Mohena kurute yas tu

sadyaç cä ë ò ä latä à vrajet

sadä nya devatä -bhaktir

brä hmaë ä nä à garé yasé

vidü rayati vipratvaà

cä ë ò ä latvaà prayacchati

“Even a learned and thoughtful brä hmaë a should not worship demigods. If one worships demigods because of illusion, one falls down immediately to the stage of a cä ë ò ä la or dog eater.

By worship of the demigods, a brä hmaë a falls from the brä hmaë ical status to that of a cä ë ò ä la.”

'brä hmä ë a' means one who knows the Brahmä -Gä yatré, which is instructed by the saintly Nä rada. The greatly fortunate brä hmaë a understands that Viñ ë u is supreme. Therefore it is said that in Kali yuga, the brä hmaë a who knows Viñ ë u is equal to Viñ ë u. The brä hmaë a is the original Vaiñ ë ava; there is no distinction between the Supreme Lord and the Vaiñ ë ava. The word 'muni' means a thoughtful sage or one who knows truth and falsity. 'Jï ané ' means one who has the knowledge of reality, instead of false knowledge of eating, sleeping, mating and defending. Such a brä hmaë a should not worship the demigods. If he does so, having lost his knowledge by the influence of material desire, he falls down to the level of a cä ë ò ä la. This means that even in this life he becomes like a dog-eater, what to speak of his next life. Although it may seem praiseworthy, it actually destroys his good qualitites and places him on the stage of a dog eater. Therefore, except for serving Gä yatré (in order to worship the Lord) who is a personified great devotee of the Lord, one should not worship any of the devas.

Though a case of a brä hmaë a was cited above, the same rule applies to all situated in varë a and ä ç rama. It is a great fault for anyone to worship demigods instead of Lord Viñ ë u, the Personality of Godhead. Thus in Skaì da Purä ë a it is mentioned in the discussion of Brahmä and Nä rada:

vä sudevaà paritjaya

yo 'nya-devam upä sate

tyaktvä må taà sa mü dhä tmä

bhunkte hä lä halaà viñ am

“Whoever worships other demigods giving up Vä sudeva is a fool and eats the deadly poison called hä lä hala, rejecting nectar.”

Any person in varë ä ç rama who rejects the worship of Vä sudeva, residing in His Supreme abode, and worships demigods, is considered to have abandoned nectar and swallowed poison. He is a fool, completely ignorant, with unsteady mind. A foolish person who has forgotten Lord Vä sudeva leaves the nectar of devotional service to the Lord which is liberation itself, the destroyer of the fetters of material life, and accepts the bondage of mundane life. He has to suffer good and bad activities and traverse the cycle of birth and death through 8, 400, 000 species of life which certainly destroys his original identity. He suffers greatly; therefore it is compared to poison.

This is supported by the following scriptural text: avaç yam eva bhoktavyaà kå taà karma ç ubhä ç ubham - “A person must always enjoy or suffer according to the good or bad activities he has performed in this life.”

Similarly in Mahä bhä rata and Harivaà sa it is stated:

yas tu viñ ë uà parityajya

mohä d anyam upä sate

sa hema-rä ç im utså jya

pä à ç u-rä ç ià jighå kñ ati

“One who worships anyone other than Kå ñ ë a, being under illusion, is considered as having accepted a heap of ashes, while rejecting a pile of gold.”

Being bewildered by the Lord's external potency (mohä t) any human being who rejects the all-pervading Supreme Master of the world, Viñ ë u, who is served by following in the footsteps of those who are in His full shelter, and instead serves demigods and demigodesses as the worshippable bestowers of his desires, accepts a heap of dust instead of a quantity of gold.

In contrast to this, one who has obtained the human form of life as a result of service to Lord Govinda in many previous lives, and has accepted name and mantra from a bona-fide spitiual master, avoids the adoration of the demigods by the body, speech and mind, and serves Lord Viñ ë u in devotion as his only master. He rejects completely the process of material bondage of birth and death in various species of life as a heap of sand and accepts service to Lord Govinda like a treasure of gold. The word 'jighå kñ ati' means to accept.Therefore the unalloyed devotees of Lord Govinda, in all activities accept what is real or 'sat' and reject what is false, considering the principles of bhagavata-dharma.

Meaning of “sat”

In this regard Lord Kå ñ ë a explains to Arjuna in Bhagavad-Gé tä 17.26, 27:

sad-bhä ve sä dhu bhä ve ca