[Advaita-l] Shankara says 'All deities are Brahman alone'

[V Subrahmanian]

In the Bh.Gita 9th chapter Bhagavan says:

त्रैविद्या मां सोमपाः पूतपापा यज्ञैरिष्ट्वा स्वर्गतिं प्रार्थयन्ते ।
ते पुण्यमासाद्य सुरेन्द्रलोकमश्नन्ति दिव्यान्दिवि देवभोगान् ॥ २० ॥

9.20 Those who are versed in the Vedas, who are drinkers of Soma and are
purified of sin, *pray for the heavenly goal by worshipping Me through
sacrifices.* Having reached the place (world) of the king of gods, which is
the result of righteousness, they enjoy in heaven th divine pleasure of
gods.

Shankara introduces that verse thus:

ये पुनः अज्ञाः कामकामाः —  मां वस्वादिदेवरूपिणं

Those, again, who are ignorant and desirous of pleasures. Shankara says
that these people worship Bhagavan, *existing in the forms of gods such as
the Vasus and others*; yajnaih, through sacrifices such as the Agnistoma
etc.

Subsequently Bhagavan says:

येऽप्यन्यदेवता भक्ता यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः।
तेऽपि मामेव कौन्तेय यजन्त्यविधिपूर्वकम्।।9.23।।

9.23 Even those who,* being devoted to other deities *and endowed with
faith, worship (them), they also, O son of Kunti, worship Me alone (though)
following the wrong method.

Shankara introduces this verse thus:

ननु अन्या अपि देवताः त्वमेव चेत् , तद्भक्ताश्च त्वामेव यजन्ते । सत्यमेवम् —

*'If you Yourself are the other gods as well,* then do not their devotees
too worship You alone?' 'Quite so!'

Here, drawing from Bhagavan's own words in 9.20 that *those desirous of
worldly pleasures propitiate Me alone through sacrifices, yajna-s, *Shankara
asks as above*: * *you Yourself are the other gods as well.*

Thus, from the words of Bhagavan Himself we understand that those who are
worshiping other deities are actually worshiping Him, Brahman. Those
deities are not different from Him, Brahman.

'anya devata' = those deities 'other' than one's own Self, Atman. We see
from the puranas and the Mahabharata that those worshiping even Vishnu
through sacrifices go to Vishnu loka and return. Bhagavan says in the very
same chapter of the Gita:

यान्ति देवव्रता देवान् पितृ़न्यान्ति पितृव्रताः।
भूतानि यान्ति भूतेज्या *यान्ति मद्याजिनोऽपि माम्*।।9.25।।

9.25 Votaries of the gods reach the gods; the votaries of the manes
(pitrus) go to the manes; the worshippers of the Beings reach the Beings;
and t*hose who worship Me reach Me. Here Bhagavan implies that 'votaries of
gods reach gods' the deity Vishnu is also one of those gods. *

Since those who worship 'other' deities do not reach Bhagavan and only
those who consciously seek Him attain Him, and also from the statements of
other Purana and Mahabharata that even Vishnu is worshiped with worldly
ends as the goal, *we conclude that the statement made in the Gita is by
Brahman and not the deity. *

*Also we have in the Aitareya Upanishad:  *एष ब्रह्मैष इन्द्र एष
प्रजापतिरेते सर्वे देवा  3.5 He is Brahma, He is Indra, He is Prajapati, He
is all these gods...

This pramana is accepted and cited by Shankara while determining the status
of Hiranyagarbha.

From all this we arrive at the conclusion that: *All deities are actually
Brahman alone.  *

Om Tat Sat
subbu