Understanding Hiranyakashipu’s Rise To Power

"In one who has unflinching devotional faith in Krishna, all the good qualities of Krishna and the demigods are consistently manifest." (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 5.18.12)

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यस्यास्ति भक्तिर् भगवत्य् अकिञ्चना
सर्वैर् गुणैस् तत्र समासते सुराः
हराव् अभक्तस्य कुतो महद्-गुणा
मनोरथेनासति धावतो बहिः

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā
manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ

How could such a bad person rise to power? It is said in Shrimad Bhagavatam that a person who has unflinching faith in the Supreme Lord, the personal God, automatically acquires the qualities of the demigods. Typically, the requirement is to first behave in the mode of goodness, sattva-guna. Something like the, “If you’re good you go to heaven,” model, there are delineated acts of charity, sacrifice, and austerity that accumulate pious credits, like in a bank account, to be redeemed at a later date.

Hiranyakashipu fell into neither category. He wasn’t a devotee of the Supreme Lord. Just the opposite. He had such hostility that his mind was always focused on Vishnu, the person he considered to be the greatest enemy. The drive for world domination was an attempt to hopefully thwart any future competition from the person everyone else worshiped.

The leader of the Daityas engaged in austerity, but it wasn’t in the mode of goodness. The purpose of supplicating the creator, Lord Brahma, was for receiving boons in order to increase strength. It is something like a salesperson flattering a potential customer. Once the sale is made, there is no need for further communication. The nice words were kind of a ruse, a ploy to gain a favor.

Does Hiranyakashipu’s ascent to the heavenly realm, his forced entry into the kingdom of the leaders of the suras, Indra, indicate a flaw in the system? Is pious behavior really not worth it? Maybe every person’s lot in life is randomly determined?

A fictional account of a real-world scenario helps to provide some clarity. Suppose that a person illegally enters a store. They do so in the middle of the night, when no one is there. This is an intelligent strike. The thief has visited the store previously, gathering valuable intelligence. They know that at this moment the proprietor is away on vacation for a few weeks.

They sit themselves behind the desk in the office of the owner. When the next business day rolls around, the employees are surprised to see the new person. “Don’t worry,” the thief says. “I am the brother of such and such. He left me in charge for a while. I will be overseeing the operation.”

The employees didn’t know that the owner had a brother. They are skeptical, but they go along. They provide the sensitive information of the business to the thief. The veritable goldmine of the bank account numbers and the accounts receivable – the goal is to take everything from the owner.

In this situation has the thief really become the owner? Have they risen to power? Have they taken what doesn’t belong to them? Perhaps for a while, but eventually something will go wrong. The original owner will return from vacation. If interference measures go into place, then one of the employees is likely to find out. If not, then the authorities will likely notice the forgeries. The idea is that something in the system will break down.

With Hiranyakashipu it looked like nothing would work. All aspects were covered, or at least the king thought. He didn’t count on Vishnu’s intelligence to directly interfere in the matter. Hiranyakashipu would be done in by one of his sons, of all people. That boy had the unflinching devotion mentioned previously. Right from the time of birth, Prahlada lived a life of bhakti, connected in yoga to the Supreme Lord. The situation was corrected, dispelling the temporary illusion of the worst character in the world somehow succeeding in his sinful ways.

In Closing:

To status of demigods to rise,

By one in sattva-guna tries.

Easier when in bhakti-yoga applying,

Saints always Bhagavan glorifying.

But in neither Hiranya effort making,

And post of Indra taking.

Just temporary, not that time froze,

Son Prahlada eventually to expose.

Honoring One’s Ancestors

“In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajna [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.12)

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iṣṭān bhogān hi vo devā
dāsyante yajña-bhāvitāḥ
tair dattān apradāyaibhyo
yo bhuṅkte stena eva saḥ

Question: “Listen, bhakti-yoga philosophy is nice and all. I believe in it wholeheartedly, that you should worship God and be conscious of Him from today through the time of death. The thing is, I’m not ready to give up my family life. It is not through attachment, but through respect. Everything I have is due to them. Not just my parents and grandparents, but those who came before them too. I have to set up a good family in order to repay that debt. Does this mean that my devotional service is ruined?”

A person is considered grateful when they acknowledge the good deeds done for them. If someone helps you and you forget about that later on, you are not a grateful person. To be grateful means to be wise, since it means remembering something from the past. The less intelligent not only forget, but they fail to see beyond the immediate vision.

“I am His younger brother, Lakshmana by name. Due to His transcendental qualities, I have taken up service to Him, as He is grateful and very knowledgeable.” (Lakshmana speaking to Hanuman, Valmiki Ramayana, Kishkindha Kand, 4.12)

In the Ramayana, we learn that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is a grateful person. This is confirmed in the Bhakti-Rasamrita-Sindhu of Shrila Rupa Gosvami also. Since He is the most intelligent person, it makes sense that God would remember any work done in His favor. In the Bhagavad-gita He says that a simple offering of a fruit, water, a leaf or a flower is accepted by Him, provided the offering is made with love and devotion.

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

The person who remembers what their ancestors have done for them is thus on the right side of things. They are intelligent, grateful and not a miser. From Vedic philosophy we learn that as soon as someone takes birth they assume three debts. There is something owed to the rishis, who pass on Vedic wisdom. Without consulting the works of the rishis, it is impossible to know the five important topics of the supreme controller, the individual soul, the material nature, time and karma. This debt is repaid through studying these works.

Another debt is to the forefathers. The grateful person inherently understands this debt. They took birth due to the work of two people. The credit for the circumstances of their birth belong to generations prior. This debt is repaid through begetting a son. Basically, you’re keeping the chain going. You’re not exploiting the situation that was created for you by someone else.

The remaining debt is to the demigods, who manage the material creation. Lord Krishna mentions this debt in the Bhagavad-gita, where He says that one who doesn’t offer sacrifice is considered a thief. Sacrifice is for the pleasure of these demigods. It is taking the elements of material nature and essentially saying “thanks.” It is rightfully acknowledging that within the hands of any single individual rests very little control over circumstances.

Bhakti-yoga is love and devotion directed to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Repaying the three debts doesn’t necessarily fall into the category of bhakti-yoga, but service to God Himself automatically satisfies the debts. Why is this true? To think of what the forefathers have done is to see into the past. It is to see beyond what is currently visible. To see what the saints have done is to go even further up the chain of work, and then thinking of the demigods seems to reach the limit.

The Supreme Controller is the origin of all, however. He is the first person in the chain of work. Moreover, through the effortless operation of time, everything will be destroyed going forward. Vision moves forwards and backwards. Time is infinite in both directions, so one who really sees understands both what has happened in the past and what will happen going forward. When everything is gone, only Ishvara will remain. He is God, and He will again populate the earth with creatures, managing controllers, and saintly personalities.

prakṛtiṁ svām avaṣṭabhya
visṛjāmi punaḥ punaḥ
bhūta-grāmam imaṁ kṛtsnam
avaśaṁ prakṛter vaśāt

“The whole cosmic order is under Me. By My will it is manifested again and again, and by My will it is annihilated at the end.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 9.8)

The person who takes up service to Ishvara, who is a personality, is the wisest. They understand the root cause, and so they feel indebted to the right person. To be grateful for the work of others does not mean that the attention is given to the wrong people, but the appreciation is not yet complete. Bhakti-yoga is like watering the root of the tree; everything gets nourished as a result. The nourished roots then satisfy all debts assumed at birth.

The person who takes up service to God thus has no reason to fear. They chant the holy names in full surrender: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. They think of God all day, and they follow service to Him through the via medium of the guru, who ensures that the work done is bona fide. Every person within the affected sphere is benefitted, even if they don’t realize it. Even if the demigods should mistakenly feel slighted, Shri Krishna protects, like He did on the occasion of Govardhana Puja.

In Closing:

To demigods grateful should feel,

Sacrifice, else from them to steal.

 

Rishis and forefathers there are two,

Three debts at birth assumed by you.

 

But bhakti-yoga to roots nourishing,

Debts satisfied when love flourishing.

 

No worries then to expect,

Since Krishna there to protect.

Reversal of Fortune

“Seeing all these reverses affect devotees, one should not be disturbed; one should simply understand that in these matters there must be some plan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Bhagavatam's conclusion is that a devotee is never disturbed by such reverses. He accepts even reverse conditions as the grace of the Lord. One who continues to serve the Lord even in reverse conditions is assured that he will go back to Godhead, back to the Vaikuntha planets.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.16.37 Purport)

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Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, known as the lion guru for his fearlessness in pushing forward the movement of devotional service to society at large, remarked that the path of devotion is set with thorns. The tendency is to think that the godly life must be better than the non-godly life, as getting a good job, maintaining a family and enjoying the senses don’t even bring lasting pleasure. Godly life must be something better, and it no doubt is. However, it is not without its difficulties, all of which serve to further strengthen one’s bond to the original Personality of Godhead. This is provided that one remains on the path, which they are advised to do.

What are some of the thorns that prick the feet of the person who treads the righteous path?

Consider the following scenarios:

“I can’t remain in the association of such people. They tell me to surrender to this guru or that, but I don’t think any of them are qualified. This one guy doesn’t know anything about shastra, or scripture. This other guy insults his own guru, diminishing his importance. This other person is rumored to be messing around with young ladies. All the while, the members of this group follow blindly. They don’t question anything that is going on. It is said in shastra that only a liberated soul can be a spiritual master. I don’t want to go along with this anymore. I want to go away from these people.”

“These people keep nagging me. They get up in my business about everything. They want to know how many rounds I’m chanting. They want to know what books I’m reading. Get out of my face! Who are you to tell me what to do? I will chant and read on my own good time. You don’t have to know everything about me. They are nagging me to start doing this service and that, though I have no interest in such things. They know I have difficulty declining invitations, so I’m in a bind. If I’m forced into service I’m not suited for, the experience will be so bad that I’ll give up meeting with these people entirely. I thought spiritual life was supposed to be blissful and not stressful?”

“I don’t know how anyone expects me to stay devoted to God. Everyone else around me has other interests. One person wants to gamble all the time. Sometimes they place wagers on professionals sports games, but other times the same practice is there with accumulating coupons, deals, airline miles, and stocks. Other people I know only think of what to eat and drink. The eating focuses on meat. The more expensive the restaurant, the better meat it supposedly serves. Drinking involves alcohol. Forget actually getting intoxicated for a low price, it is more important to sample the various beverages and thereby make intoxication a process, a lengthy experience. I have no interest in such things, but at the same time no one is interested in hearing about God. I can’t do this on my own. It shouldn’t be so difficult, but what am I supposed to do? Sometimes I feel like giving in and fitting in with the crowd.”

In each of these situations, there are impediments towards devotional service, which is also known as bhakti-yoga. Bhakti is divine love, not to be confused with kama, which is material love, or lust. I say that I love someone else, but actually that love is checked. If they are incredibly mean to me, my love will switch to someone else. Bhakti cannot be taken back. Whether the Lord gives the devotee everything or nothing, the love is still there. It can be masked, forgotten, or stay in a dormant state, but it can never go away entirely. Indeed, kama is the inversion of bhakti. Sort of like having an upside down mirror, you see things in the wrong orientation, but the original object is still there. An upside down mirror is still a mirror; you just can’t get the true value of it until you flip it. The same goes for bhakti when it manifests as kama.

“In the Vedic scriptures, the neophyte devotees are advised to engage in nine kinds of devotional service, such as to hear and chant the holy name of God, to remember Him always, to chant on beads Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, to worship the Lord in the form of His Deity incarnation in the temples, and to engage in various activities of Krishna consciousness to increase the number of godly persons for perfect peace in the world.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.18.5)

The flip occurs through devotional service, which is explicit practice. In the initial stage, it follows nine different methods: hearing, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet, offering prayers, worshiping the deity, becoming a servant of the Lord, becoming friends with the Lord, and surrendering everything to Him. There are so many difficulties in just practicing one of these methods. There are many impediments, as the threefold miseries of life apparently have influence even on those who are on the divine path. There are the miseries of the body and mind, of nature’s forces, and of other living entities and their influence.

Faced with these difficulties, what is one supposed to do? Under a sober analysis, one sees that there is no choice but to continue on. If you’re in an emergency situation and it looks like time is running out, should you lament your potential failure? Lamentation can come later. Players in Major League Baseball repeat to themselves the motto, “Sleep in November,” which means they should get through the tough pressure of October baseball, the most important time of the season, despite the fear of failure.

Quitting in devotional service is the greatest loss. What does one have to gain in material life? Opulence, fame, prestige, a comfortable bed, some nice food? Such things don’t represent the pinnacle to an existence. If they did, everyone who had plenty of money would be happy. Everyone who got married would stay married. Everyone would be able to eat pizza and ice cream every day and never have health problems.

The gain in devotional service is the best. It is the company of the Supreme Lord, who is ever-blissful, eternal and knowledgeable. His bliss is shared with His devotees. His eternality allows the sharing to continue without break. His knowledge is shared with the devotees, giving them the intelligence to figure out how to stay on the devotional path in spite of all the obstacles they face.

The Pandavas are the most famous example in this regard. A long time back they were rightful heirs to a kingdom. They lost their father at a young age. Then their uncle didn’t support them. He turned a blind eye, both literally and figuratively, to the illegal usurpation of the kingdom by his own sons, who were cousins to the Pandavas. To make matters worse, these cousins tried to kill the Pandavas many times.

The Pandavas were dear to Krishna, the personal form of God. Krishna is the detail behind the abstract. So the Pandavas should have had any easy time, no? Perhaps because of their troubles they should have renounced Krishna for having failed to save them from miseries? In fact, their devotion only increased as time went on. Their godly qualities never vanished, and so their connection to Krishna never did as well. They remain dear to Him to this day, and they are also famous for their example in devotional service.

Chanting, hearing and remembering can take place anywhere. Whether one is in the midst of friendly devotees or unfriendly hedonists, they can still chant the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.” They can hear about Krishna from famous Vedic texts and they can remember His pastimes simply by using the mind. The reward for staying on the path is far greater than any temporary comfort leaving the path may bring.

In Closing:

Of my devotion so much in the way,

Thinking of whether on path I should stay.

 

Since God supposedly to favor me,

Why hypocrisy and deceit from others to see?

 

In truth such obstacles due to Lord’s grace,

Resolve strengthened when tests to face.

 

Reward from staying on devotional path clear,

Like with Pandavas, who to Krishna remain dear.

Sympathy Getter

“Lord Jesus Christ, Thakura Haridasa, Lord Nityananda Prabhu, and many such sages risked their life to propagate the message of Godhead. Self-realized saints and sages take such risks for the spiritual enlightenment of the people in general.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Light of the Bhagavata, 17)

It’s human nature to be a little envious of someone who is doing well. Without a firm dedication to practices that allow one to see things properly, wherein all life forces are known to belong to the singular energy known as Brahman, differences in social status, income, and occupation give rise to feelings of insecurity. On the flip side, there is happiness when something bad should happen to the parties that are envied, for by them getting knocked down a peg or two you don’t feel as far away from them. Despite the fact that this tendency is not rooted in intelligence, it can be used to fulfill a higher purpose, as the humble saints of the world evoke sympathy through their external conditions.

What do we mean by this? The transcendentalist of the highest state in the Vedic tradition is known as a sannyasi. They are in the last of the four stages of life. Maturity is not measured by earning a college education or getting married and having children. It is determined by the state of consciousness, how well it can see things. In the immature state, the external force known as maya has a crippling influence on the psyche. Maya is that which is not, and through its illusion man becomes afraid of things that he shouldn’t. He develops attachment to objects that are not real. For instance, attachment develops to the temporary manifestation of another living entity, and when that entity departs, there is sadness. Yet the form remains in sight, though the individual is considered no longer present. Thus the entire time there was never really a proper identification of the individual; they were not seen for who they were.

To reach the proper intelligence, consciousness should be developed in a systematic way. Man travels through four ashramas, or spiritual stages, in life. At the beginning, he is a student, then he is married, then he retires, and finally he renounces all ties to family and home. This last stage is quite difficult to live in, as there must be full confidence that the Supreme Lord will take care of all necessities, that living without the family will be okay. The tie that holds the four stages together is the end-goal of being God conscious at the time of death. Taken in this light the sannyasa order makes total sense. Just when you are about to die, when you have already lived more years than you will going forward, focus on God constantly, not just for a few hours a day.

Another benefit of sannyasa is the ability to teach Vedic wisdom to others. “You are not your body. Karma manages the outcomes to action. With every action you acquire a merit or demerit that will arrive in the future. With piety, you rise to the heavenly planets, with passion you remain in a neutral state, and with ignorance you fall to a lower condition. Instead of playing with these modes of nature, just be fully God conscious and attain liberation at the time of death. Put an end to reincarnation in this very birth, which is considered auspicious because you are a human being capable of acquiring the highest intelligence.”

These are the primary teachings of the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of India, and they can be studied for an entire lifetime through regulative practice and consultation of sacred texts like the Bhagavad-gita and Shrimad Bhagavatam. The practical implementation in the modern age goes through the channels of hearing and chanting. Chant the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and steer clear of the dangerous behaviors of meat eating, gambling, intoxication and illicit sex. You get to hear God when you chant the holy names, and by avoiding sinful behavior you keep the consciousness clear.

These teachings are well and good, but if they come to us from someone who is wealthy or very well off in life, the jealousy aspect might get in the way of understanding and believing in the principles. “Sure, it’s easy for them to say to be detached from material nature, but what worries do they have? They’re living it up in their comfortable home with wife and children. That means that I should do the same thing and then take up devotional service, or bhakti-yoga.”

As the aim is to be God conscious, there is no specific condition that is a requirement for meeting the proper end. You can be married, unmarried, living at home, or living in a temple and still be either materially attached or fully aware of the Supreme Lord. The four ashramas exist to help speed up the process, to increase the chances for enlightenment. In every endeavor there are optimal conditions, states that are conducive to reaching the proper end. Spiritual life is no different in this regard, but at the same time devotion to God cannot be checked by any external condition.

When the preacher is in difficult circumstances their message carries more weight. That’s why some of the most famous saints in history have lived on practically nothing. Lord Chaitanya, an incarnation of God who preached the mission of bhakti-yoga in India some five hundred years ago, was a householder in His earlier years. His knowledge of shastra was impeccable and He could defeat anyone in an argument by showing that devotion to Krishna, or God, was the highest discipline anyone could practice. Nevertheless, He still took to the sannyasa order, as this prevented others from criticizing Him. He shaved off His long, beautiful hair, left His mother and wife at home, and travelled around the country on foot like a homeless man, not staying anywhere for too long. He gave up everything for the cause, and as a result His message was propagated more quickly.

Notable figures who have followed in His line have similarly given up everything to preach Krishna consciousness. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is famous today for having spread the Hare Krishna movement worldwide, but in the beginning he was in a very small apartment in New York City, with barely any students. Some people would visit every now and then and take part in chanting sessions. The swami didn’t have a large bank balance to rely on, nor was he working at a job all day. He simply tried in all sincerity to preach Krishna consciousness, and when others saw his genuineness and how he was truly renounced, they took note of his message and decided to help him.

Of course there is no reason to feel sorry for such saints, but the pity is nevertheless helpful. If you look at someone as being in a distressful condition, when they request something of you, you might agree out of pity alone. “Oh, look at this person. They’re asking me very nicely to chant the holy names. They don’t have much and they seem to be getting along just fine with this chanting, so maybe I will give it a shot.” And this is the true purpose to the renounced order: full surrender to the Divine. This is known as sharanagati, and it is beneficial in all regards.

We think that we can’t fully surrender because so many other obligations won’t be met, that people we’re attached to will suffer, but in reality the sole reliance upon God fulfills all obligations. The devoted soul benefits by staying in contact with the glorious features of Krishna, who as the Supreme Personality of Godhead holds the attributes of beauty, wealth, strength, fame, knowledge and renunciation to the highest degree. In the state of yoga, which is connection to the divine consciousness, the mind stays happy and eager at the same time to continue in service.

That positive outlook is then infectious, as the devoted soul shows that loving God is not just a theory; it is something that can really happen. And that love can spread to others simply through an outward example. Thankfully for us the saints have shown the way by making devotional service their fulltime engagement. They are true heroes because for the good of others they absorb the scrutiny that comes with prominence in spiritual life. Any sympathy we feel for their condition leads to our benefit, quickly turning our ignorance into knowledge.

In Closing:

This holy man is living very poor,

Of basic needs he’s not assured.

 

But with confidence on God He does rely,

Thinks of Him who lives in spiritual sky.

 

Tells me that I can feel the same thing,

Can find happiness without giving up everything.

 

Maybe his message is then for real,

Pleasure in this life I can actually feel.

 

He seems to practice what he preaches,

So I will chant holy names as he beseeches.

Symbol of Sacrifice

“For the devotees there is no need for performance of prescribed sacrifices because the very life of the devotee is a symbol of sacrifice.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.16.20 Purport)

In whatever system of spirituality you follow, there is some sort of prescribed sacrifice. Perhaps you have to attend a religious gathering once a week, abstain from specific behavior prior to the covenant of marriage, or hold some type of ritual on a regular basis. These are all done for purification purposes, which raises an interesting issue relating to the rest of the time spent on earth. There are accumulated negative reactions resulting from all types of behavior, so many that those behaviors which wash away the negative reactions get specially marked. They are known as sacrifices because of the stark difference in reaction. In one particular discipline, however, all work is a sacrifice, thus eliminating the need for the performance of the prescribed sacrifices.

What is the point to the rituals? Why should I have to sit in front of a fire and chant strange sounds? Why should I have to sit in a church and listen to someone go on and on? Why do I need to face a certain direction and pray a specific number of times each day? The aim of all these rituals and regulations is to change consciousness. The human being has the ability to shape its behavior, which in turn influences the mind. If you see something horrible and are negatively affected, the easiest way to fix the problem is to change what you see going forward.

As an example, if you watch television news quite frequently and are exposed to information about murders, rapes, robberies, and lying politicians, how will that not negatively affect your outlook on life? That negativity will then seep into your behavior, causing you to share an unpleasant demeanor with others. A way to solve this problem, of course, is to find specific positive activities throughout the day, i.e. counteract the effect of the negative with the positive.

The prescribed sacrifices can be thought of in this light. The pursuit for material perfection causes the accrual of so many sins, something which can go unnoticed. Lying is part of the business world, a way to gain a competitive advantage. Some lies are bigger than others, but at the end of the day you have to compete with your fellow man in the modern day industrial economy. Though lying comes with the territory of business, it goes against the general principles of piety, and because of this there are negative consequences that result. If you lie to someone else, you will have the same thing done to you in the future.

This only scratches the surface, as infidelity in relationships, excessive cheating in gambling and sports, killing innocent lives to satisfy the taste buds, and inebriation to cheat the senses result in so many other negative consequences. To counteract their cumulative effect, the shastras, or religious scriptures, recommend sacrifices, which also help to provide insulation from future negative reactions. You can take a specific medicine to avoid feeling discomfort prior to eating something that will likely bring you pain. In a similar manner, you can follow prescribed regulations to help pave the way towards future prosperity.

But the underlying aim is to change consciousness, to shift your thoughts towards purity. He who is full of knowledge, bliss and eternality will spread some of His qualities with His adherents. To become an adherent to such a personality is a difficult thing, as the glue that holds the fragile material existence together is the desire to become the wisest, strongest, wealthiest, most famous, most beautiful and most renounced. You will see people trying to excel in every one of these areas, but none of them can become perfect. Only Bhagavan possesses these opulences in full and at the same time. He never exhausts of these attributes either, so His position as the Supreme Personality of Godhead never changes.

If He already holds this title, what is the point in competing with Him or trying to imitate Him? Instead, service to Him will prove to be beneficial in all circumstances. The purpose of sitting in front of a fire sacrifice is to change consciousness to the point that you’ll eventually realize Bhagavan’s position and take up service to Him. The process occurs gradually, even progressing through many successive lifetimes. Perhaps while you’re observing a specific ceremony you’ll remember that higher powers, and not man alone, are responsible for the results of action. Then perhaps you’ll get more curious about who those higher powers are and from where they get their strength. With a mind more clearly focused on spiritual matters, you’ll have a better chance of avoiding sin and following the righteous path, which leads to the highest knowledge.

Those on the summit of spiritual practice take up direct service to Bhagavan, which is the more applicable name for the entity most of the world refers to as God. Since that service is so sublime, the requirement for prescribed sacrifices is eliminated. And why shouldn’t it be? The very life of a devotee is a sacrifice. Their only desire is to serve Bhagavan, to make Him happy. Though the Lord is complete in Himself, He still derives extra pleasure from the company of people who love Him. This shouldn’t be a foreign concept, as we too enjoy the company of people who have our interests at heart and who love us unconditionally. You ever wonder how you can love your parents so much, despite the fact that you may be closer with some of your friends? The good parents will love you no matter what, and that kind of love cannot be found anywhere else.

There are many examples, both past and present, to show why devotees don’t need to adhere to prescribed sacrifices. From the past, there was Prahlada Maharaja, who as a five-year old boy surrendered completely to Vishnu, which is another name for Bhagavan. Prahlada was too young to hold formal observances on his own, but while in the womb he heard about the glories of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, and its nine primary implementations [hearing, chanting, remembering, worshiping, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering prayers, carrying out the orders of the Lord, becoming friends with Him, surrendering everything to Him]. Among these, hearing and chanting are foremost, as they are the easiest to adopt and the most effective in terms of altering consciousness.

Prahlada worshiped Vishnu by chanting and remembering, and in his spare time he would also preach to his young classmates about the meaning of life and how one should focus only on Vishnu-worship and let the rest of the pieces fall into place. Strange it was for this information to be coming from a young child who also was the son of a very powerful king. If anything, Prahlada should have been focused on the keys to administrative success, such as how to use different methods to win over an enemy.

But Prahlada had no concern for this; he only wanted to worship Vishnu. And based on what would happen later, we see that his worship was all that he needed. The holy name is what Prahlada held on to, chanting it as his only prescribed regulation, though there was no formal time allotted for it, nor was there a specific personal benefit the boy was seeking. Instead, just the pleasure of Vishnu, in signaling to Him awareness of His glorious attributes and depending exclusively on Him for protection, is what Prahlada sought through chanting. That dedication saved him from the many attacks of his father, who as an atheist didn’t want the boy to live any longer. The father couldn’t stand the devotion in his son, but Vishnu saved the boy during each attack, showing that specific sacrifice wasn’t required for a surrendered soul like Prahlada.

In more recent times, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada showed how a life can be sacrificed for the Supreme Lord. At an old age, Shrila Prabhupada left the comfortable and auspicious surroundings of Vrindavana for the fast-paced city-life of New York. His mission was to spread the glories of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, to all of the world, as was desired by his spiritual master and Lord Chaitanya previous to him.

As an ideal sannyasi, Shrila Prabhupada sacrificed body, mind and speech for Bhagavan. Hence there was no need for specific sacrifices to be adhered to, though the swami regularly chanted the maha-mantra and set an ideal example for his disciples to follow. His road to success was by no means easy, but the dedication to bhakti and the order of his spiritual master ensured that his life was both sinless and fruitful in terms of the purification of consciousness. That radiant devotional attitude spread to so many across the world, and it lives on to this day through his recorded lectures and published works.

No one sacrifices more than the surrendered soul, who lives like a sannyasi irrespective of their specific outward dress. The true renunciate finds whatever way they can to think of the Supreme Lord and spread His glories to others, either through specific preaching or setting an ideal example of behavior for others to follow. In this way the devotee is the symbol of sacrifice, and their presence provides the light of escape from the dark tunnel of nescience.

In Closing:

Around a raging fire chanting words you sit,

Or to a house of worship regularly you visit.

 

These procedures and others scriptures recommend,

So that to state of purity consciousness to send.

 

But for devotee in mechanical processes no need to indulge,

Through pure devotion, Supreme Master wisdom to divulge.

 

In physical stature, Prahlada to his father like a thimble,

Yet was unbreakable, of sacrifice he was a symbol.

 

Prabhupada also, to Krishna and guru his life did devote,

His message to drowning soul a life-rescuing boat.

 

Rituals okay, but why not worship Krishna direct?

In this way with all your time consciousness perfect.

Why Should I Try

“In the beginning of creation, the Lord of all creatures sent forth generations of men and demigods, along with sacrifices for Vishnu, and blessed them by saying, ‘Be thou happy by this yajna [sacrifice] because its performance will bestow upon you all desirable things.’” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.10)

Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and original spiritual master of the universe, reveals in the Bhagavad-gita, the Song of God, that at the beginning of the creation, the Lord of all creatures instituted the system of sacrifice, wherein rituals and functions are to be performed for the satisfaction of higher entities, managers of the material world. Those following these prescribed sacrifices would be rewarded with plentiful rain, which in turn would give life to the crops, which would be used to sustain life. Even for carnivores there is a reliance on grains, which cannot survive without rainfall. In this way sacrificing to higher authority figures is a way of repaying debts, showing gratitude to those who provide sustenance, allowing us to seek pleasure. The soul is by nature blissful, so in order for the pursuit of happiness to commence, the spiritual spark must have a viable form, a field on which to act. Yet with the current makeup of the environment and the seemingly strong influence that people have over their direct actions, it appears that maybe there is no longer a need for sacrifice. If this initial method of religious practice can be so easily invalidated, then maybe God Himself doesn’t exist? From studying a few simple examples from everyday life, however, the purpose behind sacrifice and the glaring need for it can be realized.

“Unseen and indefinite are the good and bad reactions of fruitive work. And without taking action, the desired fruits of such work cannot manifest.” (Lakshmana speaking to Lord Rama, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 66.17)

Just because people who aren’t religious are able to amass wealth doesn’t indicate that the divine presence is made up or irrelevant. On the contrary, every reaction that we see is caused by some previous action. Karma is fruitive activity, though in the vernacular the term is associated with good or bad reactions coming from specific actions undertaken. “I get good karma when I act charitably and when I am nice to people. I get bad karma when I steal and when I lie.” But karma doesn’t operate just on grand and visible actions; every deed is taken into consideration. Whatever we see before us is the result of a previous action. The result may not manifest immediately, nor may it even be noticed, but it will nevertheless arrive.

For those who become wealthy through no dedication to sacrifice or religion whatsoever, it is to be understood that their past karma brought them to their current position. The soul is the essence of individuality; it does not die when the body is discarded, nor does it take birth when the body emerges from the womb. The soul never changes in properties, but it can travel through different forms. The types of body accepted are the fruits of previous desires and work performed. As an example, if we take to a strict exercise and diet regimen, pretty soon we’re awarded a new body, one that is more fit and lean than the previous one. Similarly, based on the desires at the forefront of consciousness at the time of death, a specific form is created for the soul’s next encounter with the material creation. The cycle thus continues perpetually until desires are purified to the point that association with matter is no longer preferred.

While it may be difficult to believe that a wealthy person is today reaping the rewards of past activities, we know from the existence of “trust fund babies” and children born of well to do parents that not everyone has the same starting point in life. The son who gains a large inheritance suddenly becomes wealthy. What if he were to say, “Look, I did nothing and I’m rich. Why can’t everyone else do this?” Obviously the source of his wealth was the hard work and endeavor of previous generations of family members. It would be silly to think that the wealth just came on its own.

In actuality, every reaction we see is influenced by more powerful entities. Even with the simplest of examples like the entering of a keystroke on a keyboard and seeing the inputted value on the computer screen, there are so many outside influences that are not within the control of the worker. If I depress a certain letter on the keyboard and see it pop up on the screen, naturally I will think that I am the sole cause of the result. But what gets overlooked is that the results are not always the same for every person. For instance, some people will get hit by a tornado, earthquake or other natural disaster and thus not be able to type on their keyboard. Another person may have a debilitating disease that prohibits the movement of their hands and legs. Another person may be violently attacked by another living entity, thus losing their chance at acting out their desires. Another person can perform the exact same action, i.e. press the letter on the keyboard, and not have anything result because of a defect in the hardware or an error in the keyboard’s construction.

Just because one person can type on a keyboard and have the intended result appear on the screen doesn’t mean that they are solely responsible for what results. So many other things didn’t happen in the same time that it took to depress the specific key. Through this small example we see that we have very little control over anything. The higher authorities, known as devas, or demigods, in the Vedic tradition, manage the different elements of life, such as earth, water, fire, air and ether. They are also responsible for distributing one of the threefold miseries of life, adhidaivika, which are those pains inflicted by nature. Karma always delivers the results that are due a person, but in order for the results to manifest, a spiritual injection, instigation from a superior entity, is required.

Even when apprised of this information, the tendency may be to overlook the need for worshiping God or His deputies. “I’m already enjoying the results of my karma, so why should I worry about religion? It seems like the results are out of my control anyway, so why should I be concerned over how to secure future rewards? Why can’t I just let everything happen on its own?” This line of thinking seems valid enough, for the higher authorities are much more powerful than we are. Nevertheless, there is a purpose to the human form of life. Simply meeting the basic demands of the body is not enough, for the wealthy are always craving action and looking for new ways to spend their time and money. If accumulating wealth and possessions was the aim of life, the well-off would just sit around and do nothing.

The behavior exhibited by wealthy parents towards their children gives us a glimpse into why the system of sacrifice was instituted by the Supreme Lord at the beginning of creation. Let’s say that we succeed materially and accumulate more wealth than we know what to do with. Our children will inherit this opulence and thus not have to worry about meeting the basic demands of the body as they grow up. With this situation, how will we behave towards our children? Will we just allow them to enjoy playing throughout their life without giving any attention to education or work? On the contrary, as good parents we will try to get them into the best schools so that they can become smart enough to use their talents towards furthering their desires. So even when life’s necessities are met, there is still a reason for going through the perfunctory processes, as there are life lessons to be learned from following a recommended course of action.

With spirituality, the aim of every recommended practice is to bring about a gradual shift in consciousness. While the human being is advised to hold sacrifices to please the demigods, the animals don’t have these concerns; and yet all of their necessities are met. Even the tiger, which lives off killing other animals, is given enough food to survive on at just the right times. The animal community doesn’t have any government panels, taxing schemes, economic forums, or stimulus plans to aid in supplying their basic necessities. Their requirements are provided by nature, which is ultimately under the control of the Supreme Lord.

The human beings are a superior species, and yet they are given the added requirement of sacrifice. Therefore there must be a purpose to religion and its recommendations. Sacrifice is intended solely for the purification of consciousness, as the “I am master” mentality is what keeps the soul away from God. The Supreme Lord is known as Krishna because He is all-attractive. Just one look at the smiling face of Shyamasundara can secure the soul enough transcendental pleasure to last a lifetime. In its constitutional position, the soul is a lover of God. Love manifests in service, activities driven by the attitude which seeks to put a smile on the loveable object’s face.

In the conditioned state, the living entity takes the highest object of pleasure to be any object or entity except God. This attitude is not in line with the constitutional position of the soul; hence the requirement for a separate habitation. The material world that we currently occupy is part of the Lord’s separated energy; His direct presence is not here. The ultimate objective for any soul within any form of life is to choose in favor of spiritual association, as this will lead to the greatest pleasure. Unfortunately, the animals don’t have the ability to even make these distinctions or give the up or down vote indicating their choice in association.

Only in the human form of body can the individual gather the intelligence necessary for choosing in favor of association with God. In order for this choice to be made, the false identification with the body must cease. For this barrier towards spiritual realization to be broken, the “I am God” mentality must be shed. Through sacrifice and the regulative principles of religion, the living entity can slowly but surely take the necessary steps towards understanding that God is superior and that they are meant to voluntarily serve Him. Serving the Lord out of fear is not a first class type of worship, for Krishna has no explicit desire to punish us. Just being separated from the company of the spiritual world and its inhabitants is punishment enough. In a world devoid of God, there will be constant competition for supremacy. Since there can only be one Supreme Controller, despite any gains made this competition will eventually result in defeat.

When sacrifice is avoided, the mentality that keeps one conditioned to material life strengthens. Life’s necessities will always be there, as food, grains, milk and water are readily available and relatively inexpensive compared to other items. If the animals get everything through the mercy of the demigods, why shouldn’t the human beings? The suras, who manage the different elements that make up the necessities of material life, act directly under the order of Krishna. By worshiping them, one works their way up towards the Supreme Lord. Yet since in this age adherence to religious life is virtually absent, there is little time for following every single rule, regulation and recommended sacrifice. Rather, the only recommended sacrifice for this age is the sankirtana-yajna, chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.

As altering consciousness is the aim of human life, the more we can remain in contact with Krishna, the better off we will be. He is the object of sacrifice anyway, as one of His names is Yajneshvara. Sacrifice to the demigods is meant to serve as an indirect way of worshiping the Supreme Lord, who sanctions the rewards distributed by the devas. The wise, however, seek not the temporary benefits of a material existence. They go straight for the sublime association of the most attractive person, the entity whom all the world is seeking. Through His holy name, He can be found within a second. Whether or not we put forth an effort at securing temporary pains and pleasures will not make a difference, as these will arrive in due course. Karma always bears fruit, either immediately or some time into the future. The soul is full of potential for action, and this is by design. Our original form is that of servant of Krishna, so by following activities that maintain the connection with the Lord in a stream of purified consciousness, our efforts exerted in the valuable human form of life can bring about the best fruit, ascension to the imperishable spiritual sky.

According to His Nature

“The process of devotional service is the revival of Krishna consciousness, and if the devotee is fortunate enough to understand that the material energy is not separated from Krishna, then he can utilize the material energy and its products in the service of the Lord.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vol 2, Ch 27)

Despite his best efforts, man in the conditioned state is forced to act according to his nature. The demands of the body determine the type of activities adopted; those obligations that must be met and the subsequent actions required to satisfy such demands. Under this paradigm, wherein one’s nature acts as the guiding force, the supreme enjoyer cannot be taken to be the individual worker, for he is simply abiding by the dictates of higher forces. Therefore religion, in the true sense, is the set of activities which aims to please the only entity who is capable of truly enjoying. How one can go about satisfying that person is the subject matter for the study of Vedanta philosophy, as instituted by the original enjoyer Himself, Lord Krishna.

“I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.15)

Vedanta is a Sanskrit word that means the end, or conclusion, of all knowledge. Every bit of information gathered during the journey through life ideally leads one closer to an end-goal. For example, learning how to crawl in our infancy is a stepping stone towards learning how to walk. Knowing how to walk is necessary in order to perform important functions pertaining to the body later on in life. Parents would love to coddle their children forever, but they refrain from doing so for one important reason. Since the parents are older than the children, they know that they will likely pass on from this world before their kids will. As such, the children will inevitably be left to fend for themselves, and they will also likely have to support their own dependents in the future. Therefore it is important to make sure children are trained up to be self-sufficient adults.

The examples of learning how to crawl, walk and talk are small in scope, but the same principles can be applied to any knowledge-gathering activity. In the field of politics, law, medicine or mathematics, one must learn basic concepts prior to taking on more advanced issues. Even after a degree is earned in a particular field of study, there is the follow-up phase of actually putting one’s knowledge to practice. Spirituality, or religion with a purpose, is similar in this regard. We can’t learn all there is to know in the beginning stages, so we must take in small bits of information, process them, and then build upon that foundation. Vedanta philosophy is intended for those who have reached the end of their knowledge gathering practices. Vedanta takes one to the ultimate conclusion, that truth which trumps all others.

The philosophy that describes the conclusion of all knowledge can be quite complex and intricate, for it deals with the differences between matter and spirit. But at the same time, Vedanta can be understood very quickly; it all depends on the angle of vision of the learner. Vedanta has a founder, an original person who instituted its teachings. Not surprisingly, this person is also the object of Vedanta philosophy, the entity that spirituality aims to please. Though it is generally accepted that religion is that pursuit which aims to keep one in touch with God, the definition of who or what constitutes the original Divine Entity is often left unexplored. God is taken to be the Supreme Being, but what exactly does this mean?

Vedanta philosophy, a system of instruction passed down through a tradition of activities and teachings put forth by great Vedic saints of the past, states that there are three distinct aspects to the Supreme Lord. The first is that He is the original proprietor of everything, a concept pretty easy to understand because it is the natural tendency to look to God as being the greatest order supplier. We may be able to secure hundreds of television channels by paying our monthly cable bill, and we may be able to secure loads of sumptuous foodstuff by paying the grocer, but God is the only entity that can fulfill any and every order. When we are in trouble, we don’t pray to any person except the Supreme Lord because we know He can deliver; He is the owner of everything after all.

But simply paying tribute to the Lord is not enough to be deemed religious behavior of the highest class. The truths of life don’t end with worship of God in hopes of a reward. Looking to the Lord to fulfill orders is something even an ignorant child will do, thus it cannot be an activity derived from the ultimate knowledge system of Vedanta. The wise seers versed in Vedic philosophy declare that the second aspect of God’s primary features is that He is the best friend of the living entities. Our friends are those who share common interests and experiences with us. Due to the camaraderie that exists, our friends look out for us and are happy when we are happy. In this regard, it shouldn’t surprise us that God is our dearmost friend. He is the greatest of well-wishers, but the activities He actually hopes we’ll take up remain unknown to us. Though He is our best friend, He doesn’t want us engaging in behavior that will ultimately lead us to a distressful condition. Yet just as our friends can’t stop us, no matter how hard they try, from hurting ourselves, the Supreme Lord does not stand in the way of our independence and free will.

The third aspect to the definition of God is probably the most important. More than just the original owner who can supply all necessities and more than just the best friend of every form of life, the Supreme Lord is the greatest of enjoyers. This fact is the most important because it speaks to our mission in life. In order for there to be enjoyment, there must be an exchange of emotion, love and service. Not surprisingly, the Supreme Lord enjoys with other spirit souls, individually autonomous spiritual sparks full of energy. The individual energy fragments are simply expansions of the Lord’s powers, therefore there is oneness between the complete whole known as God and His fragmental sparks. Just as God is the greatest enjoyer, He is also the only person capable of providing the greatest amount of pleasure to the individual souls.

“The living entity in the material world carries his different conceptions of life from one body to another as the air carries aromas.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 15.8)

So the formula for success seems simple enough: connect with God and be happy in His association. But there are a few wrinkles to contend with. For starters, taking to Vedanta philosophy is not very easy, as the conditioned entity from the time of birth becomes distracted by the allures of the material nature around it. Upon exit from the womb, the newborn is fully ignorant. The soul certainly exists forever, but during the events of birth and death, the outer covering known as the body is replaced. Upon receiving a new set of outer garments, knowledge of past events is forgotten. The subtle elements of mind, intelligence and false ego do follow the living entity in its journey through reincarnation. Therefore if there was some progress made in the acquisition of spiritual knowledge in a previous life, that same knowledge will eventually come to bear again, allowing the individual to restart their spiritual pursuits from the position where they previously stopped.

As already mentioned, the primary view of God is that of a grand order supplier. This viewpoint supplants all others because the living entity initially takes to personal enjoyment by default, and thus it needs someone to supply the necessities for that enjoyment. But real religion, a system which works off the proper mentality, not only takes to paying tribute to God through the offering of service, but it also views the Lord as the only enjoyer of such kind efforts. Similar to how a loved one will offer us their care and guidance without any expectation of reciprocation, the purified spirit soul takes to worshiping God through regularly chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, in hopes of pleasing the spiritual senses of the master of all senses, Hrishikesha.

In order for the Lord to be viewed with love and affection, He must be addressed by a sound vibration, a name. Though He certainly can be nameless and formless, His original feature is that of an all-attractive entity; hence devotees refer to this original form as Krishna. Since Krishna provides transcendental pleasure, He is also addressed as Rama. Since the Lord enjoys the company of His eternally liberated associates in the spiritual world, His pleasure potency companions are also addressed in the perfect prayer that is the Hare Krishna mantra. Loving feelings flow much more easily and purely when there are names and forms involved. This isn’t to say that Krishna’s form only exists for the offering of love, but rather it is His natural position to be loved and adored by all through the via medium of the holy name. The soul’s inherent characteristic is that of a lover of God. All other forms of service are based off this love. In the material world, the loving propensity unfortunately gets redirected to other areas of interest and thus goes by different names such as romantic love, lust, nationalism, altruism and even hatred.

Understanding that Krishna is the sole enjoyer is certainly very difficult, but through simple logical deduction, a basic understanding of the proper conclusion can be reached. In the state of ignorance, the individual takes itself to be the only enjoyer. Yet through a quick study of the workings of nature, such a conclusion proves to be false. No matter how powerful a person is, they are forced to work under the dictates of nature. For example, the sun rises in the morning and then sets at night. Such movement affects not only the growth of plants, but also the activities that one can take up during the day. If the individual were the supreme enjoyer, they could surely take to any activity at any time of the day. Yet since they must adhere to the cycles of the sun and the various associated weather patterns, their activities are checked.

The same principle applies to the workings of the body. Who among us wouldn’t love to not have to ever visit the restroom again? What about sleeping; why are we forced to rest for so long every day? Such activities are mandated under the stringent laws of nature; a force which was created by Krishna to act as an illusory agent for those wanting to imitate the activities of the Lord. Individual souls can try to imitate God, but since they lack the three aforementioned characteristics exclusively possessed by the Supreme Spirit, they will always fail in their attempts. The most obvious indication of man’s fallibility is death. Since time immemorial, those averse to the practice of divine love have tried to get their arms around the concept of mortality and their own impending death. Though the dedicated worshipers of matter and sense gratification believe they have made great strides towards prolonging life, there is still no cure for death. Even living for one hundred years is seen as a great achievement, though the world itself has been in existence for billions of years.

“O learned one, in this iron age of Kali men have but short lives. They are quarrelsome, lazy, misguided, unlucky and, above all, always disturbed.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.1.10)

Since Krishna is not limited by the forces of nature, only He can be the true enjoyer. Our natural role is that of enjoyed, and the sooner we realize this position, the happier we will be. Vedanta philosophy stresses oneness with Krishna, but this is not the equality that most of us think of. Equality is generally taken to be sameness in terms of attributes, outcomes and levels of enjoyment. In the realm of spirituality, there is equality shared amongst the spiritual fragments emanating from Krishna, but the individual pieces can never be equal to or one with the original whole. The individuals can, however, enjoy the most intimate of relationships with the ultimate reservoir of pleasure. When the soul has purified its consciousness to the point that it only works for Krishna’s satisfaction, there is a oneness in the resulting relationship. Just as there cannot be an enjoyable rock concert without both the band on stage and the audience in the stadium, the Supreme Lord never desires to enjoy alone; there must be an enjoyed.

“I am the only enjoyer and the only object of sacrifice. Those who do not recognize My true transcendental nature fall down.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 9.24)

So how do we purify our consciousness? The Vedic tradition is built completely around achieving this goal. In Vedic rituals, there is certainly an element of prayer involved, wherein the performer asks for certain benedictions, but in all types of sacrifice, there is an enjoyer. Lord Vishnu, Krishna’s four-handed and ever-opulent form, is the enjoyer of all Vedic sacrifices; hence one of the Lord’s names is Yajneshvara, which means the Lord of all yajnas, or sacrifices. In a formal ritual, flowers, fruits and other nice preparations are offered up to the Lord for His enjoyment. These offered items are known as bhoga, which means enjoyment. Those doing the offering, while maintaining a hope that the Lord will enjoy the food fully, have no expectation of reciprocation. Of course Vishnu is in need of nothing, so He kindly returns the offerings after sanctifying them. The performers then take the remnants, known as prasadam, and distribute them to others for their spiritual benefit. The potency of prasadam can never be properly estimated, for simply the taste of Krishna is enough to reawaken the dormant loving feelings that are just waiting to break free.

The ritual is only one aspect of the collective set of activities that full under the category of bhakti-yoga, or devotional service. It is not that bhakti-yoga is divided into different sections, but rather there are innumerable activities, when performed in the proper mood, that can constitute as bhakti. The ritual performed exclusively for Yajneshvara’s satisfaction is certainly an act of bhakti. In the current day and age, not everyone will have the time or the means to properly perform formal rituals on a regular basis. Therefore the sacrifice recommended for those living in the fast-paced world of today is the sankirtana yajna, wherein the Lord’s names are recited regularly in a loving way. Just as Krishna accepts the kind offerings put before Him in a formal ritual, He most certainly hears the transcendental sound vibrations that are used to praise Him.

Though man is limited in his functions due to the nature that surrounds him, the process of bhakti remains open to him at all stages of life. Since Krishna is the controller of nature, He can ensure that anyone who wants out of the cycle of birth and death will be granted release. Though our own enjoyment is limited, Krishna’s is not. Therefore we can take to chanting, hearing, remembering and worshiping on a daily basis and be forever benefitted.

The Master Key

“I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda. Ganesha always holds His lotus feet upon the pair of tumuli protruding from his elephant head in order to obtain power for his function of destroying all obstacles on the path of progress in the three worlds.” (Brahma-samhita 5.50)

One of the more controversial aspects to the spiritual traditions emanating from the Vedas is demigod worship. The impersonalists, those who don’t believe in a God with a form, or those who take the Supreme Absolute Truth to be a giant energy composed of the aggregate total of all spirit, feel that worship of any “god” is on the same level, regardless of the personality in question. The ultimate objective of the impersonalists is to free themselves from attachment, lust, anger, greed, and desire. So whatever method one can adopt to achieve such an end is justified. To this end, they take the worship of various divine figures to be simply a way to understand the impersonal energy known as Brahman. The impersonalists label the practice of meditating on the formless Absolute Truth as nirguna worship and the practice of offering obeisances to and concentrating on a specific qualified divine figure as saguna worship. In this way they take every individual living entity to be God. They believe that every person is an equal part of the divine, but that the presence of this quality is forgotten.

The Vedic tradition is filled with famous and worshipable divine figures such as Lord Shiva, Brahma, Vishnu, Surya, Durga, and Ganesha. The scriptures all say that Vishnu is superior amongst these personalities and that He is the original personality of Godhead. The other exalted figures listed, along with thousands of other elevated personalities, are known as devatas, or demigods. They act as the Lord’s chief ministers. Saying that every elevated personality is on equal footing with Vishnu is akin to denying Vishnu’s supremacy. In this way the impersonalist philosophy is one that rejects the notion of an Almighty God. Yet the controversy relating to demigods doesn’t end here. Even amongst those who do acknowledge the supremacy of Vishnu and His various non-different expansions such as Krishna, Rama, and Narasimha, there is still the adherence to the practice of demigod worship. At least in this age, devotees of Vishnu, who are known as Vaishnavas, generally don’t worship the demigods explicitly. This creates a sort of clash with those pious persons who do take to worshiping the demigods. So which side is correct?

“Men of small intelligence [alpa-medhasam] worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods, but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.23)

To find the answer, we can look to none other than Vishnu Himself. Since the original Godhead instituted all forms of religion and their various practices, it would make sense that He would be the one to settle any and all disputes. Another advantage we have is that Vishnu has kindly appeared on earth many times throughout the course of history. His most famous teachings appear in a book called the Bhagavad-gita. This work is a poem containing words of instruction offered by Vishnu on a battlefield around five thousand years ago. At the time, Vishnu appeared on earth in the guise of a human being named Krishna. Most Vedic texts list Krishna as an incarnation of Vishnu, while works such as the Brahma-samhita state that Krishna is actually the original form of Godhead and that Vishnu is merely a non-different manifestation of the divine. In either case, Vishnu and Krishna are the same, so when Krishna provides instruction, it is the same as if Vishnu were providing them, and vice versa.

Though these instructions given by Krishna were comprehensive and intricate, He made brief mention of the demigods and those who take to worshiping them. In one section, Krishna mentions that sacrifice to the demigods is important, for through this practice, one can achieve all necessities in life such as rain, food, shelter, etc. At the same time, the Lord downplays the results achieved from worshiping the demigods, calling them temporary and providing of fleeting happiness. He also says that those who are less intelligent, those with less brain substance, take to worshiping the demigods.

“In charge of the various necessities of life, the demigods, being satisfied by the performance of yajna [sacrifice], supply all necessities to man. But he who enjoys these gifts, without offering them to the demigods in return, is certainly a thief.” (Lord Krishna, Bg. 3.12)

Yet from Krishna’s activities, we see that He even took to worshiping various devatas during His time on earth. Moreover, the same can be said of Lord Rama, Vishnu’s avatara who appeared on earth thousands of years before Krishna. Formerly, man was generally more pious than he is today, so most people spent the majority of their time engaged in religious affairs. Worship of the demigods was a central part of religious life, so everyone who was pious took to such activity.

So is Krishna contradicting Himself by calling demigod worshipers unintelligent? The key distinction lies in the mode of worship. As an example, we may offer service to our boss during some part of the day, and then offer service to our family members later on. The actual offering of service is not as important as our priority system, i.e. what we view as the most important activity. For most of us, we offer service to our boss so that we can ultimately offer service to something or someone else. In this way the boss is rarely viewed as the ultimate object of worship, for our efforts are focused either on ourselves, our family, our friends, or the Supreme Lord. This last entity is the most important. As long as we view the ultimate objective in life to be the worship and love of the Supreme Lord, then all our activities will support this conclusion. If we worship the demigods as part of our worship of Krishna, then it is certainly sanctioned. The unintelligent, however, take to worshiping the demigods either as their supreme dharma in life, or as a means of satisfying some object of worship other than Krishna.

An example would be helpful in understanding this distinction. While Krishna or Vishnu is the original form of Godhead, Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma are very close runners up. They are guna-avataras of Vishnu, or expansions of the Lord who manage the material affairs. Since they come under the subjection of the laws of nature, they cannot be considered the same in quality as Vishnu. Since God creates material nature, He cannot be subject to her stringent laws. This fact remains true even when the Lord personally appears on earth. For example, the sun offers its rays and light to all of creation, regardless of the cleanliness or impurity of the objects it touches. The sun can suck up moisture from an ocean or from a puddle of urine and still remain pure throughout. In a similar manner, the Supreme Lord can contact material nature yet still remain free from any laws of karma.

Though Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva are part of the material world, they are still highly exalted. They are Vishnu’s chief ministers. Lord Shiva’s wife, Mother Parvati [Durga], is considered the controller of material nature. She is the “mother” in Mother Nature. Lord Shiva is also a great Vaishnava; he spends all his time meditating on the lotus feet of Vishnu. His favorite form of Vishnu is Lord Rama. When Lord Shiva isn’t meditating on Lord Rama, he is describing the Lord’s glories to his wife. In this way Shiva and Parvati are two of the most exalted personalities in the world. Not surprisingly, their son, Lord Ganesha, is equally as respectable. He is so pious and pure that before any Vedic ritual is performed, obeisances are first offered to him. This is a special benediction granted to Ganesha by Vishnu Himself.

These facts highlight the intimate relationship that exists between the devatas and Vishnu. The two entities are always in line with each other, with one providing the orders, and the other following them. Yet not every person will take to worshiping Vishnu. The result of Vishnu worship is liberation, or the end of the cycle of birth and death. Many don’t want this liberation, for they would rather continue to enjoy material nature. For such people, worship of the demigods is recommended as a way of maintaining a connection with spiritual life. The devatas can grant material benedictions to anyone who pleases them. This is the power granted to them by Lord Vishnu. The Supreme Lord is the most munificent entity after all. He has no desire to take people away from their happy place. He grants the conditioned souls complete independence in this regard. The caveat, however, is that if one wants to remain in the material world, they are forced to live by its rules. These rules are governed by the system of karma, which is completely fair and just. One person may act in a certain way to meet a certain desire, but others have a similar right to act in their own self-interest. When these interests collide, as they most certainly will, chaos, despair, defeat, rejection, lamentation, anger, and so many other undesirable side effects will result.

Such laws don’t exist in the spiritual world; hence attention to bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, is seen as the foremost spiritual practice. By regularly chanting, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and following the other processes of devotional life aimed at pleasing Krishna, one can ascend to the spiritual sky after their current life is over. Those who worship the demigods as their ultimate spiritual practice are considered less intelligent because any material reward, regardless of whether it is desired or undesired, can only lead to flickering happiness. Moreover, material rewards keep one bound to material nature. This bondage inevitably leads to the aforementioned undesirable situations. Hence anyone who would consider such a situation to be palatable certainly must be considered unintelligent.

So if this type of demigod worship is not recommended, then what kind is? The Brahma-samhita, one of the most concise and powerful Vedic texts, provides the answer. The demigods are most certainly acknowledged in this wonderful book of devotion to Krishna, but they are described in the proper context. Lord Ganesha is described as the powerful entity who removes obstacles from the path of those who worship him. This boon-giving power is obtained through the mercy of Govinda, which is another name for Krishna. If we worship Lord Ganesha to help remove the obstacles in the path of our spiritual pursuits, then this most certainly must be considered an intelligent activity.

“O Mother Ganga, protected by you, may this son of the intelligent and great King Dasharatha honor the order of His father. After having completed fourteen years of living in the forest, He, along with His brother and myself, will certainly return here again. Then, O beloved Devi, having safely arrived here again, I will joyfully worship you, O Ganga, who are capable of fulfilling every desire [sarva-kama].” (Sita Devi praying to Mother Ganga, Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 52.83-85)

For those growing up in a family which has a deep-rooted tradition in Vedic culture, demigod worship is regularly adhered to. This was the case with the Ikshvaku family, a dynasty of kings who ruled the world many thousands of years ago. Lord Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu, appeared as a prince in this dynasty a long time ago. His beautiful and chaste wife, Sita Devi, was wholly dedicated to virtue and the traditions of Vedic culture. She knew of all the proper rituals and functions to perform, and all the various devatas that needed to be worshiped. One time Lord Rama and Sita even worshiped Lord Vishnu on the night prior to Rama’s installation as the new king. The next day, however, Rama would be sent to the forest instead of becoming the new king. While roaming the forests, Sita would often pray to various sacred rivers and trees, which are also considered devatas in the Vedic tradition, and ask them to ensure Rama’s safe return to His kingdom at the expiry of His exile term. Sita was so wise that she didn’t initially take to worshiping these demigods, but rather she made a deal with them. She told them that if they came through for Rama, who was Vishnu, then she would worship them to their hearts’ content. Eventually all did end well, so Sita made good on her promise and regularly offered worship to Mother Ganga and various other demigods.

If we already have family traditions relating to demigod worship, there is no need to give them up. These traditions can be thought of as family heirlooms, magical keys which are passed down from generation to generation. For those who don’t grow up in this tradition, acquiring this type of key is not necessary, for worshipers of Krishna are bestowed the master key which unlocks every door, including the one to the spiritual world. In the performance of all of our activities, we should keep Vishnu’s satisfaction at the forefront of the mind. The demigods are the Lord’s closest aides and servants, so showing respect to them certainly will please Vishnu as well. In this age of Kali, there isn’t much time for religious practice, so whatever devotional efforts we do take up should be aimed directly at Krishna. Since devotional service satisfies the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the demigods automatically become satisfied as well. Goswami Tulsidas, the wonderful saint and exalted author of beautiful poetry devoted to Lord Rama, would often invoke the names of Lord Shiva, Mother Parvati, and Lord Ganesha at the beginning of his poems. He asked them not for any personal benefit, but rather to help him in his pursuit to please Rama.

In this way we see that there is no need for controversy as it relates to demigod worship. The devatas are certainly individuals just like the rest of us. They are not imaginary figures or elevated representations of Brahman. Since they are dear servants of the Supreme Lord, there is no reason to disrespect them. One should understand that any and all rewards received in life should be used for Vishnu’s satisfaction. This is the secret known to the bhaktas, the devotees of the Lord. They have been kind enough to share this secret through their teachings and their actions. We should make good use of this information by acting upon it.