Deivathin Kural Series - 120

Om Namah Sivaya.
Deivathin Kural # 120 of 20 Dec 2006.
1. To-day's title is 'Ishta Devatai', that is, 'Personal God', occuring in pages 533 to 536, in Volume 1 of Deivathin Kural, Tamil version, published by Vanady Padippagam, Chennai.
2. Human mentalities are as diverse as there are people in the world. Whatever be the individual idiosyncrasies, so as to attract them all in the way they will respond, make them be devoted, cleanse their minds and focus their attention on the divine, God (or Paramatma or whatever we may call it), has come in a variety of forms, as so many Devatas.
3. People from other religions make fun of Hindus, by asking, "How many crores of Gods have the Hindus got?" In reality no sensible and knowledgeable Hindu, ever thinks that there is more than one God! The Vaidik religion has not only come to know the fact that, there is only one God, but is the only religion to have correctly homed on to the fact that, every man, beast, animal, life forms, animate and inanimate is also only God!! So it has scientifically arrived at this fact that, every Jeeva is also Paramatma! Hindu believes that, the one God out of his deep concern for His creation, comes in so many forms. (KTSV adds:- In the far reaches of some disciplines of Science, it has been proved that, the whole contains the parts and every part contains the whole! Nature however, has many examples, such as, the tree contains the seeds and the seed contains the future tree!)
4. The One God has revealed Himself to this country's greats, in many forms. Those Brhma Rishis have given us specific Mantras and the method of praying to that particular God. If we go by the 'Upasana Paddathi', or procedure, as delineated by them, can get that Deity's grace. Whatever the Deity, since intrinsically, they are all one and the same Paramatma, without doubt, if we sincerely apply ourselves, the end result is the same. That is maturing and ripening, to delink from world involvement. Prior to that, they will also give the Sadhaka, all material benefits too.
5. There are so many Deities, so as to suit individual minds and idiosyncracies. If someone desires to approach the Supreme, as a child approaches the Mother, there is Ambal. For the lover of quiet and peace of silent awareness, there is Dakshinamoorthy. For the exuberent and playful, there is Krishna.
6. Instead of forcing us to believe in one common inanimate God, who cannot be seen or understood, it is only this, 'Personal God concept', or what is called, 'Ishta Devata Vazhipadu', makes it possible to, understand the ununderstandable and make the subtle God, into a tangible God. Though to start with thus, we assume and invoke the God, in a tangible form, as we progress on the path of devotion, we ourselves will come to develop a more broader outlook. We will stop having our own likes and dislikes. We will feel, 'why should I have a separate mind set? God's will be done.' Then everything will be God's, including your God and other's God.
7. Even when being devoted to your 'Ishta Devata', we should not look down on other's 'Ishta Devata'. As your God looks after you, so do other's God. When we read the various Puranas, we find encomiums of praise and adulation, for a particular Deity, as being better that all other Gods. This is known as, 'Nahi Ninda Nyayam'. The aim is not to put down other Gods, but to enable us to concentrate our devotion in that particular form of God. For example, there is a line in 'Hnuman Chalisa', 'Aur devata chitta na darayi', meaning, 'do not think of any other God', since, Hanuman will do the needful most sufficiently!
8. The greats of yore viewed all Deities as equal only. The great poets such as Kalidasa and Banan, without a doubt in their minds, say that it is one and the same God, who reveals himself as so many. As the supreme power exhibits itself in so many forms to suit the individual requirements of the devotee, depending on how God is construed to manage the jobs of creation, sustenence and re-absorption, assumes the roles of, Brhma with Rajo guna; Vishnu with Satva Guna; Rudra with Tamo Guna; respectively.
Kalidasa and Banan indicate that these three are forms of one and the same power! What is applicable to them is equally applicable to all thirty three crores of Devatas!
9. So, there is no meaning in fighting on the flimsy grounds of, 'My God is great. Your God is inferior!' There have been fights in the past, on these grounds; especially between Saivites who believe in Siva and Vaishnavites who believe in Vishnu. Let us get the awareness that they are one and the same God. (KTSV adds:- Let us get the awareness that Brhma, Vishnu, Siva and the 33 crores of Devas of Hindus; and Jesus Christ and Allah and Buddha and whosoever can think of a God in whatever form; are all one and the same!!)
Sambhomahadeva.