:: Chapter 17 :: The Divisions of Faith

Text 4

yajante sattvika devan
yaksa-raksamsi rajasah
pretan bhuta-ganams canye
yajante tamasajanah

Synonyms

yajante--worship; sattvikah--those who are in the mode of goodness; devan--demigods; yaksa-raksamsi--demons; rajasah--those who are in the mode of passion; pretan--spirits of the dead; bhuta-ganan--ghosts; ca--and; anye--others; yajante--worship; tamasah--in the mode of ignorance; janah--people.

Translation

Men in the mode of goodness worship the demigods; those in the mode of passion worship the demons; and those in the mode of ignorance worship ghosts and spirits.

Purport

In this verse the Supreme Personality of Godhead describes different kinds of worshipers according to their external activities. According to scriptural injunction, only the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worship able, but those who are not very conversant with, or faithful to, the scriptural injunctions worship different objects, according to their specific situations in the modes of material nature. Those who are situated in goodness generally worship the demigods. The demigods include Brahma, Siva and others such as Indra, Candra and the sun-god. There are various demigods. Those in goodness worship a particular demigod for a particular purpose. Similarly, those who are in the mode of passion worship the demons. We recall that during the Second World War a man in Calcutta worshiped Hitler because thanks to that war he had amassed a large amount of wealth by dealing in the black market. Similarly, those in the modes of passion and ignorance generally select a powerful man to be God. They think that anyone can be worshiped as God and that the same results will be obtained.

Now, it is clearly described here that those who are in the mode of passion worship and create such gods, and those who are in the mode of ignorance, in darkness, worship dead spirits. Sometimes people worship at the tomb of some dead man. Sexual service is also considered to be in the mode of darkness. Similarly, in remote villages in India there are worshipers of ghosts. We have seen that in India the lower-class people sometimes go to the forest, and if they have knowledge that a ghost lives in a tree, they worship that tree and offer sacrifices. These different kinds of worship are not actually God worship. God worship is for persons who are transcendentally situated in pure goodness. In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.3.23) it is said, sattvam visuddham vasudeva-sabditam: "When a man is situated in pure goodness, he worships Vasudeva." The purport is that those who are completely purified of the material modes of nature and who are transcendentally situated can worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

The impersonalists are supposed to be situated in the mode of goodness, and they worship five kinds of demigods. They worship the impersonal Vishnu form in the material world, which is known as philosophized Vishnu. Vishnu is the expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but the impersonalizes, because they do not ultimately believe in the Supreme Personality of Godhead, imagine that the Vishnu form is just another aspect of the impersonal Brahman; similarly, they imagine that Lord Brahma is the impersonal form in the material mode of passion. Thus they sometimes describe five kinds of gods that are worship able, but because they think that the actual truth is impersonal Brahman, they dispose of all worship able objects at the ultimate end. In conclusion, the different qualities of the material modes of nature can be purified through association with persons who are of transcendental nature.

Text 5-6

asastra-vihitam ghoram
tapyante ye tapo janah
dambhahankara-samyuktah
kama-raga-balanvitah

karsayantah sarira-stham
bhuta-gramam acetasah
mam caivantah sarira-stham
tan viddhy asura-niscayan

Synonyms

asastra--not in the scriptures; vihitam--directed; ghoram--harmful to others; tapyante--undergo; ye--those who; tapah--austerities; janah--persons; dambha--with pride; ahankara--and egoism; samyuktah--engaged; kama--of lust; raga--and attachment; bala--by the force; anvitah--impelled; karsayantah--tormenting; sarira-stham--situated within the body; bhuta-gramam--the combination of material elements; acetasah--having a misled mentality; mam--Me; ca--also; eva--certainly; antah--within; sarira-stham--situated in the body; tan--them; viddhi--understand; asura-niscayan--demons.

Translation

Those who undergo severe austerities and penances not recommended in the scriptures, performing them out of pride and egoism, who are impelled by lust and attachment, who are foolish and who torture the material elements of the body as well as the Supersoul dwelling within, are to be known as demons.

Purport

There are persons who manufacture modes of austerity and penance which are not mentioned in the scriptural injunctions. For instance, fasting for some ulterior purpose, such as to promote a purely political end, is not mentioned in the scriptural directions. The scriptures recommend fasting for spiritual advancement, not for some political end or social purpose. Persons who take to such austerities are, according to Bhagavad-Gita, certainly demoniac. Their acts are against the scriptural injunctions and are not beneficial for the people in general. Actually, they act out of pride, false ego, lust and attachment for material enjoyment. By such activities, not only is the combination of material elements of which the body is constructed disturbed, but also the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself living within the body. Such unauthorized fasting or austerities for some political end are certainly very disturbing to others. They are not mentioned in the Vedic literature. A demoniac person may think that he can force his enemy or other parties to comply with his desire by this method, but sometimes one dies by such fasting. These acts are not approved by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and He says that those who engage in them are demons. Such demonstrations are insults to the Supreme Personality of Godhead because they are enacted in disobedience to the Vedic scriptural injunctions. The word acetasah is significant in this connection. Persons of normal mental condition must obey the scriptural injunctions. Those who are not in such a position neglect and disobey the scriptures and manufacture their own way of austerities and penances. One should always remember the ultimate end of the demoniac people, as described in the previous chapter. The Lord forces them to take birth in the wombs of demoniac persons. Consequently they will live by demoniac principles life after life without knowing their relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If, however, such persons are fortunate enough to be guided by a spiritual master who can direct them to the path of Vedic wisdom, they can get out of this entanglement and ultimately achieve the supreme goal.