Verse-23
Chapter 9 — Rajvidya Rajguha Yoga
Verse 23
🕉 Original Sanskrit Shloka
ye'pyanyadevatā bhaktā yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
te'pi māmeva kaunteya yajantyavidhipūrvakam
🕉 English Translation
Shraddha mein bhar jo sakami purusha,
Puja kare devataon ki bas.
Asal mein toh puja hai veh bhi meri,
Magar bin viddhi yeh agyan hee.
📜 Translation
English
O Arjun! Whosoever devotee worship the other gods with reverence and desire for reward, they too worship Me alone, but their worship is not in accordance with true law and caused by ignorance.
On reading 'yogksemam vahmyaham' it should not happen that the mind should wander here and there and get entangled in the fulfilment of desire and for accomplishing the same should engage in the worship of gods. But it happens and is happening; the world is in front of us and sensual objects of the world occupy our mind; our vision stretches only to the extent of acquiring them and one feels pleasure in the same. That is why the desire for speedy fulfilment leads to this state.
The magnanimity of the Blessed Lord can be found here too. The worship of the gods is also My worship; but it should be done with faith.
Faith is essential! If the mind carries deceit, arrogance, etc., this cannot be called devotion at all; instead, it will be the demoniac state. It is not in accordance with the true law as when the Supreme is competent, and is giving such a noble assurance that he makes the devotee worry-free by protecting his acquisition and procuring what he needs. Then what was the need to think of anything else? This will be termed as the ignorance of the embodied being.
Remember that: here the worship of the deities is not prohibited but prohibition is for ignorance, the problem is ignorance-how? See further-