In response to my post “IS QURAN DISCRIMINATING AGAINST THE IDOL WORSHIPPERS BY TOTALLY DENYING THEM HEAVEN?”, friend Veturi Sriharsha is of opinion that Mohammad Alvi is misinterpreting Vedas and Upanishads to show ‘commonalities’ between Islam and Hinduim and Agni (Fire), Vayu (Air) and Water were always worshipped in Hinduism. Veturi Sriharsha writes: “Good way of misinterpreting vedas and upanishads....agni, vayu and water were always worshipped in Hinduism...idol worship was there through yagnas and any attempt to corroborate with Islam looks out of place and a contrived amalgamation which does not match. Hinduism believes in idol worship, and so do Buddhism. Krishna didn't ask Arjuna to kill kauravas because they were non-believers. He said where adharma (unjust) is there we should fight it. No mention of Krishna glorifying himself. Pray, where was it mentioned in Mahabharata that Brahmins sided with Kauravas? I'm afraid a forced attempt was made to somehow drag some 'commonalities' which do not match between Islam and Hinduism.”
MOHAMMAD ALVI writes from here: Dear friend Veturi Sriharsha, Mohammad Alvi is showing the commonalities because there are commonalities in existence. I have just written a few of them, I can write a 1000 pages on the commonalities. In fact, such a great number of commonalities exist because the express purpose of the Vedas was to identify the role of Devas who had a very important role to play in Divine Creation Plan, as powers created even before man, and who were created from ‘divya’ or ‘noor’. Their role was to guide mankind; they were the ropes to salvation. And as part of this guiding process, their noor or jyoti was to descend in human bodies. The noor of all the Devas descended one after another at a secret place that was the desert of Arabia. Vedas are replete with prophecies from the lives of Devas when they will take birth in human form. It is this reason why there are so many commonalities that exist.
I hope you have read my earlier post: “कुछ लोग कहते हैं मौहम्मद अलवी कमीना है”. Before you read any further, you are requested to read that post and then respond whether the Vedas are indeed talking of the birth of Devas in human body or not? The proofs that I have given in that post are just from two hymns of the Vedas; and you yourself are aware how many hymns in the four Vedas talk of the Devas. That is why I claim I can keep presenting the commonalities to you.
You say Agni (fire), Vayu (air) and water were always worshipped by the Hindus. I agree with you only partly. At some period in time, Hindus started worshipping the 5 divinities as the 5 basic elements viz. the material air, fire, water, sky and earth. I ask you a question: are these really the 5 basic elements? Is sky an element? Is there any correlation between material sky and fire? Moreover, when the number 7 was used in the Vedas and Upanishads, it was said that 5 basic elements plus ego and mind are being talked about? Does ego has any correlation with air or sky? Don’t you think these were the interpretations given when there were no interpretations that they could give? Mohammad Alvi, based on his study, is now in position to explain exactly what is meant by the 5, by the 7, by the 12, and by the 14. I hope you are aware, numbers 5, 7, 12, and 14 have been used time and again in the Vedas, Upanishads and Purana.
If Agni is material fire, why do you tell stories to children of Ram leaving Sita in the protection of Agnideva or Krishna meeting one or the other Devas and the various stories of fight between Devatas and Asuras (demons)? If they are material elements, why are there stories of Devatas coming down from heaven to impregnate young maidens? Gita and Upanishads have talked of Indra’s heaven and Gita has even asked us to give a portion of our food in the name of the Devas or else we are thieves.
Despite all this, your claim that they are material elements borders on absurdity. And if you are of view that they are not material elements but divinities, then kindly tell what is so important about them that the entire Vedas are replete with their mention? Vedas are a book of guidance. They are not story books which would have narrated stories of fights between Devatas and Asuras; meaning that some people have derived from their misunderstood translations of the Vedas.
Devas enjoy a far more important postion in Divine Plan than we believe. If we are to aspire for salvation, it is not possible without identifying the Devas because it is they who are the rope to heaven and salvation.
Vedas say:
ओं विष्वानि देव सवितर्दुरितान् िपरासुवा यद् भंद्र तन्न् आसुव।।
“O All-creating Deva please sweep away from us all sins, vices and miseries and grant us all that is beneficial and auspicious.”
If you believe that the material fire, earth, sky and water will sweep away from us the sins, vices and miseries and grant us all that is beneficial and auspicious for us, then there is no point to discuss any further. Truth is that the sacred scriptures of the Hindus, viz. Vedas, Upanishads and Gita are full of mention of the term Deva, who are being invoked in the aforementioned mantra to remove all our sins, vices and miseries. Also, it is clear that things beneficial and auspicious are granted by the Devas. But who are the Devas? Do Hindus or anybody else for that matter know their identity? If we do not know their identity, how will we invoke or remember them.
Our view is that the Divine Scriptures associated with Hindus have been least understood till date. All the four Vedas are full of the mention of Devas yet you ask the Hindus who they are or who they were, and they won’t be able to reveal their identity. They keep the names of their children on the names of the Devatas and Devi, they prey to Devatas like Indra when there is no rain or too much of rain, Devi Saraswati is invoked before seeking knowledge, Lakshmi is believed to be the Devi of Wealth, yet they do not know who these Devatas or Devis are or what are they doing at the moment.
We request you all to keep the faculties of reason open. It is lack of application of our reasoning faculties and our blind devotion to the so-called notions of religious beliefs, devotion and faith, which have led to all the corruption in our lives and religion. We all call ourselves living in the scientific age and consider ourselves enlightened. Yet, we do not put reason to optimum use, particularly in religious matters, thereby most of us end up blindly following the religion of our forefathers, something that has been strongly condemned in the Gita.
In order to understand the truth, we request you to first detach yourself from the beliefs and views inherited and developed all through your life (which is not going to be easy) and then read along with patience.
In Kautilya’s Arthasastra (V.3.xiii.1), we find the Pauranika, Suta and Magadha, as given a very high position in the royal court like the Kartanika (foreteller), Naimittika (reader of omens), Mauhurtika (astrologer) and others and allowed to draw a salary of 1000 Panas, but they are said to have been employed for ‘giving wide publicity to the power of the king to be associated with Devas throughout his territory,’ and in foreign countries, for ‘spreading the news of Devas appearing before the conqueror and of his having received weapons and treasure from heaven.’
These are not our words, but those of Kautilya’s Arthasastra, endorsed by famous writer RC Hazra in his book. The wordings here clearly show that the stories of arms received from Devas in heaven were created to get a psychological advantage over their enemies. But this also shows that people of yore were not believing Devas to be material elements as some of us do now?
Do we require any other proof to show how the character of Devas like Indra got maligned because of the manufactured stories; so much so that several people today believe that Indra was perhaps a man of loose moral character? Could this have been possible, considering that Indra never came down on earth, for there are Upanishads telling ‘has anybody seen Indra?’
It is extremely sorry that the present-day Hindus see even Kautilya’s Arthasastra as part of their religious literature, in spite of the fact that Kautilya had nothing to do with true religion. Teachings like those that talk of using all possible means, even deplorable, to achieve one’s objectives, are oft quoted by the Hindus. They forget that Kautilya was merely a shrewd politician who used religion to his advantage. Otherwise, the real preachers of true Hindu teachings are the likes of Maryada Purushottam Rama who left the palace life to live a life of hardships just for an apparently insignificant moral issue. Likewise, physical purity of his wife was so dear to Rama that he forced Sita, his beloved wife for whom he had taken on the might of a powerful king, to agni-pariksha. It is sad chapter of Indian history that the later day scholars gave worldly men, like Kautilya, who had nothing to do with spirituality or religion, the aura of auspiciousness and who believed in the manufactured stories of impropriety linked to Devatas like Indra and Prajapati.
This is how all those absurd stories about Devas like Indra and Vayu came into circulation, which form part of the present-day Puranas. If the priests and the kings could go to these levels to retain their hold over power, they would have surely tried to hide their sins once the lady who had to face their lustful deeds got pregnant. This was particularly so because the king’s fame had been built on righteous acts and it was not expected of them or of the maidens of their household to have ill-gotten children. The blame was conveniently shifted on the Devas, whom none had seen but all revered and worshipped. This could not have happened without support of the high priests. Therefore, we see several such children when we read Mahabharata; a great many of them were fighting either on the side of Krishna or against him.
Is it difficult to comprehend that the sins of sages and kings were ascribed to the Devas? So much so that if a woman in forest was impregnated by somebody and if she happened to be from an influential family, it was publicized that Indra or Sun God or Moon God came down to commit that act of sin, thereby taking away the blame from that woman and also hiding the identity of the person who impregnated her. Since money was spent in this propaganda drive and the learned sages were responsible for carrying it out, because of their firm hold on the simple and ignorant people, it slowly became part of folklore, all of whom were later given a place in the Puranas when they were rewritten due to certain unknown compulsions at a later stage. After all, if the woman said that it was the moon-god who did this to her, and the revered sage authenticated it by saying that the moon-god came to him to wash away the remnants, consequent to performing the act, it was difficult to disbelieve it.
The sages were even smarter. They even befooled the kings at time, so that the kings gave away their wives to them, in order to produce children possessing devata-like powers. Vishnu Purana recounts one such incident. Similar incidents are available in few other Puranas as well. It is common sense that the kings married the most beautiful of women. The priests, owing to their extraordinary power over the kings and also because of the false supremacy that they had propagated for themselves, made these kings part away with their wives. The wives came to sleep with these ‘revered sages’ so that children with extraordinary powers were born to them. Thus the priests even initiated adultery, using the great respect that people and kings had for them. And the common people must have continued to see them as Brahmcharis (willfully celibate).
Puranas say that even in Krishna’s time, examples of Rishis begetting children from young and unmarried women and having illicit relationships with the wives of the kshattriya kings and princes abound.
Another reason why the priests enjoyed such great supremacy over kings was because of the great control that these pseudo-priests had over the common people. The kings feared that the priests were in position to create a negative atmosphere about the king, if they fell from their grace. The chief priest only had to wake up in the morning and say that such and such Deva came in dream and said that the king was not working as per the Vedic teachings, and people would have ousted the king. On the contrary, if the king kept them satisfied, they narrated positive stories to the people. Even stories of arms coming from heaven were created to give a psychological advantage over the enemies. Thus they went out of the way to satisfy the priest, even if it meant sending their wives to them or showering them with gifts. Puranas have even given incidents where priests not only removed a king over a flimsy issue but also killed him and made his son, who was a day old, as king.
Read the entire Matsya Purana and you will get to realize the significance of Krishna’s statement when he said that God was nowhere to be found in the religious sacrifices and neither were the teachings of morality, auspiciousness, chastity, non-violence, etc. were visible. The image of Paramatma gobbling all the Devas and Demons was shown to Arjuna because people of the time were indeed worshipping all of them and were not cognizing God. This exactly was the adharm that Krishna talked about.
It is unfortunate that people of yore had developed stories regarding Indra and Brhaspati of such low level they do not seem to listen to the talk of morality in front of their lustful desires or when in love with someone else’s wife. How can this be accepted of Indra or Brhaspati when Divine Scriptures like the Vedas are full of praises for them? Even their righteousness and steadfastness has been praised time and again. But have we understood the Vedas truly? It is clear that we have not! Fact remains that Indra and Brhaspati are the highest creation of the Absolute God and the rest of jivas (beings) owe their creation to them. If Puranas have penned down such thoughts about them, it shows that they contain nothing but heresy and myths, written by someone who was himself unable to distinguish between right and wrong.
The Vishnu Purana mentions several instances where Rishis built huge palaces for their wives, which were many. Rishi Saubhari made King Mandhatri marry all his 50 daughters to him. The king did so as he was ‘dreading to incur the anger and imprecation of the holy man.’ Such was the fear of these ‘holy men’.
Vishnu Purana says: “The sage took them home to his habitation, where he employed the chief of architects, Visvakarman, equal in taste and skill to Brahma himself, to construct separate palaces of each of his wives: he ordered him to provide each building with elegant couches and seats and furnitures, and to attach to them gardens and groves, with reservoirs of water, where the wild-duck and the swan should sport amidst beds of lotus flowers.”
We read these accounts and move ahead. Not for a moment do we realize the negative aspect of it. All the wealth had got confined in the hands of the Rishis. Rishi Saubhari had so much of wealth that he could afford 50 palaces for his 50 wives. Did we ever think from where all this would have come? Even the kings were afraid of the Rishis, so much so that a king parted with all his daughters and married them to an old Rishi, who could not even walk straight. Naturally, the kings bestowed generous donations on the sages and even supplied them with women, sometimes their own wives, so as to keep them happy. How these Rishis could have ever endorsed Krishna’s teachings, which talked of returning to God and righteousness? They knew that Krishna emphasized on righteousness and subjugation to none but God and accepting these teachings would have meant bidding farewell to their lives of luxury. This is the reason why Bhishma and Drona, who surely represented an entire group of Brahmans stood up to oppose Krishna, thereby leading to the battle of Mahabharata. Who would have liked to loose such a lifestyle where the kings too were afraid of the Rishis and sages to such a great extent?
See the conditions of those times in the words of Maitri Upanishad and introspect whether some of the evils described have crept our present society or not.
VII.8 says:
Now then, the hindrances to knowledge, O King. This is indeed the source of the net of delusion, the association of one who is worthy of heaven with those who are not worthy of heaven, that is it. Though it is said there is a grove before them they cling to a low shrub. Now there are some who are always hilarious, always abroad, always begging, always making a living by handicraft. And others are who are beggars in town, who perform sacrifices, for the unworthy, who are the disciples of Sudras and who, though Sudras, are learned in the scriptures. And others there are who are wicked, who wear their hair in a twisted knot, who are dancers, who are mercenaries, traveling mendicants, actors, those who have been degraded in the king’s service. And others there are who, for money, profess they can allay (the evil influences) of Yaksas (sprites), Raksasas (ogres), ghosts, goblins, devils, serpents, imps and the like. And others there are who, under false pretexts, wear the read rope, earrings and skulls. And others there are who love to distract the believers in the Veda by the jugglery of false arguments, comparisons and paralogisms, with these one should not associate. These creature, evidently, are thieves and unworthy of heaven. For this has it been said: The world bewildered by doctrines that deny the self, by false comparisons and proofs does not discern the difference between wisdom and knowledge.
This is a very important passage as it tells to what extent degradation had occurred. All types of pseudo-worshippers were present who were not worthy of going to heaven. There were some whose company itself, people were advised, not to keep. And there was a group of evil men who were working to distract the people from the Vedas by the jugglery of false arguments, comparisons and parallelisms. That they are described as thieves and not worthy of heaven tells clearly the bad times through which Hinduism had to pass through.
It is clear the conflict between good and bad was at its peak and the chief worry of the followers of the true path was to safeguard the teachings of the Vedas. The distinction between ignorant and wise had diminished or almost evaporated. Those who were ignorant were considered knowledgeable and likewise, vice versa. People doubted the revealed scriptures like Vedas and stories were circulating regarding the identity of Devas, who were sometimes portrayed playing villainous roles. Some of these, like the fight between Devas and demons were so sporadically spread that they have even reached us as myths. It is extremely doubtful whether they are based on truth. Yet, such was the intensity of these narrations that the sage Yama had to take recourse to one such story to reveal the importance of Vedas and to downgrade the value of demons. This is apparent from the following verse.
See VII.10 of the Maitri Upanishad:
Verily, the Devas and the demons, being desirous of (knowing) the self went into the presence of Brahma. Having bowed before him they said, Revered Sir, we are desirous of (knowing) the self, so do you tell us. Then, after having reflected a long while, he thought in himself. Verily, these demons are desirous of a self different (from the true one). Therefore a very different doctrine was told to them. On that these deluded (demons) here live their life, with intense attachment, destroying the means of salvation and praising what is false. They see the false, as if it were true, as in jugglery. Therefore what is set forth in the Vedas, that is the truth. On what is said in the Vedas, on that wise men live their life. Therefore a Brahman should not study what is not of the Veda. This should be the purpose.
Vedas, it is reiterated here as well, are the supreme source of all rightful information. And the fact that wise men lived their life waiting for the Devas to come too can be derived from Vedas and various Upanishads. Since the authenticity and greatness of Devas is maintained in all books having a Divine association (the Vedas and Gita), nobody can deny the role of Devas in God’s schemes related to this Creation. My request to you is not to look at the illiterate people of yore to tell you who are the Devas. They were not having the brains to understand their role and position. Use your intellect and if you will do so, truth will glare at your face.
If the Vedas are revealed scriptures, as they are rightly believed to be so, there must be some very strong reason why the entire Vedas (all four of them) talk of the Devas and nothing else? But if Vedas are full of description of Devas, why is it that the present Hindu society does not give the same status to the Devas? Why is it that scholars like Dayanand Saraswati translated the term Deva as steam engines, airplanes, etc. and other commentators showed that the Devas existed at one point of time but their role is not that important anymore? Surely there is something amiss! Does that mean that the Vedas have lost their relevance now? Never! If this is not so then we will have to accept that that we have not understood the Vedas and the Devas truly till date. The Devas are, as have been described in various Upanishads, truly the source of all knowledge revealed to show us the true path.
Verse 1.2:4 of Mundaka Upanishad talks of the seven and does not fail to state that one of them is a Devi. It is unfortunate that there are still people who claim that by 7 the 5 basic elements, ego and mind are meant. The very fact that one of the moving tongues of fire is a Devi, which has been wrongly translated as goddess by commentators, shows the remaining six must be Devas. In my earlier posts, I have shown that the Devas are actually fourteen in number but with seven names and one of them is a Devi. You will also see that Puranas state that of the 14 Manus, one is a Devi. Even in case of Manus, number seven has been used at times, indicating that Manus and Devas are one and the same. The names that are given of the Manus are also the names that are given to the Devas. We fail to understand how commentators failed to notice even this.
I.2.4: The seven moving tongues of fire are the black, the terrific, the swift as mind, the very red, the very smoky-coloured, the spark blazing, the all-shaped (or all-tasting) goddess (original word in Sanskrit is Devi).
Next verse tells clearly that the Devas alone are subject of discussion and we were not wrong in concluding, in the previous verse, that there are Devas with six names and one Devi, who originated from the One Light of the Manifest Self created by the Absolute God - as light or fire or Noor with power over all things in the universe. The succeeding verse also categorically states that there would be a time when these seven tongues, of whom one is a Devi, would come to shine on this earth, like the various rays of the sun. It is stated that this would happen at an appropriate time. The verse talks of ‘performing work’ and ‘making offerings’ when these Devas would come on earth, thus making it explicitly clear that it will be our duty to perform certain works for them and make offerings to these Devas, when they would come on earth. Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad even says that there were people who, when on their death-bed, used to lament to their sons that they (the Devas) didn’t come in their lifetime so that they would have helped them in their works. These people willed their sons to be on the side of the Devas, if they came during the lifetime of their sons.
Read what I.2.5 of Mundaka Upanishad says:
Whosoever performs works, makes offerings, when these are shining and at the proper time, these in the form of the rays of the sun lead him to that where the one lord of the Devas abide.
It is explicitly clear from this that Devas are not God, but the one lord of the Devas is someone else and it is the Devas who function as the rope to lead us to the Lord.
We hope these verses leave no room for doubt that there was a time when the Indo-Aryans were waiting for the arrival of the Devas. The Vedas too are in future tense, imploring the Devas to descend in human form on earth. It is clear that the Devas had not made an appearance till the time the Vedas, the Puranas, the Upanishads and even Gita were composed.
Verse 1.2.6 of Mundaka again shows clearly that the Devas had not come by then; they would come to shine at a proper time, and through ritual offerings the aim was to invite them to come. This is not the translation done by us but that of Radhakrishnan, a great scholar of Sanskrit. Read the verse and you will find that a sacrificer is praying to the Devas so that they come and lay straight the path to Brahma’s Heaven. Does this not indicate that the path that leads to a permanent stay in Brahma’s Heaven is inevitably linked with the Devas? As you read further, you will find that even Krishna has talked of Devas and the Manifest Self, though the word used by him is Indra’s Heaven, thereby indicating a link between Brahma and the Devata Indra.
See I.2.6 from Mundaka Upanishad:
The radiant offerings invite him with the words, ‘come, come,’ and carry the sacrificer by the rays of the sun, honouring him and saluting him with pleasing words: ‘This is your holy world of Brahma won through good deeds.’
The words are clear! The Devas are being invoked through radiant offerings and ritual sacrifices to come to live in this world. As time passed, people forgot the purpose of these offerings and sacrifices but continued to perform them without knowing their true purport. Whether this happened during the 1000 years when Buddhism reigned supreme or earlier cannot be said with certainty.
Verse 8 of Mundaka tells clearly that those who consider themselves as wise but are ignorant of this knowledge, related to the role of the Devas in salvation and subsequent permanent stay in Brahma’s Heaven, are blind.
I.2.8: Abiding in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own esteem, thinking themselves to be learned, fools, afflicted with troubles, go about like blind men led by one who is himself blind.
I.2.9. The immature, living manifoldly in ignorance, think ‘we have accomplished our aim.’ Since those who perform rituals do not understand (these 7 moving tongues of fire) because of attachment, therefore they sink down, wretched when their worlds (i.e. the fruits of their merits) are exhausted.
Isn’t the aforementioned verse again stating that it is not possible to ‘accomplish one’s spiritual aim’ without recognizing these seven Devas who have also been mentioned as Satrudras? People who are not able to recognize these seven moving tongues of fire are described as wretched, immature and ignorant. Those who perform rituals without knowing their true purpose are condemned.
Those who perform righteous acts without the knowledge of those who have been created as the torchbearers to Brahma’s Heaven, may get temporary rewards after death but eventually they will have to come back to earth, more likely in a lower state. See how sacrifices and works of merits too would not serve any purpose, in terms of getting salvation, if those who are to show the path to salvation are not identified. Manifest Self, which comprises of the ‘seven moving tongues of fire’ - the Devas with six names and a Devi - will show the path to salvation. Scholars of Sanskrit know this when they talk of a Nirakar (formless) becoming Saakar (manifest), but have been unable to understand truly what the scriptures meant when they described the process, ending on the Devas.
You will be interested to note that Krishna too has talked of the same subject, and in greater detail. You will find that Gita too has equated permanent bliss or salvation with the recognition of the Manifest Self. Ponder for a moment, are we suitably prepared for salvation? Have we identified the torchbearers till now?
Let’s move ahead to give you still more examples.
In Svetasvatara Upanishad, sage Svetasvatara gives the cause of our creation as something else than the Brahman (God). Brahman created the devatma-sakti (the power of the combined soul of Devas; this has been mentioned by none else than Radhakrishnan) and then the mankind was created out of this Divine Atma (Manifest Self), when Brahman (God) was pleased with their worship. The fourteen devas who were created out of this One Manifest Self or devatma sakti govern our lives and bodies. It can henceforth be inferred that the cause of creation through the Manifest Self or devatma shakti was to worship Brahman and lead us to the worship of Brahman.
Svetasvatara Upanishad refers to this devatma-sakti (self-power) as the cause of this universe, and goes on to say in verse I.4 that the rope of this devatma sakti is manifold (as it comprises of 14 Devas; each being the ruler of the 14 spheres, and also the rulers of our organs of senses and action).
In this Upanishad, Sage Svetasvatara is asked the question, “What is the cause? Brahman? Whence are we born? By what do we live? And on what are we established?” Svetasvatara replies that the cause is the devatma-sakti, which is presided by the Brahman (God), thereby confirming that Brahman (God) is not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the running of this world. All these affairs, including life and death, creation and destruction, and sending of the Messengers to lead us to the worship of Absolute God are in the hands of the devatma-shakti; thus the Devatas.
Sage Svetasvatara says:
O ye who know Brahman, presided over by whom do we live our different conditions in pleasures and other than pleasures (pains).
Now see the succeeding verses in succession:
I.2. Time, inherent nature, necessity, chance, the (five) elements, the womb or the person be considered as the cause? It cannot be a combination of these because of the existence of the soul. Even the soul is powerless in respect of the cause of pleasure and pain.
I.3. Those who followed after meditation and contemplation saw the (devatma-sakti) self-power of the Divine hidden in its own qualities. He is the one who rules over all these causes from time to the soul.
I.4. Him (the self-power), whose one rope is manifold.
See how clearly this Upanishad states that the self-power (devatma shakti) created by Brahman (the God) is one that moves this universe. It is stated that the self-power is manifold, thereby confirming that the Devas and one Devi comprise this self-power. The word used is ‘rope’. Just as a ‘rope’ is made through uniting several similar ropes, the power of the Devas, when combined, form the devatma shakti. You will be surely interested to note that the subject of rope is also an oft-quoted subject in Quran and Prophet Mohammad’s traditions. More interestingly, the 14 Noor that had 7 names viz. the Ahlulbayt have been described as the rope to heaven.
In the next verse of Svetasvatara Upanishad, this rope is compared to a river of five streams, which together comprise the Life (Prana). In another Upanishad which describes Life (Prana) and there too you will see that five components of Life are described and later 9 more to make it fourteen. Just as a rope comprises of several ropes, each of which has similar attributes and may have further sub-ropes, similarly, five Devas comprise the five streams, and from them emanate the 9 sub-streams.
The purpose of these Devas is to lead us to God. Since various Upanishads like Paingala Upanishad confirm that the Devas were created from the pure (sattvik) essence of Vishnu, the soul in a human body at the time of birth is in pure state as it is having direct relation to the devatma-sakti.
The purpose of our creation is to tread on the path shown by the Devas, so as to attain union with the Absolute. This could only be possible by single-minded devotion and worship of the God. Those who are unable to do this and fall to the material attractions around them, their fall becomes impure and hence is unable to unite with the Paramatma (the Chief Soul), at the time of death. Such a soul needs to take birth again and again, through different wombs depending on the state of the soul at the time of the physical death of the body. This process continues till a stage is reached when the soul finally attains the union.
Gita too confirms this view.
The Devas ceaselessly try to lead us to God and won’t be satisfied until all the souls get united with the God. This is the desire that Devas are ceaselessly trying to fulfill. In order to fulfill this desire, they even took birth in human form (and were called Ahlulbayt), lived a life of hardship when on earth and even gave sacrifices of their happiness as well as life, but continued working to achieve their objective. The one who is referred to as Kalki Avatar in Vishnu Purana and elsewhere, or the last of the 14 Devas (referred to as Mahdi by Muslims), would surely achieve that goal. Presently, it is our duty that we live the life in such a manner that we give these Devas reason to be pleased with us.
I.13 says:
As the form of fire when latent in its source is not seen and yet its seed is not destroyed, but may be seized again and again in its source by means of the drill, so it is in both cases. The self has to be seized in the body by means of the syllable Aum.
The Eternal is very much present in the self inside our body but it cannot be truly known without a sincere effort in the right direction. The syllable Aum helps us in attaining this objective. That merely uttering a word lead us to such a state; it would be naïve to think so! Salvation cannot be attained unless we know the meaning of Aum truly. Upanishads say that Aum too is related to the flight towards attaining unity with God, but through a bird composed of fourteen Devas, one of whom is a devi. The vowels of Aum signify the five Devas, who were created from the One Self called Life or Prana, and the ardh-matra signify the 9 devatas, also part of the Prana or Life.
I.14. As oil in sesamum seeds, as butter in cream, as water in riverbeds, as fire in friction sticks, so is the Self seized in one’s own soul if one looks for Him with truthfulness and austerity.
If we look for the Self through the help of Aum, signifying the fourteen Devas, we will know that it is present in our souls itself. But truthfulness, austerity and sincere effort are pre-requisite without which it is not possible to realize one’s self and attain unity with the God.
Vedas say that the Devas are the leaders of our organs of action and senses. All through Gita, Krishna has stressed on the need to align one’s self with the Manifest Self. The organs of action and senses are to be given under the control of the Devas and all actions are performed for God, without seeking any returns. Such a person eventually attains salvation.
I.16. The Self which pervades all things as butter is contained in milk, which is the root of self-knowledge and austerity, that is the Brahman, the highest mystic doctrine. That is the highest mystic doctrine.
The Self may have 14 constituents, but when they all are united, that is Brahman, It is Brahman alone who is present in all of us as butter is so uniformly present in milk, through the Devas. Recognizing this relationship of our self with the Brahman is the root of self-knowledge and austerity.
Verse 14 of Chapter II describes further the condition of one attaining unity with the Self. It says:
Even as a mirror stained by dust shines brightly when it has been cleaned, so the embodied one when he has seen the nature of the self becomes integrated, of fulfilled purpose and freed from sorrow.
II.15. When by means of the nature of his self he sees as by a lamp here the nature of Brahman, by knowing God who is unborn, steadfast, free from all natures, he is released from all fetters.
II.16. He indeed, is the God who pervades all regions, He is the first-born and he is within the womb. He has been born and he will be born. He stands opposite all persons, having his face in all directions.
II.17. The God who is in fire, who is in water, who has entered into the whole world, who is in plants, who is in trees, to that God be adoration, yea, be adoration.
After talking about the God, the subject again returns to Devas in the third chapter of Svetasvatara Upanishad. We have seen in Vedas that Rudra has been used for Ali. Here it is explicitly stated that Rudra is the great seer, and source and origin of all the Devas, the one who gave birth to the golden germ. It is he who rules all these words with his ruling powers, he is the protector, and it is he who after creating all worlds withdraws them at the end of time.
See what III.1-2 says:
The one who spreads the net, who rules with his ruling powers, who rules all the world with his ruling powers, who remains one, while arise and continue to exist, they who know that become immortal.
Truly Rudra is one, there is no place for a second, who rules all these worlds, with his ruling powers. He stands opposite creatures. He, the protector, after creating all worlds, withdraws them at the end of time.
The extent to which the Devas have been empowered can be seen from the aforementioned verses. It is Rudra or Ali as Deva who has spread this net of creation and who rules overall the worlds, who is the protector, after creation, and who it will be who will withdraw the creation towards the end.
Isn’t it clear now? Be it tsunami, hurricane or a quake – it is Rudra who can save us from it. It is Rudra to whom we should turn our prayers for sustenance and protection. If we won’t do so, the day is not far when he may withdraw the creation.
Interestingly, there is a small prayer to Ali that some of his devout followers recite when in need of help. It goes like this: Nade aliyan mazharul ajaib (Try to call Ali, who is the carrier of miraculous powers of God); Tajidho aunan laka fin nawaib, kullo hamminv wa ghamminv sayanjali (you will find him coming to assistance in each of your problems and calamities); be azamateka ya Allah (in the name of the greatness of God), be nubuvvateka ya Mohammad (in the name of the prophethood of Mohammad), be vilayateka (in the name of Ali’s successorship) ya Ali, ya Ali, ya Ali adriknee (O Ali, O Ali, O Ali help me).
Consequent to showering praises on Rudra, the Upanishad talks of all the Devas in the succeeding verse. These Devas have been compared to a tree, established in heaven, from whom the whole universe is filled. These, described as Person, or one entity, is beyond this world, are without form and without suffering. Those who know that become immortal, but others go only to sorrow, it is said.
See III.4 talks of Rudra again and cites his relationship with all the rest of Devas:
He who is the source and origin of devas (powers), the ruler of all, Rudra, the great seer, who of old gave birth to the golden germ. (Hiranya-garbha), may he endow us with clear understanding.
Prayer to Rudra or the Noor of Ali is being made. It is he who is the great seer. (Even Gita has referred to the seven great seers). He created the golden germ (refer to Brhad-aranyaka and Paingala Upanishads for more) and it is through him that all the Devas and consequently all the beings originated. If due to such stress on the role of this Deva in the creation of the cosmos, some people erroneously took to the worship of the phallus, we should not be surprised. You will be surprised to know that there was a time when phallus was being worshipped not only India, but in Mesopotamia, China and Japan, Greece and Rome, Egypt, Australia and America.
In the aforementioned verse, Rudra is also invoked for a clear understanding so that all the obstacles in recognizing him and his true position get removed. Once we are able to do so, we will also realize the importance of other Devas, upon cognizing whose true identity and gaining knowledge about their true position, the path to immortality will be become clear and reachable.
Verse 3 of Jabala Upanishad too confirms this. ‘Once students of sacred knowledge asked (Yajnavalkya): Can we gain life eternal by the repetition of formulas (mantras)? Yajnavalkya said (in reply) By (meditation on) saturudriya which are the names of eternal life, one becomes immortal. [Saturudriya again means the seven rudras.]
And see how the prayer to Rudra to come down on earth with his body is made in the following verse:
III.5: Rudra, your body which is auspicious, unterrifying, showing no evil – with that most benign body, O dweller in the high places, look upon us.
Rudra did come down in human body and was known as Ali.
Interestingly, the Matsya Purana has clearly stated Aditi to be one of the names of Devi, along with Parvati, Saraswati, Durga, Lakshmi, Sati, Devi, and others. In fact, Matsya Purana goes on to give more than 100 names for this Devi. Inability to understand the identity of this Devi led to the evolution of several myths around her various names, though the source of all those myths continue to remain in the Vedas or rather people’s wrong interpretation of Vedas. It is clearly stated by Dowson that in the Rig-veda, she “is frequently implored for blessings on children and cattle, for protection and for forgiveness.”
One of the names of Devi is Rudrani. She is also Parvati, who is the wife of Shiv. From this description, it may be proved that the Devi when she took birth in human body was named Fatima. Famous researcher of Vedas, Dowson is of opinon that the Devas were born from each other and derived their substance from one another. Fatima is the only female in the list of 14 Ahlulbayt; interestingly the 14 Ahlulbayt have only 7 names; just as the 14 Manu are at other times described as 7 and at times Upanishad says 7 and 7 instead of directly saying 14.
Zulmat (Tamas or Forces of Darkness) was always bent on destroying the knowledge of this rope to salvation and worship. That is why all attempts were made and are still being made to divert us from attaining true knowledge of the Devas. It is these reason attaining their knowledge has been referred to as a great secret. Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad: I.II.7 says:
He desired, let this (body) of mine be fit for sacrifice and let me have a self through this. Thereupon, it became a horse, because it swelled, it has become fit for sacrifice. Therefore the horse-sacrifice came to be known as aswa-medha. He who knows this, verily, knows the asva-medha. Letting it remain free, he reflected: and at the end of a year (after a time-gap) he offered it to himself. He gave up the animals to the divinities. Therefore (men, priests) offer to Prajapati the sanctified (horse) dedicated to all the devas (all the divisions of Self or all the illuminators of knowledge). Verily, that (self) which gives of heat is the horse-sacrifice. His body is the year. This fire is the arka and that these worlds are his bodies. So there are two, the sacrificial fire and the horse sacrifice. Yet again they are one divinity, even death. He overcomes repeated death, death cannot get hold of him, death becomes his body, and he becomes one with these divinities.
In II.7, the knowledge of these men is referred to as ‘sanctified’, or ‘proksitam’. Aswa-medha sacrifice, it is evident was initiated in remembrance of this greater sacrifice of the Devas. It is clearly stated that upon reflecting, he gave himself to the beasts (meaning men with beastly qualities or rather those under the influence of their animal selfs). Not knowing the true significance of these verses, commentators like Radhakrishnan have used divinities and animals together. Fact is that people with animal selfs killed Husain; it was a sacrifice that he gave for upholding of Divine teachings. Again two types of sacrifices are talked about, pertaining to the death of Hasan and Husain due to dissimilar circumstances and it is stated that in spite of that, “they are one divinity, even (in) death.” They are to ‘alabhata’, ‘offer’ or ‘sacrifice themselves for Him’.
It is clearly stated that all the divinities are one and the same. And we find Mohammad too saying that the fourteen were one and the same. He said:
The first is Mohammad, the last is Mohammad, the middle is Mohammad and all are Mohammad.
Once again, II.7 indicates that some divine secret is being talked about.
He (who knows this) overcomes repeated death, death cannot get hold of him, death becomes his body, and he becomes one with these divinities.
If you recall, this Upanishad had talked of deliverance and vehicle/s of religious truth in the beginning. Till here, first five of the Devas and their origin is being discussed. You have already seen before how these five are together termed as Prana or Life. Also, nine more devas were created from the progeny of fifth, in succession, to make it fourteen. The last or the fourteenth of them too is Mahiman or Mohammad, just as the first, from whom all the rest were created, was Mahiman or Mohammad. The last deva is to appear in future as Mahdi or Kalki avatar, and upon his appearance all hidden truths will be revealed. This too has been described at countless places in Puranas and Upanishads.
If no secret is being talked about here, then why it is being repeatedly said, “He who knows this stands firm wherever he goes.” So much of weightage is given to “this knowledge”, in verse after verse.
I.III.11. That divinity, verily, having struck off the evil, the death, of those divinities, next carried them beyond death.
It is clear from the aforementioned verses that life beyond death is related to the knowledge of the devas described above. Once the evil is struck off, and the knowledge of Udgitha is known, people would attain salvation. After all, Gita has clearly stated that salvation or freedom from rebirth is directly related to the recognition of the Manifest Self of God. The fourteen devas were created from that Manifest Self, and we know from Vedas itself that Mohammad is the chief of them all.
Later in III.16, it says:
Thus, verily, that divinity carries beyond death him who knows thus.
And see III.17:
Then it chanted food for itself. For whatever food is eaten is eaten by him alone. In it is established.
See what Isa Upanishad has to say further:
I.6: And he who sees all beings in his own self and his own self in all (14) beings, he does not feel any revulsion by reason of such a view.
This verse too states clearly that there are more than one being inside us and hence it cannot be meant for God. It is the Devas who pervade our soul and body to such an extent that there would be no life without them. That is why realizing one’s own self leads to recognition of the God (see verse I.7)
I.7. When, to one who knows, all beings have, verily, become one with his own self, then what delusion and what sorrow can be to him who has seen the oneness?
I.8. He has filled all; He is radiant, bodiless, invulnerable, devoid of sinews, pure, untouched by evil. He, the seer, thinker, all-pervading, self-existent has duly distributed through endless years the objects according to their natures.
I.12. Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the Unmanifest and into still greater darkness, as it were, those who delight in the manifest.
I.14. He who understands the manifest and the Unmanifest both together, crosses death through the manifest and attains life eternal through the manifest.
That we have deviated from the true path far enough can be seen from the fact that none of us knows the distinction between manifest and Unmanifest that the Upanishads are trying hard to preach. How then can we think of attaining salvation when it is clearly stated that salvation is directly linked to this knowledge?
We have already mentioned earlier that God was fully aware of the nature of man and knew that majority of them would not be able to comprehend the presence of a Non-manifest God. Therefore, he created a Manifest Self, which divided into two, then from marriage of a self created out of one with the second self, two more were created, to make it five and then 9 took birth successively to make it fourteen. Lest these divisions make somebody think that their power diminished due to divisions, Upanishads have laborously tried to send the message that all were equal in power and status to the original Manifest Self of God, in spite of all divisions and retained all the characteristics of the original Manifested Self of God. This has already been described previously in Isa Upanishad itself, which says:
That is full; this is full. The full comes out of the full.
Perhaps Mohammad too was trying to convey the same message when he said:
First of us is Mohammad, last of us is Mohammad, the middle of us is Mohammad, all are Mohammad.
MOHAMMAD ALVI writes from here: Dear friend Veturi Sriharsha, Mohammad Alvi is showing the commonalities because there are commonalities in existence. I have just written a few of them, I can write a 1000 pages on the commonalities. In fact, such a great number of commonalities exist because the express purpose of the Vedas was to identify the role of Devas who had a very important role to play in Divine Creation Plan, as powers created even before man, and who were created from ‘divya’ or ‘noor’. Their role was to guide mankind; they were the ropes to salvation. And as part of this guiding process, their noor or jyoti was to descend in human bodies. The noor of all the Devas descended one after another at a secret place that was the desert of Arabia. Vedas are replete with prophecies from the lives of Devas when they will take birth in human form. It is this reason why there are so many commonalities that exist.
I hope you have read my earlier post: “कुछ लोग कहते हैं मौहम्मद अलवी कमीना है”. Before you read any further, you are requested to read that post and then respond whether the Vedas are indeed talking of the birth of Devas in human body or not? The proofs that I have given in that post are just from two hymns of the Vedas; and you yourself are aware how many hymns in the four Vedas talk of the Devas. That is why I claim I can keep presenting the commonalities to you.
You say Agni (fire), Vayu (air) and water were always worshipped by the Hindus. I agree with you only partly. At some period in time, Hindus started worshipping the 5 divinities as the 5 basic elements viz. the material air, fire, water, sky and earth. I ask you a question: are these really the 5 basic elements? Is sky an element? Is there any correlation between material sky and fire? Moreover, when the number 7 was used in the Vedas and Upanishads, it was said that 5 basic elements plus ego and mind are being talked about? Does ego has any correlation with air or sky? Don’t you think these were the interpretations given when there were no interpretations that they could give? Mohammad Alvi, based on his study, is now in position to explain exactly what is meant by the 5, by the 7, by the 12, and by the 14. I hope you are aware, numbers 5, 7, 12, and 14 have been used time and again in the Vedas, Upanishads and Purana.
If Agni is material fire, why do you tell stories to children of Ram leaving Sita in the protection of Agnideva or Krishna meeting one or the other Devas and the various stories of fight between Devatas and Asuras (demons)? If they are material elements, why are there stories of Devatas coming down from heaven to impregnate young maidens? Gita and Upanishads have talked of Indra’s heaven and Gita has even asked us to give a portion of our food in the name of the Devas or else we are thieves.
Despite all this, your claim that they are material elements borders on absurdity. And if you are of view that they are not material elements but divinities, then kindly tell what is so important about them that the entire Vedas are replete with their mention? Vedas are a book of guidance. They are not story books which would have narrated stories of fights between Devatas and Asuras; meaning that some people have derived from their misunderstood translations of the Vedas.
Devas enjoy a far more important postion in Divine Plan than we believe. If we are to aspire for salvation, it is not possible without identifying the Devas because it is they who are the rope to heaven and salvation.
Vedas say:
ओं विष्वानि देव सवितर्दुरितान् िपरासुवा यद् भंद्र तन्न् आसुव।।
“O All-creating Deva please sweep away from us all sins, vices and miseries and grant us all that is beneficial and auspicious.”
If you believe that the material fire, earth, sky and water will sweep away from us the sins, vices and miseries and grant us all that is beneficial and auspicious for us, then there is no point to discuss any further. Truth is that the sacred scriptures of the Hindus, viz. Vedas, Upanishads and Gita are full of mention of the term Deva, who are being invoked in the aforementioned mantra to remove all our sins, vices and miseries. Also, it is clear that things beneficial and auspicious are granted by the Devas. But who are the Devas? Do Hindus or anybody else for that matter know their identity? If we do not know their identity, how will we invoke or remember them.
Our view is that the Divine Scriptures associated with Hindus have been least understood till date. All the four Vedas are full of the mention of Devas yet you ask the Hindus who they are or who they were, and they won’t be able to reveal their identity. They keep the names of their children on the names of the Devatas and Devi, they prey to Devatas like Indra when there is no rain or too much of rain, Devi Saraswati is invoked before seeking knowledge, Lakshmi is believed to be the Devi of Wealth, yet they do not know who these Devatas or Devis are or what are they doing at the moment.
We request you all to keep the faculties of reason open. It is lack of application of our reasoning faculties and our blind devotion to the so-called notions of religious beliefs, devotion and faith, which have led to all the corruption in our lives and religion. We all call ourselves living in the scientific age and consider ourselves enlightened. Yet, we do not put reason to optimum use, particularly in religious matters, thereby most of us end up blindly following the religion of our forefathers, something that has been strongly condemned in the Gita.
In order to understand the truth, we request you to first detach yourself from the beliefs and views inherited and developed all through your life (which is not going to be easy) and then read along with patience.
In Kautilya’s Arthasastra (V.3.xiii.1), we find the Pauranika, Suta and Magadha, as given a very high position in the royal court like the Kartanika (foreteller), Naimittika (reader of omens), Mauhurtika (astrologer) and others and allowed to draw a salary of 1000 Panas, but they are said to have been employed for ‘giving wide publicity to the power of the king to be associated with Devas throughout his territory,’ and in foreign countries, for ‘spreading the news of Devas appearing before the conqueror and of his having received weapons and treasure from heaven.’
These are not our words, but those of Kautilya’s Arthasastra, endorsed by famous writer RC Hazra in his book. The wordings here clearly show that the stories of arms received from Devas in heaven were created to get a psychological advantage over their enemies. But this also shows that people of yore were not believing Devas to be material elements as some of us do now?
Do we require any other proof to show how the character of Devas like Indra got maligned because of the manufactured stories; so much so that several people today believe that Indra was perhaps a man of loose moral character? Could this have been possible, considering that Indra never came down on earth, for there are Upanishads telling ‘has anybody seen Indra?’
It is extremely sorry that the present-day Hindus see even Kautilya’s Arthasastra as part of their religious literature, in spite of the fact that Kautilya had nothing to do with true religion. Teachings like those that talk of using all possible means, even deplorable, to achieve one’s objectives, are oft quoted by the Hindus. They forget that Kautilya was merely a shrewd politician who used religion to his advantage. Otherwise, the real preachers of true Hindu teachings are the likes of Maryada Purushottam Rama who left the palace life to live a life of hardships just for an apparently insignificant moral issue. Likewise, physical purity of his wife was so dear to Rama that he forced Sita, his beloved wife for whom he had taken on the might of a powerful king, to agni-pariksha. It is sad chapter of Indian history that the later day scholars gave worldly men, like Kautilya, who had nothing to do with spirituality or religion, the aura of auspiciousness and who believed in the manufactured stories of impropriety linked to Devatas like Indra and Prajapati.
This is how all those absurd stories about Devas like Indra and Vayu came into circulation, which form part of the present-day Puranas. If the priests and the kings could go to these levels to retain their hold over power, they would have surely tried to hide their sins once the lady who had to face their lustful deeds got pregnant. This was particularly so because the king’s fame had been built on righteous acts and it was not expected of them or of the maidens of their household to have ill-gotten children. The blame was conveniently shifted on the Devas, whom none had seen but all revered and worshipped. This could not have happened without support of the high priests. Therefore, we see several such children when we read Mahabharata; a great many of them were fighting either on the side of Krishna or against him.
Is it difficult to comprehend that the sins of sages and kings were ascribed to the Devas? So much so that if a woman in forest was impregnated by somebody and if she happened to be from an influential family, it was publicized that Indra or Sun God or Moon God came down to commit that act of sin, thereby taking away the blame from that woman and also hiding the identity of the person who impregnated her. Since money was spent in this propaganda drive and the learned sages were responsible for carrying it out, because of their firm hold on the simple and ignorant people, it slowly became part of folklore, all of whom were later given a place in the Puranas when they were rewritten due to certain unknown compulsions at a later stage. After all, if the woman said that it was the moon-god who did this to her, and the revered sage authenticated it by saying that the moon-god came to him to wash away the remnants, consequent to performing the act, it was difficult to disbelieve it.
The sages were even smarter. They even befooled the kings at time, so that the kings gave away their wives to them, in order to produce children possessing devata-like powers. Vishnu Purana recounts one such incident. Similar incidents are available in few other Puranas as well. It is common sense that the kings married the most beautiful of women. The priests, owing to their extraordinary power over the kings and also because of the false supremacy that they had propagated for themselves, made these kings part away with their wives. The wives came to sleep with these ‘revered sages’ so that children with extraordinary powers were born to them. Thus the priests even initiated adultery, using the great respect that people and kings had for them. And the common people must have continued to see them as Brahmcharis (willfully celibate).
Puranas say that even in Krishna’s time, examples of Rishis begetting children from young and unmarried women and having illicit relationships with the wives of the kshattriya kings and princes abound.
Another reason why the priests enjoyed such great supremacy over kings was because of the great control that these pseudo-priests had over the common people. The kings feared that the priests were in position to create a negative atmosphere about the king, if they fell from their grace. The chief priest only had to wake up in the morning and say that such and such Deva came in dream and said that the king was not working as per the Vedic teachings, and people would have ousted the king. On the contrary, if the king kept them satisfied, they narrated positive stories to the people. Even stories of arms coming from heaven were created to give a psychological advantage over the enemies. Thus they went out of the way to satisfy the priest, even if it meant sending their wives to them or showering them with gifts. Puranas have even given incidents where priests not only removed a king over a flimsy issue but also killed him and made his son, who was a day old, as king.
Read the entire Matsya Purana and you will get to realize the significance of Krishna’s statement when he said that God was nowhere to be found in the religious sacrifices and neither were the teachings of morality, auspiciousness, chastity, non-violence, etc. were visible. The image of Paramatma gobbling all the Devas and Demons was shown to Arjuna because people of the time were indeed worshipping all of them and were not cognizing God. This exactly was the adharm that Krishna talked about.
It is unfortunate that people of yore had developed stories regarding Indra and Brhaspati of such low level they do not seem to listen to the talk of morality in front of their lustful desires or when in love with someone else’s wife. How can this be accepted of Indra or Brhaspati when Divine Scriptures like the Vedas are full of praises for them? Even their righteousness and steadfastness has been praised time and again. But have we understood the Vedas truly? It is clear that we have not! Fact remains that Indra and Brhaspati are the highest creation of the Absolute God and the rest of jivas (beings) owe their creation to them. If Puranas have penned down such thoughts about them, it shows that they contain nothing but heresy and myths, written by someone who was himself unable to distinguish between right and wrong.
The Vishnu Purana mentions several instances where Rishis built huge palaces for their wives, which were many. Rishi Saubhari made King Mandhatri marry all his 50 daughters to him. The king did so as he was ‘dreading to incur the anger and imprecation of the holy man.’ Such was the fear of these ‘holy men’.
Vishnu Purana says: “The sage took them home to his habitation, where he employed the chief of architects, Visvakarman, equal in taste and skill to Brahma himself, to construct separate palaces of each of his wives: he ordered him to provide each building with elegant couches and seats and furnitures, and to attach to them gardens and groves, with reservoirs of water, where the wild-duck and the swan should sport amidst beds of lotus flowers.”
We read these accounts and move ahead. Not for a moment do we realize the negative aspect of it. All the wealth had got confined in the hands of the Rishis. Rishi Saubhari had so much of wealth that he could afford 50 palaces for his 50 wives. Did we ever think from where all this would have come? Even the kings were afraid of the Rishis, so much so that a king parted with all his daughters and married them to an old Rishi, who could not even walk straight. Naturally, the kings bestowed generous donations on the sages and even supplied them with women, sometimes their own wives, so as to keep them happy. How these Rishis could have ever endorsed Krishna’s teachings, which talked of returning to God and righteousness? They knew that Krishna emphasized on righteousness and subjugation to none but God and accepting these teachings would have meant bidding farewell to their lives of luxury. This is the reason why Bhishma and Drona, who surely represented an entire group of Brahmans stood up to oppose Krishna, thereby leading to the battle of Mahabharata. Who would have liked to loose such a lifestyle where the kings too were afraid of the Rishis and sages to such a great extent?
See the conditions of those times in the words of Maitri Upanishad and introspect whether some of the evils described have crept our present society or not.
VII.8 says:
Now then, the hindrances to knowledge, O King. This is indeed the source of the net of delusion, the association of one who is worthy of heaven with those who are not worthy of heaven, that is it. Though it is said there is a grove before them they cling to a low shrub. Now there are some who are always hilarious, always abroad, always begging, always making a living by handicraft. And others are who are beggars in town, who perform sacrifices, for the unworthy, who are the disciples of Sudras and who, though Sudras, are learned in the scriptures. And others there are who are wicked, who wear their hair in a twisted knot, who are dancers, who are mercenaries, traveling mendicants, actors, those who have been degraded in the king’s service. And others there are who, for money, profess they can allay (the evil influences) of Yaksas (sprites), Raksasas (ogres), ghosts, goblins, devils, serpents, imps and the like. And others there are who, under false pretexts, wear the read rope, earrings and skulls. And others there are who love to distract the believers in the Veda by the jugglery of false arguments, comparisons and paralogisms, with these one should not associate. These creature, evidently, are thieves and unworthy of heaven. For this has it been said: The world bewildered by doctrines that deny the self, by false comparisons and proofs does not discern the difference between wisdom and knowledge.
This is a very important passage as it tells to what extent degradation had occurred. All types of pseudo-worshippers were present who were not worthy of going to heaven. There were some whose company itself, people were advised, not to keep. And there was a group of evil men who were working to distract the people from the Vedas by the jugglery of false arguments, comparisons and parallelisms. That they are described as thieves and not worthy of heaven tells clearly the bad times through which Hinduism had to pass through.
It is clear the conflict between good and bad was at its peak and the chief worry of the followers of the true path was to safeguard the teachings of the Vedas. The distinction between ignorant and wise had diminished or almost evaporated. Those who were ignorant were considered knowledgeable and likewise, vice versa. People doubted the revealed scriptures like Vedas and stories were circulating regarding the identity of Devas, who were sometimes portrayed playing villainous roles. Some of these, like the fight between Devas and demons were so sporadically spread that they have even reached us as myths. It is extremely doubtful whether they are based on truth. Yet, such was the intensity of these narrations that the sage Yama had to take recourse to one such story to reveal the importance of Vedas and to downgrade the value of demons. This is apparent from the following verse.
See VII.10 of the Maitri Upanishad:
Verily, the Devas and the demons, being desirous of (knowing) the self went into the presence of Brahma. Having bowed before him they said, Revered Sir, we are desirous of (knowing) the self, so do you tell us. Then, after having reflected a long while, he thought in himself. Verily, these demons are desirous of a self different (from the true one). Therefore a very different doctrine was told to them. On that these deluded (demons) here live their life, with intense attachment, destroying the means of salvation and praising what is false. They see the false, as if it were true, as in jugglery. Therefore what is set forth in the Vedas, that is the truth. On what is said in the Vedas, on that wise men live their life. Therefore a Brahman should not study what is not of the Veda. This should be the purpose.
Vedas, it is reiterated here as well, are the supreme source of all rightful information. And the fact that wise men lived their life waiting for the Devas to come too can be derived from Vedas and various Upanishads. Since the authenticity and greatness of Devas is maintained in all books having a Divine association (the Vedas and Gita), nobody can deny the role of Devas in God’s schemes related to this Creation. My request to you is not to look at the illiterate people of yore to tell you who are the Devas. They were not having the brains to understand their role and position. Use your intellect and if you will do so, truth will glare at your face.
If the Vedas are revealed scriptures, as they are rightly believed to be so, there must be some very strong reason why the entire Vedas (all four of them) talk of the Devas and nothing else? But if Vedas are full of description of Devas, why is it that the present Hindu society does not give the same status to the Devas? Why is it that scholars like Dayanand Saraswati translated the term Deva as steam engines, airplanes, etc. and other commentators showed that the Devas existed at one point of time but their role is not that important anymore? Surely there is something amiss! Does that mean that the Vedas have lost their relevance now? Never! If this is not so then we will have to accept that that we have not understood the Vedas and the Devas truly till date. The Devas are, as have been described in various Upanishads, truly the source of all knowledge revealed to show us the true path.
Verse 1.2:4 of Mundaka Upanishad talks of the seven and does not fail to state that one of them is a Devi. It is unfortunate that there are still people who claim that by 7 the 5 basic elements, ego and mind are meant. The very fact that one of the moving tongues of fire is a Devi, which has been wrongly translated as goddess by commentators, shows the remaining six must be Devas. In my earlier posts, I have shown that the Devas are actually fourteen in number but with seven names and one of them is a Devi. You will also see that Puranas state that of the 14 Manus, one is a Devi. Even in case of Manus, number seven has been used at times, indicating that Manus and Devas are one and the same. The names that are given of the Manus are also the names that are given to the Devas. We fail to understand how commentators failed to notice even this.
I.2.4: The seven moving tongues of fire are the black, the terrific, the swift as mind, the very red, the very smoky-coloured, the spark blazing, the all-shaped (or all-tasting) goddess (original word in Sanskrit is Devi).
Next verse tells clearly that the Devas alone are subject of discussion and we were not wrong in concluding, in the previous verse, that there are Devas with six names and one Devi, who originated from the One Light of the Manifest Self created by the Absolute God - as light or fire or Noor with power over all things in the universe. The succeeding verse also categorically states that there would be a time when these seven tongues, of whom one is a Devi, would come to shine on this earth, like the various rays of the sun. It is stated that this would happen at an appropriate time. The verse talks of ‘performing work’ and ‘making offerings’ when these Devas would come on earth, thus making it explicitly clear that it will be our duty to perform certain works for them and make offerings to these Devas, when they would come on earth. Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad even says that there were people who, when on their death-bed, used to lament to their sons that they (the Devas) didn’t come in their lifetime so that they would have helped them in their works. These people willed their sons to be on the side of the Devas, if they came during the lifetime of their sons.
Read what I.2.5 of Mundaka Upanishad says:
Whosoever performs works, makes offerings, when these are shining and at the proper time, these in the form of the rays of the sun lead him to that where the one lord of the Devas abide.
It is explicitly clear from this that Devas are not God, but the one lord of the Devas is someone else and it is the Devas who function as the rope to lead us to the Lord.
We hope these verses leave no room for doubt that there was a time when the Indo-Aryans were waiting for the arrival of the Devas. The Vedas too are in future tense, imploring the Devas to descend in human form on earth. It is clear that the Devas had not made an appearance till the time the Vedas, the Puranas, the Upanishads and even Gita were composed.
Verse 1.2.6 of Mundaka again shows clearly that the Devas had not come by then; they would come to shine at a proper time, and through ritual offerings the aim was to invite them to come. This is not the translation done by us but that of Radhakrishnan, a great scholar of Sanskrit. Read the verse and you will find that a sacrificer is praying to the Devas so that they come and lay straight the path to Brahma’s Heaven. Does this not indicate that the path that leads to a permanent stay in Brahma’s Heaven is inevitably linked with the Devas? As you read further, you will find that even Krishna has talked of Devas and the Manifest Self, though the word used by him is Indra’s Heaven, thereby indicating a link between Brahma and the Devata Indra.
See I.2.6 from Mundaka Upanishad:
The radiant offerings invite him with the words, ‘come, come,’ and carry the sacrificer by the rays of the sun, honouring him and saluting him with pleasing words: ‘This is your holy world of Brahma won through good deeds.’
The words are clear! The Devas are being invoked through radiant offerings and ritual sacrifices to come to live in this world. As time passed, people forgot the purpose of these offerings and sacrifices but continued to perform them without knowing their true purport. Whether this happened during the 1000 years when Buddhism reigned supreme or earlier cannot be said with certainty.
Verse 8 of Mundaka tells clearly that those who consider themselves as wise but are ignorant of this knowledge, related to the role of the Devas in salvation and subsequent permanent stay in Brahma’s Heaven, are blind.
I.2.8: Abiding in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own esteem, thinking themselves to be learned, fools, afflicted with troubles, go about like blind men led by one who is himself blind.
I.2.9. The immature, living manifoldly in ignorance, think ‘we have accomplished our aim.’ Since those who perform rituals do not understand (these 7 moving tongues of fire) because of attachment, therefore they sink down, wretched when their worlds (i.e. the fruits of their merits) are exhausted.
Isn’t the aforementioned verse again stating that it is not possible to ‘accomplish one’s spiritual aim’ without recognizing these seven Devas who have also been mentioned as Satrudras? People who are not able to recognize these seven moving tongues of fire are described as wretched, immature and ignorant. Those who perform rituals without knowing their true purpose are condemned.
Those who perform righteous acts without the knowledge of those who have been created as the torchbearers to Brahma’s Heaven, may get temporary rewards after death but eventually they will have to come back to earth, more likely in a lower state. See how sacrifices and works of merits too would not serve any purpose, in terms of getting salvation, if those who are to show the path to salvation are not identified. Manifest Self, which comprises of the ‘seven moving tongues of fire’ - the Devas with six names and a Devi - will show the path to salvation. Scholars of Sanskrit know this when they talk of a Nirakar (formless) becoming Saakar (manifest), but have been unable to understand truly what the scriptures meant when they described the process, ending on the Devas.
You will be interested to note that Krishna too has talked of the same subject, and in greater detail. You will find that Gita too has equated permanent bliss or salvation with the recognition of the Manifest Self. Ponder for a moment, are we suitably prepared for salvation? Have we identified the torchbearers till now?
Let’s move ahead to give you still more examples.
In Svetasvatara Upanishad, sage Svetasvatara gives the cause of our creation as something else than the Brahman (God). Brahman created the devatma-sakti (the power of the combined soul of Devas; this has been mentioned by none else than Radhakrishnan) and then the mankind was created out of this Divine Atma (Manifest Self), when Brahman (God) was pleased with their worship. The fourteen devas who were created out of this One Manifest Self or devatma sakti govern our lives and bodies. It can henceforth be inferred that the cause of creation through the Manifest Self or devatma shakti was to worship Brahman and lead us to the worship of Brahman.
Svetasvatara Upanishad refers to this devatma-sakti (self-power) as the cause of this universe, and goes on to say in verse I.4 that the rope of this devatma sakti is manifold (as it comprises of 14 Devas; each being the ruler of the 14 spheres, and also the rulers of our organs of senses and action).
In this Upanishad, Sage Svetasvatara is asked the question, “What is the cause? Brahman? Whence are we born? By what do we live? And on what are we established?” Svetasvatara replies that the cause is the devatma-sakti, which is presided by the Brahman (God), thereby confirming that Brahman (God) is not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the running of this world. All these affairs, including life and death, creation and destruction, and sending of the Messengers to lead us to the worship of Absolute God are in the hands of the devatma-shakti; thus the Devatas.
Sage Svetasvatara says:
O ye who know Brahman, presided over by whom do we live our different conditions in pleasures and other than pleasures (pains).
Now see the succeeding verses in succession:
I.2. Time, inherent nature, necessity, chance, the (five) elements, the womb or the person be considered as the cause? It cannot be a combination of these because of the existence of the soul. Even the soul is powerless in respect of the cause of pleasure and pain.
I.3. Those who followed after meditation and contemplation saw the (devatma-sakti) self-power of the Divine hidden in its own qualities. He is the one who rules over all these causes from time to the soul.
I.4. Him (the self-power), whose one rope is manifold.
See how clearly this Upanishad states that the self-power (devatma shakti) created by Brahman (the God) is one that moves this universe. It is stated that the self-power is manifold, thereby confirming that the Devas and one Devi comprise this self-power. The word used is ‘rope’. Just as a ‘rope’ is made through uniting several similar ropes, the power of the Devas, when combined, form the devatma shakti. You will be surely interested to note that the subject of rope is also an oft-quoted subject in Quran and Prophet Mohammad’s traditions. More interestingly, the 14 Noor that had 7 names viz. the Ahlulbayt have been described as the rope to heaven.
In the next verse of Svetasvatara Upanishad, this rope is compared to a river of five streams, which together comprise the Life (Prana). In another Upanishad which describes Life (Prana) and there too you will see that five components of Life are described and later 9 more to make it fourteen. Just as a rope comprises of several ropes, each of which has similar attributes and may have further sub-ropes, similarly, five Devas comprise the five streams, and from them emanate the 9 sub-streams.
The purpose of these Devas is to lead us to God. Since various Upanishads like Paingala Upanishad confirm that the Devas were created from the pure (sattvik) essence of Vishnu, the soul in a human body at the time of birth is in pure state as it is having direct relation to the devatma-sakti.
The purpose of our creation is to tread on the path shown by the Devas, so as to attain union with the Absolute. This could only be possible by single-minded devotion and worship of the God. Those who are unable to do this and fall to the material attractions around them, their fall becomes impure and hence is unable to unite with the Paramatma (the Chief Soul), at the time of death. Such a soul needs to take birth again and again, through different wombs depending on the state of the soul at the time of the physical death of the body. This process continues till a stage is reached when the soul finally attains the union.
Gita too confirms this view.
The Devas ceaselessly try to lead us to God and won’t be satisfied until all the souls get united with the God. This is the desire that Devas are ceaselessly trying to fulfill. In order to fulfill this desire, they even took birth in human form (and were called Ahlulbayt), lived a life of hardship when on earth and even gave sacrifices of their happiness as well as life, but continued working to achieve their objective. The one who is referred to as Kalki Avatar in Vishnu Purana and elsewhere, or the last of the 14 Devas (referred to as Mahdi by Muslims), would surely achieve that goal. Presently, it is our duty that we live the life in such a manner that we give these Devas reason to be pleased with us.
I.13 says:
As the form of fire when latent in its source is not seen and yet its seed is not destroyed, but may be seized again and again in its source by means of the drill, so it is in both cases. The self has to be seized in the body by means of the syllable Aum.
The Eternal is very much present in the self inside our body but it cannot be truly known without a sincere effort in the right direction. The syllable Aum helps us in attaining this objective. That merely uttering a word lead us to such a state; it would be naïve to think so! Salvation cannot be attained unless we know the meaning of Aum truly. Upanishads say that Aum too is related to the flight towards attaining unity with God, but through a bird composed of fourteen Devas, one of whom is a devi. The vowels of Aum signify the five Devas, who were created from the One Self called Life or Prana, and the ardh-matra signify the 9 devatas, also part of the Prana or Life.
I.14. As oil in sesamum seeds, as butter in cream, as water in riverbeds, as fire in friction sticks, so is the Self seized in one’s own soul if one looks for Him with truthfulness and austerity.
If we look for the Self through the help of Aum, signifying the fourteen Devas, we will know that it is present in our souls itself. But truthfulness, austerity and sincere effort are pre-requisite without which it is not possible to realize one’s self and attain unity with the God.
Vedas say that the Devas are the leaders of our organs of action and senses. All through Gita, Krishna has stressed on the need to align one’s self with the Manifest Self. The organs of action and senses are to be given under the control of the Devas and all actions are performed for God, without seeking any returns. Such a person eventually attains salvation.
I.16. The Self which pervades all things as butter is contained in milk, which is the root of self-knowledge and austerity, that is the Brahman, the highest mystic doctrine. That is the highest mystic doctrine.
The Self may have 14 constituents, but when they all are united, that is Brahman, It is Brahman alone who is present in all of us as butter is so uniformly present in milk, through the Devas. Recognizing this relationship of our self with the Brahman is the root of self-knowledge and austerity.
Verse 14 of Chapter II describes further the condition of one attaining unity with the Self. It says:
Even as a mirror stained by dust shines brightly when it has been cleaned, so the embodied one when he has seen the nature of the self becomes integrated, of fulfilled purpose and freed from sorrow.
II.15. When by means of the nature of his self he sees as by a lamp here the nature of Brahman, by knowing God who is unborn, steadfast, free from all natures, he is released from all fetters.
II.16. He indeed, is the God who pervades all regions, He is the first-born and he is within the womb. He has been born and he will be born. He stands opposite all persons, having his face in all directions.
II.17. The God who is in fire, who is in water, who has entered into the whole world, who is in plants, who is in trees, to that God be adoration, yea, be adoration.
After talking about the God, the subject again returns to Devas in the third chapter of Svetasvatara Upanishad. We have seen in Vedas that Rudra has been used for Ali. Here it is explicitly stated that Rudra is the great seer, and source and origin of all the Devas, the one who gave birth to the golden germ. It is he who rules all these words with his ruling powers, he is the protector, and it is he who after creating all worlds withdraws them at the end of time.
See what III.1-2 says:
The one who spreads the net, who rules with his ruling powers, who rules all the world with his ruling powers, who remains one, while arise and continue to exist, they who know that become immortal.
Truly Rudra is one, there is no place for a second, who rules all these worlds, with his ruling powers. He stands opposite creatures. He, the protector, after creating all worlds, withdraws them at the end of time.
The extent to which the Devas have been empowered can be seen from the aforementioned verses. It is Rudra or Ali as Deva who has spread this net of creation and who rules overall the worlds, who is the protector, after creation, and who it will be who will withdraw the creation towards the end.
Isn’t it clear now? Be it tsunami, hurricane or a quake – it is Rudra who can save us from it. It is Rudra to whom we should turn our prayers for sustenance and protection. If we won’t do so, the day is not far when he may withdraw the creation.
Interestingly, there is a small prayer to Ali that some of his devout followers recite when in need of help. It goes like this: Nade aliyan mazharul ajaib (Try to call Ali, who is the carrier of miraculous powers of God); Tajidho aunan laka fin nawaib, kullo hamminv wa ghamminv sayanjali (you will find him coming to assistance in each of your problems and calamities); be azamateka ya Allah (in the name of the greatness of God), be nubuvvateka ya Mohammad (in the name of the prophethood of Mohammad), be vilayateka (in the name of Ali’s successorship) ya Ali, ya Ali, ya Ali adriknee (O Ali, O Ali, O Ali help me).
Consequent to showering praises on Rudra, the Upanishad talks of all the Devas in the succeeding verse. These Devas have been compared to a tree, established in heaven, from whom the whole universe is filled. These, described as Person, or one entity, is beyond this world, are without form and without suffering. Those who know that become immortal, but others go only to sorrow, it is said.
See III.4 talks of Rudra again and cites his relationship with all the rest of Devas:
He who is the source and origin of devas (powers), the ruler of all, Rudra, the great seer, who of old gave birth to the golden germ. (Hiranya-garbha), may he endow us with clear understanding.
Prayer to Rudra or the Noor of Ali is being made. It is he who is the great seer. (Even Gita has referred to the seven great seers). He created the golden germ (refer to Brhad-aranyaka and Paingala Upanishads for more) and it is through him that all the Devas and consequently all the beings originated. If due to such stress on the role of this Deva in the creation of the cosmos, some people erroneously took to the worship of the phallus, we should not be surprised. You will be surprised to know that there was a time when phallus was being worshipped not only India, but in Mesopotamia, China and Japan, Greece and Rome, Egypt, Australia and America.
In the aforementioned verse, Rudra is also invoked for a clear understanding so that all the obstacles in recognizing him and his true position get removed. Once we are able to do so, we will also realize the importance of other Devas, upon cognizing whose true identity and gaining knowledge about their true position, the path to immortality will be become clear and reachable.
Verse 3 of Jabala Upanishad too confirms this. ‘Once students of sacred knowledge asked (Yajnavalkya): Can we gain life eternal by the repetition of formulas (mantras)? Yajnavalkya said (in reply) By (meditation on) saturudriya which are the names of eternal life, one becomes immortal. [Saturudriya again means the seven rudras.]
And see how the prayer to Rudra to come down on earth with his body is made in the following verse:
III.5: Rudra, your body which is auspicious, unterrifying, showing no evil – with that most benign body, O dweller in the high places, look upon us.
Rudra did come down in human body and was known as Ali.
Interestingly, the Matsya Purana has clearly stated Aditi to be one of the names of Devi, along with Parvati, Saraswati, Durga, Lakshmi, Sati, Devi, and others. In fact, Matsya Purana goes on to give more than 100 names for this Devi. Inability to understand the identity of this Devi led to the evolution of several myths around her various names, though the source of all those myths continue to remain in the Vedas or rather people’s wrong interpretation of Vedas. It is clearly stated by Dowson that in the Rig-veda, she “is frequently implored for blessings on children and cattle, for protection and for forgiveness.”
One of the names of Devi is Rudrani. She is also Parvati, who is the wife of Shiv. From this description, it may be proved that the Devi when she took birth in human body was named Fatima. Famous researcher of Vedas, Dowson is of opinon that the Devas were born from each other and derived their substance from one another. Fatima is the only female in the list of 14 Ahlulbayt; interestingly the 14 Ahlulbayt have only 7 names; just as the 14 Manu are at other times described as 7 and at times Upanishad says 7 and 7 instead of directly saying 14.
Zulmat (Tamas or Forces of Darkness) was always bent on destroying the knowledge of this rope to salvation and worship. That is why all attempts were made and are still being made to divert us from attaining true knowledge of the Devas. It is these reason attaining their knowledge has been referred to as a great secret. Brhad-aranyaka Upanishad: I.II.7 says:
He desired, let this (body) of mine be fit for sacrifice and let me have a self through this. Thereupon, it became a horse, because it swelled, it has become fit for sacrifice. Therefore the horse-sacrifice came to be known as aswa-medha. He who knows this, verily, knows the asva-medha. Letting it remain free, he reflected: and at the end of a year (after a time-gap) he offered it to himself. He gave up the animals to the divinities. Therefore (men, priests) offer to Prajapati the sanctified (horse) dedicated to all the devas (all the divisions of Self or all the illuminators of knowledge). Verily, that (self) which gives of heat is the horse-sacrifice. His body is the year. This fire is the arka and that these worlds are his bodies. So there are two, the sacrificial fire and the horse sacrifice. Yet again they are one divinity, even death. He overcomes repeated death, death cannot get hold of him, death becomes his body, and he becomes one with these divinities.
In II.7, the knowledge of these men is referred to as ‘sanctified’, or ‘proksitam’. Aswa-medha sacrifice, it is evident was initiated in remembrance of this greater sacrifice of the Devas. It is clearly stated that upon reflecting, he gave himself to the beasts (meaning men with beastly qualities or rather those under the influence of their animal selfs). Not knowing the true significance of these verses, commentators like Radhakrishnan have used divinities and animals together. Fact is that people with animal selfs killed Husain; it was a sacrifice that he gave for upholding of Divine teachings. Again two types of sacrifices are talked about, pertaining to the death of Hasan and Husain due to dissimilar circumstances and it is stated that in spite of that, “they are one divinity, even (in) death.” They are to ‘alabhata’, ‘offer’ or ‘sacrifice themselves for Him’.
It is clearly stated that all the divinities are one and the same. And we find Mohammad too saying that the fourteen were one and the same. He said:
The first is Mohammad, the last is Mohammad, the middle is Mohammad and all are Mohammad.
Once again, II.7 indicates that some divine secret is being talked about.
He (who knows this) overcomes repeated death, death cannot get hold of him, death becomes his body, and he becomes one with these divinities.
If you recall, this Upanishad had talked of deliverance and vehicle/s of religious truth in the beginning. Till here, first five of the Devas and their origin is being discussed. You have already seen before how these five are together termed as Prana or Life. Also, nine more devas were created from the progeny of fifth, in succession, to make it fourteen. The last or the fourteenth of them too is Mahiman or Mohammad, just as the first, from whom all the rest were created, was Mahiman or Mohammad. The last deva is to appear in future as Mahdi or Kalki avatar, and upon his appearance all hidden truths will be revealed. This too has been described at countless places in Puranas and Upanishads.
If no secret is being talked about here, then why it is being repeatedly said, “He who knows this stands firm wherever he goes.” So much of weightage is given to “this knowledge”, in verse after verse.
I.III.11. That divinity, verily, having struck off the evil, the death, of those divinities, next carried them beyond death.
It is clear from the aforementioned verses that life beyond death is related to the knowledge of the devas described above. Once the evil is struck off, and the knowledge of Udgitha is known, people would attain salvation. After all, Gita has clearly stated that salvation or freedom from rebirth is directly related to the recognition of the Manifest Self of God. The fourteen devas were created from that Manifest Self, and we know from Vedas itself that Mohammad is the chief of them all.
Later in III.16, it says:
Thus, verily, that divinity carries beyond death him who knows thus.
And see III.17:
Then it chanted food for itself. For whatever food is eaten is eaten by him alone. In it is established.
See what Isa Upanishad has to say further:
I.6: And he who sees all beings in his own self and his own self in all (14) beings, he does not feel any revulsion by reason of such a view.
This verse too states clearly that there are more than one being inside us and hence it cannot be meant for God. It is the Devas who pervade our soul and body to such an extent that there would be no life without them. That is why realizing one’s own self leads to recognition of the God (see verse I.7)
I.7. When, to one who knows, all beings have, verily, become one with his own self, then what delusion and what sorrow can be to him who has seen the oneness?
I.8. He has filled all; He is radiant, bodiless, invulnerable, devoid of sinews, pure, untouched by evil. He, the seer, thinker, all-pervading, self-existent has duly distributed through endless years the objects according to their natures.
I.12. Into blinding darkness enter those who worship the Unmanifest and into still greater darkness, as it were, those who delight in the manifest.
I.14. He who understands the manifest and the Unmanifest both together, crosses death through the manifest and attains life eternal through the manifest.
That we have deviated from the true path far enough can be seen from the fact that none of us knows the distinction between manifest and Unmanifest that the Upanishads are trying hard to preach. How then can we think of attaining salvation when it is clearly stated that salvation is directly linked to this knowledge?
We have already mentioned earlier that God was fully aware of the nature of man and knew that majority of them would not be able to comprehend the presence of a Non-manifest God. Therefore, he created a Manifest Self, which divided into two, then from marriage of a self created out of one with the second self, two more were created, to make it five and then 9 took birth successively to make it fourteen. Lest these divisions make somebody think that their power diminished due to divisions, Upanishads have laborously tried to send the message that all were equal in power and status to the original Manifest Self of God, in spite of all divisions and retained all the characteristics of the original Manifested Self of God. This has already been described previously in Isa Upanishad itself, which says:
That is full; this is full. The full comes out of the full.
Perhaps Mohammad too was trying to convey the same message when he said:
First of us is Mohammad, last of us is Mohammad, the middle of us is Mohammad, all are Mohammad.
