amani Goswami Maharaj 'Caitanya Mahāprabhu pointed out that although (according to Padma Purāṇa) there are different scriptures for worshiping different types of demigods, such instructions only bewilder people into thinking that the demigods are supreme. Yet if one carefully scrutinizes and studies the Purāṇas, he will find that Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the only object of worship. For instance, in the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa there is mention of Devī worship, or worship of the goddess Durgā or Kālī, but in this same caṇḍikā it is also stated that all the demigods - even in the shape of Durgā or Kālī - are but different energies of the supreme Viṣṇu. Thus study of the Purāṇas reveals Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, to be the only object of worship. The conclusion is that directly or indirectly, all types of worship are more or less directed to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. In Bhagavad-gītā it is confirmed that one who worships the demigods is in fact only worshiping Kṛṣṇa because the demigods are but different parts of the body of Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa. That such worship of demigods is irregular is also stated in Bhagavad-gītā (7.20-23, 9.23) Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam confirms this irregularity by asking the question: “What is the object of worshiping the different types of demigods?” In Vedic literature there are various divisions of ritualistic activities: one is karma-kāṇḍa, or purely ritualistic activities, and another is jñāna-kāṇḍa, or speculation on the Supreme Absolute Truth. What then is the purpose of the ritualistic sections of Vedic literatures, and what is the purpose of different mantras or hymns that indicate worship of various demigods? And what is the purpose of philosophical speculation on the subject of the Absolute Truth? Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam replies that in actuality all of these methods defined in the Vedas indicate the worship of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. In other words, they are all indirect ways of worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Sacrifices contained in the ritualistic portions of these literatures are meant for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu. Indeed, because yajña, sacrifice, is specifically meant to satisfy Viṣṇu, another name for Viṣṇu is Yajñeśvara, or Lord of sacrifices
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 14:06:41 +0000
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