God and Demi Gods

Dear Shakun,

Kindly please help me with this:

In the Bhagvad Gita it is said that you worship Demigods for material fulfillment. For example if you are sick or diseased you worship the Sun God. For education you worship Sarasvati, and for getting a beautiful wife you worship Uma (the wife of Shiva.)  Does it mean that you worship different demigods for these purposes? Then what are Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesh, Durga, Laxhmi, Jhulelal, Balaji, Shirdi, Etc worshiped for?  And then finally it is said that above all you should worship the Supreme Lord who is Krishna. Does that mean we worship these demigods for Material fulfillment and to achieve total liberation from all these, we worship and pray to Krishna?

 Are we losing precious time then  by worshipping these demigods (with the approval of the Supreme Lord) and should we worship the Supreme directly or is this our way of culture and system to worship the demigods.  Who then is the Supreme Lord, Krishna, Or Shiva that is the origin of all creation or any other form?

Also, Is the final supreme God a figure, form or a light that we may not get to see in this life time?  Please help me out with this.

Thanks.
Ashok

Dear Ashok,

I was reading 'How to know God' by Deepak Chopra. In it he has put ways of experiencing God in a development sequence. He believes that God is not a person but a process. God should be worshipped in all ways but He has to be approached in stages. Some  consider God a parent who would protect us, when faced with danger.  To some God represents one who 'enables us to find a calm center in the midst of outward chaos'.  Some see God as  one 'who makes personal dreams come true or/and capable of working miracles'.  Some see God as 'Restful awareness' who brings about inner peace.

Our brain is hard-wired to find a God.
God is not a choice. He is a necessity.

'Encoded into the swirling cosmos are the most valued things in existence: beauty, truth, love, meaning. These are the realities the brain is reaching for when it reaches for God. God is as real as they are but just as elusive.
'The material world is infinite, but it is a boring infinity. The really interesting infinity lies beyond'

Dear Ashok, I wonder if the above answers your question.  Hindus have long known that we cannot bypass our desires, fears, instincts. Hence they have sought to 'divinise' our every stage.  Therefore if you are seeking wealth, you would worship Laxmi.  If you are looking for faith, meditation and Yoga, you would go for Shivji. If you are looking to have the obstacles removed from your path, you would seek Lord Ganesh.  And if you are one who seeks God for God's sake you would go for Krishna.  Now Krishna here stands for the concept of Truth, Love, Meaning, Infinity etc.  However if for you, Shivji stands for all the Divine qualities, and Krishna for someone you look up, to fulfill your mundane desires, then for you, Shivji would be a Higher ideal.

You asked:

Are we losing precious time then  by worshipping these demigods (with the approval of the Supreme Lord) and should we worship the Supreme directly or is this our way of culture and system to worship the demigods.

What I believe that it is fine to worship the demi-gods (as you put it) who will fulfill our desires. We are not losing precious time time. We are being truthful about our needs and the state that we are in spiritually.  When we truly reach the stage to seek only the 'Divine' We shall worship the Supreme directly.  You have also asked: Is the final supreme God a figure, form or a light that we may not get to see in this life time.?  I would say that He is all that and much more.  And I believe that if you truly love and persevere, you would surely get to feel Him in this lifetime.

Stephen Hawking has stated: 'If the Laws of nature were deeply explored, we would one day know the mind of God'  When we reach out to touch God, there is a double wonder: 'What we touch is divine, but it is also ourselves'

Sincerely, Shakun