258 Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that worship of demigods is also
indirectly worship of the Supreme Lord. But such worship is not orthodox,
because the worshipable Lord is the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
Narayana. Demigods such as Brahma and Siva are incarnations of the
material qualities, which are also emanations from the body of Narayana.
Actually, there was no one existing before the creation except Narayana,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The worship of a demigod is not on
the level with worship of Narayana.

Akrira said, “Although the minds of those who are devotees of the
demigods are fixed on a particular demigod, because You are the Supersoul
of all living entities, including the demigods, worship of demigods indirectly
goes to You. Sometimes, after flowing down from the mountains during
the rainy season, small rivers fail to reach the sea; some reach the sea and
some do not. Similarly, the worshipers of the demigods may or may not
reach You. There is no guarantee. Their success depends on the strength of
their worship.”

According to Vedic principle, when a worshiper worships a particular
demigod, he also conducts some ritual for Narayana, Yajresvara, for it is
mentioned in Bhagavad-gita that demigods cannot fulfill the desires of
their worshipers without the sanction of Narayana, or Krsna. The exact
words used in the Bhagavad-gita are mayaiva vihitan hi tan, which means
that the demigods can award some benediction after being authorized by
the Supreme Lord. When the demigod worshiper comes to his senses, he
can reason as follows: “‘The demigod can offer benediction only after being
empowered by the Supreme Lord, so why not worship the Supreme Lord
directly?” Worshipers of the demigods may come to the Supreme Per-
sonality of Godhead, but others, who take the demigod as all in all, can-
not reach the ultimate goal.

Akriira continued to pray: “‘My dear Lord, the whole world is filled
with the three material modes of nature, namely, goodness, passion and
ignorance. Everyone within this material world is covered by these modes,
from Lord Brahma down to the immovable plants and trees. My dear Lord,
I offer my respectful obeisances unto You, because You are beyond the
influence of the three modes. Except for You, everyone is being carried
away by the waves of these modes. My dear Lord, fire is Your mouth, the
earth is Your feet, the sun is Your eye, the sky is Your navel, and the
directions are Your ears. Space is Your head, the demigods are Your arms,
the oceans and seas are Your abdomen, and the winds and air are Your
strength and vitality. All the plants and herbs are the hair on Your body;
the clouds are Your hair, the mountains are Your bones and nails, the days
and nights are the twinkling of Your eyelids; Prajapati (the progenitor) is
