To worship devatas or not

[Guest guest]

Would it offend krishna? is krishna worship alone enough? Are devatas irrelevant then? If so, why are they created?

[jagatpurush]

>Would it offend krishna?

 

in theory there is no harm in worshipping the devatas. it is done in many Vaisnava temples, in the mood that the devatas are servants of Krishna and also Vaisnavas. but in Gaudiya Vaisnavism we generally do not worship them because we don't want to confuse the issue as to who is the supreme controller.

 

>is krishna worship alone enough?

 

As stated in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.31.14),

 

yatha taror mula-nisecanena

trpyanti tat-skandha-bhujopasakhah

pranopaharac ca yathendriyanam

tathaiva sarvarhanam acyutejya

 

“By giving water to the root of a tree one satisfies its branches, twigs and leaves, and by supplying food to the stomach one satisfies all the senses of the body. Similarly, by engaging in the transcendental service of the Supreme Lord [Acyuta or Krishna] one automatically satisfies all the demigods and all other living entities.”

 

>Are devatas irrelevant then?

 

in most cases they are more elevated beings than us aspiring devotees. so if we met them we would certainly bow down. but there is no need to worship separately.

 

> If so, why are they created?

 

they are appointed living entities in charge of various important aspects of the material nature. they are given these posts as a reward for piety from Lord Hari. for example, it is said that if one performs 100 asvamedha yajnas, he can become Indra and enjoy in the heavenly planets. along with the privilege of being Indra comes the responsibility of being in charge of the department of rain.

 

hope this helps! thanks, Hare Krsna.