Gita 09.23 – The Gita’s multi-level monotheism is the balance between Abrahamic monotheism and Greco-Roman polytheism
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā
yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam (Bg 9.23)
Word-to-word:
ye — those who; api — also; anya — of other; devatā — gods; bhaktāḥ — devotees; yajante — worship; śraddhayā anvitāḥ — with faith; te — they; api — also; mām — Me; eva — only; kaunteya — O son of Kuntī; yajanti — they worship; avidhi-pūrvakam — in a wrong way.
Translation:
Those who are devotees of other gods and who worship them with faith actually worship only Me, O son of Kuntī, but they do so in a wrong way.
Explanation:
ye ’py anya-devatā-bhaktā: Those who worship other gods,
yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ: doing so with faith,
te ’pi mām eva kaunteya: they too are actually worshiping Me, O son of Kuntī,
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam: but their worship is performed in an improper or unauthorized manner.
There are many significant points in this verse that need to be carefully understood in order to appreciate what Kṛṣṇa is stating here: Those who worship other gods are also worshiping Me, but they are doing so in an unauthorized way, avidhi-pūrvakam.
In Western or Middle Eastern monotheistic traditions—namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—there is the idea of one true God whose glory is established by rejecting, and often by demolishing or desecrating, all other gods, who are considered false. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” This means that other gods are regarded as false gods. The implication is that if one wants to be truly devoted to Me, one should worship only Me.
This conception has led to violence against religions that are perceived as polytheistic. This includes the Greco-Roman religions that preceded Christianity, as well as Sanātana Dharma, which has existed in the Eastern part of the world for far longer than Christianity. In this view, if one worships any so-called false god, one is no longer worshiping the true God.
However, here Kṛṣṇa presents a balanced perspective. He states that those who worship other gods are also worshiping Him (te ’pi mām eva kaunteya).
Some people stress only one half of this statement—that they are also worshiping Me (te ’pi mām eva)—and on that basis conclude that there is nothing wrong or inappropriate about demigod worship. Others focus only on “yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam” (unauthorized worship) and completely condemn demigod worship. Both are extremes, as they emphasize only one part of the scripture and fail to understand the whole picture.
At one level, Kṛṣṇa says that even those who worship the devatās are worshiping Him. A well-known Sanskrit verse states:
ākāśāt patitaṁ toyaṁ yathā sāgaram gacchati
sarva-deva-namaskāraḥ acyutaṁ pratigacchati
Just as water that falls from the sky eventually reaches the ocean, similarly, offerings of obeisances to the various devatās ultimately reach Acyuta (Kṛṣṇa). Based on this understanding, it is sometimes concluded that one may worship whichever god one chooses.
To begin with, Kṛṣṇa is not endorsing the idea that all gods are one, nor is He saying that all gods are manifestations of the one Absolute Truth. These conceptions are not supported here, because Kṛṣṇa clearly uses dualistic terminology—anya-devatā and mām. This indicates that there are other gods, and there is Me. Kṛṣṇa is not saying that those other gods are Me alone.
Henotheism is the belief that there is one Absolute Truth who manifests as many gods, and kathenotheism is the idea that one may worship whichever god one chooses, or even whichever form one chooses, such as a tree, if that helps one to calm the mind, focus, and move forward. This idea turns the conception of divinity into something like a flag, wherein any piece of cloth—of whatever color or composition—that evokes national sentiment can be designated as a flag. With a change in political power or a shift in national mindset, the flag itself can also be changed.
However, divinity is not like that. Kṛṣṇa is the eternal Absolute Truth. How, then, is worship of the devatās considered worship of Him? It is indirect, because ultimately, He has established the system of demigod worship for the gradual elevation of people. Once, when Śrīla Prabhupāda was in Bengal, he was asked who is better—a Christian worshiping God or a person in India worshiping a demigod. Śrīla Prabhupāda replied that the demigod worshiper is better because such a person is within the house of the Vedas.
Of course, this is not meant as a universal statement, because we must consider the mode and level of consciousness of the person worshiping a demigod, just as we must consider the mode and level of consciousness of the Christian. Broadly speaking, however, a person who is within the house of the Vedas has fewer cultural and conceptual barriers to cross in moving from demigod worship to Kṛṣṇa worship. By contrast, accepting deity worship and a personal conception of God who manifests as embodied divinity in this world is far more difficult for those within the Abrahamic traditions.
The scriptures have come from Kṛṣṇa, and they are meant to gradually lead people toward Kṛṣṇa: vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyo (Bg 15.15). In that sense, when the scriptures prescribe the worship of the devatās, such worship is also indirectly worship of Kṛṣṇa. This is because those who worship the devatās are following the authority of the scriptures, which ultimately originate from Kṛṣṇa.
Now, the question may arise: if demigod worship is given in the scriptures (vidhi), then why is it described as avidhi-pūrvakam? This is similar to karma-kāṇḍa. Karma-kāṇḍa is indeed prescribed in scripture, and in that sense it is part of vidhi—ordained directions given in the śāstra. However, it is not in accordance with the highest conclusion of the scriptures. That highest conclusion Kṛṣṇa will state at the end of the Bhagavad-gītā, when He says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja (Bg 18.66)—give up all varieties of religion and simply surrender unto Me.
The idea that worshiping other gods is an act of unfaithfulness to the Supreme God, as taught in the Abrahamic traditions, is not fully supported here, because Kṛṣṇa says that such worshipers are also worshiping Him, though indirectly and in an inappropriate manner. At the same time, the notion that worshiping other gods is perfectly acceptable is also incorrect. As mentioned earlier in the seventh chapter, and again here in 9.20–22, worship of Kṛṣṇa yields eternal results, whereas worship of the devatās produces only temporary results.
Therefore, this is a very important verse, as it presents a balance between the conception of monotheism found in the Abrahamic traditions and the conception of polytheism that is often imputed to the Sanātana Dharma tradition. We could describe this as multi-level monotheism, wherein the one Supreme Absolute Truth may be worshiped in different ways through His various manifestations as part of a gradual process of elevation. However, if one is able to follow the highest level, that is the best path.
Thank you.
Leave A Comment