We can truly attain liberation only when we understand that Brahmā and Śiva are partial expansions of the Supersoul, and then strive to find that Supersoul. Those who are serious about liberation respect all and are non envious. Yet they reject the ghastly forms of the demigods and worship only the all blissful forms of Lord Nārāyaṇa and His plenary portions. All the demigods are separated parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. The viṣṇu-tattvas are as powerful as the original form of the Lord, and they display different categories of power according to time and circumstances.
We can truly attain liberation only when we understand that Brahmā and Śiva are partial expansions of the Supersoul, and then strive to find that Supersoul. Those who are serious about liberation respect all and are non envious. Yet they reject the ghastly forms of the demigods and worship only the all blissful forms of Lord Nārāyaṇa and His plenary portions. All the demigods are separated parts and parcels of the Supreme Lord. The viṣṇu-tattvas are as powerful as the original form of the Lord, and they display different categories of power according to time and circumstances. The separated parts are powerful by limitation. People worship other deities especially Lord Śiva because they have material desires. But those desiring liberation and devotional service worship only the Supreme Lord.
One who classifies the viṣṇu-tattvas in the same categories as the parts and parcels is an offender by the name pāṣaṇḍī. Demigods such as Kāla-bhairava, Śani, Mahākālī etc are worshipped by those in the mode of ignorance. Demigods like Śiva, Sūrya and Ganeśa are worshipped by those in the mode of passion, urged on by the desire for material enjoyment. But those who are in the mode of goodness worship only the viṣṇu-tattvas like Nārāyaṇa, Dāmodara and others. They respect all the demigods and know well the horrible features of the Supreme Lord are all different servitors of the Lord under different conditions. Yet they reject the worship of both the horrible and attractive features of the demigods, and concentrate only on the forms of Viṣṇu, because they are serious about liberation from material conditions. The demigods cannot offer liberation to anyone and they are all liquidated at the time of annihilation of the material universe. Thus only Lord Viṣṇu can bestow liberation.
Those who are in the modes of ignorance and passion worship the forefathers, other living beings and the demigods in charge of the cosmic activities, for they desire women, wealth, power and progeny. We should never desire material enjoyment and so there is no need to worship the demigods. One who has no information of the benefit derived from Viṣṇu worship, worship the demigods for material enjoyment. But by worshipping Viṣṇu one can derive benefit in this life as well as in life after death. To accept more material enjoyment means to bind oneself more and more to the miseries of material existence. One’s motto of life should be to work hard and worship the Supreme Lord by the fruits of one’s hard labor. Kṛṣṇa Himself stopped the Vrajavāsīs from worshipping Indra and asked them to worship by their business and to have faith in God. Worshipping the multi demigods for material gain is a perversity of religion. Bhāgavata dharma is the one and only religion to be followed by one and all that teaches one to worship the Supreme Lord. Although one can get the same results by worshipping Lord Nārāyaṇa, people do not do so because they are impelled by the lower modes of nature. The worshippers have the same nature as the pitṛs and other demigods, for these beings are influenced by the lower modes. Sūta clearly explains who should be worshipped.