So, I will explain this further.
In general, demigod worship is not explicitly disapproved or rejected in the Vedic literature. It is subordinated to the worship of Krishna. If you read the Mahabharata itself, we may find that Drupada, in order to get Dhristadyumna and Draupadi, worshipped Shiva.
Nothing is considered wrong about that. But Drupada is also depicted as quite a learned soul whom Krishna respects and who knows Krishna’s supreme position also. So, for that matter, I mentioned earlier that, after Krishna finishes speaking the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna, Arjuna is ready to fight the war.
Krishna tells Arjuna, Arjuna, offer prayers to the Devi. By the worship of the Devi, then you will attain victory in the battle. And Arjuna actually offers prayers to the Devi.
And the Devi appears. Yes, I bless you that you will attain success. And actually your success is guaranteed because Lord Vasudev is right next to you.
So, now we may get confused. What is this going on? Actually, in the Mahabharata, bhakti is ultimately taught. But primarily, the Mahabharata is demonstrating Karmakanda.
So, Karmakanda means that actually the demigods have to be worshipped. So, demigod worship is not rejected. It is subordinated.
It is subordinated. But if you look at overall the cultural context, there is overall clear understanding of who is supreme and what is the ultimate destination. But historically speaking, over a period of time, as the people became more and more confused, the acharyas responded in different ways.
So, Ramanacharya went to Sri Akshayanand, I know Sri Vaishnavacharya. He had invited me for one of his conferences. So, he will go to a Catholic church to give talks.
He will go to a Muslim mosque to give talks. He will not enter a Shiva temple. And what is the logic for that? Even the Chetan Charitamuru that comes over there, that, you know, Ramacharya is in Puri, and he says, oh, why are these clothes starched for him? And it becomes a little offensive.
So, it is said that Lord Jagannath slaps him. And when he is slapped, he just flies off and he finds himself in some other place. And he wakes up and he thinks, oh, I am in a Shiva temple.
And he thinks, oh, by entering a Shiva temple, I have committed an offence to my Lord Vishnu. And because I have committed an offence, therefore I need to fast. And he starts fasting as a penance for having entered a Shiva temple.
And then when he observes carefully, he finds that is Kurma Dev. That is Kurma Dev. Now, then he becomes very happy and starts worshipping Kurma Dev.
Now you wonder, is it an offence to enter a Shiva temple? No, at that time, there was so much religious fanaticism. Actually, Kuresh, he was blinded by whom? It was not the Muslims. It was by a Vedic king.
But Kulatanga, he was not a Mleccha. He was a fanatical worshipper of Shiva. So, can you imagine that there are Vaishnavas and Shaivites, and Shaivite is ready to blind not just a Vaishnava but a Vaishnava saint.
Anybody could have seen that? Kuresh and Mahapurna. So, there has been religious fanaticism. So, the Acharya has responded to that by saying that, Okay, so Ramacharya said, there is no worship of other gods.
Focus only on Krishna worship. And he said that, I am Vishnu worshipper, Krishna worshipper. And he basically had the conception that actually don’t.
You know, entering into, he says, that they give the idea that, just as a wife is married to a husband, she is not going to the house of another man. So, like that, we are devoted to Narayan, so he is our husband, he is our pati. So, we are not going to the house of another god.
So, now, is this a valid analogy? In one sense, it’s fine. It’s not that, if we see from the point of absolute perspective, Shiva is not a competitor to Narayan. Shiva is a servant of Narayan.
But, if there is a polarised religious context, where there is a religious fanaticism, then, say, Shiva and Vishnu become competitors in the people’s eyes for their devotion. And that’s why people say, Okay, no, don’t go there. So, Ramacharya responds like that.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, if he says, he would go to Shiva temple. And he would, by saying, there is a Shiva sthakam, which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has composed that, and he is glorifying Shiva as a great devotee. In that Shiva sthakam.
Even Rupa Goswami, in the Bhakti Samasindhu, says that we should worship Lord Ganesha. But in Prabhupada, responding to another historical circumstance, he said that there is so much confusion, if we as devotees start worshipping demigods, then there will be so much confusion. So, avoid that.
So, I gave now three examples. No, four examples. One from Mahabharata, one from Ramacharya’s life, one from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and his successor’s life.
And one from Prabhupada’s life. You know, Prabhupada, there was one devotee who wrote to Prabhupada. Prabhupada, in Bhakti Samasindhu, he said, Ganesh can be worshipped.
So, can I worship Ganesh? So, Bhujan Prabhu writes this, and my glorious master, he says, yes, you can worship if you give me something like, hundred thousand dollars every month. So, why Prabhupada says that? Basically, to discourage him from worshipping. Discourage him from worshipping.
So, now, if you look at these four circumstances, Mahabharata, demigod worship, I will just, this is an important point, I will quickly write it down, and we will have other questions in the evening class. Let’s finish this. Changing historical attitudes towards demigod worship.
So, Mahabharata, it is okay. Ramacharya, no. It’s unchastity.
Drupada worships Shiva, and Arjuna worships Devi. So, Ramacharya fasts in Kurma temple, thinking it to be Shiva temple. Then, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, can you worship demigods? Yes, if you understand them as devotees.
Example, composing Sivastakam, and, you see, during the travels of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, it is described that he will go to Shiva temples also. Oh, interesting. So, if you understand that demigod worshippers, to be actually, ultimately devotees of Krishna, then we can take that as prasada, otherwise there will be confusion.
And now, Srila Prabhupada, it will be confusing. Srila Prabhupada did not say it’s unchastity. He said it will be confusing.
Don’t do that. So, basically, what the Vedic scriptures, they are not completely rejecting demigod worship. They subordinate it.
And how much is it to be allowed in a particular situation, that will vary upon the Acharya, according to the time, place, circumstance. Can we talk in the evening class? It’s already time, we are already more than late. So, if you have any questions on this, we will start the evening class with the questions.
So, you can note down the questions and we will continue. It’s a very important topic. We are going much deeper into demigod worship and trying to understand how devotees have approached it at different times.