Text 330] Explanations of the Atmarama Verse 273
“Men of small intelligence worship the demigods, and their fruits are limited and
temporary. Those who worship the demigods go to the planets of the demigods,
but My devotees ultimately reach My supreme planet.” (Bg. 7.23)

Demigod worship is meant for unintelligent men because the benefits derived
from demigod worship are all material, temporary and retractable. It is also stated
in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa:

yas tu narayanam devam
brahma-rudradi-devataih
samatvenaiva vikseta
sa pasandi bhaved dhruvam
“Whoever thinks Lord Visnu and the demigods are on the same level is to be im-
mediately considered a rogue as far as spiritual understanding is concerned.”

There are three modes of nature in the material world, but when one is situated
spiritually, he is above the material modes, even though he lives in this material
world. Lord Krsna states in Bhagavad-gita (14.26):

mam ca yo ‘vyabhicarena
bhakti-yogena sevate
sa gunan samatityaitan
brahma bhiydya kalpate
“One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any cir-
cumstances at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to
the level of Brahman.” When one engages in the Supreme Lord’s devotional ser-
vice, he is in a transcendental position. Even though one may be situated in the
mode of goodness in the material world, he is susceptible to pollution by the
modes of passion and ignorance. When the mode of goodness is mixed with the
mode of passion, one worships the sun-god, Vivasvan. When the mode of good-
ness is mixed with the mode of ignorance, he worships Ganapati, or GaneSa.
When the mode of passion is mixed with the mode of ignorance, one worships
Durga, or Kali, the external potency. When one is simply in the mode of ig-
norance, he becomes a devotee of Lord Siva because Lord Siva is the pre-
dominating deity of the mode of ignorance within this material world. However,
when one is completely free from the influence of all the modes of material
nature, he becomes a pure Vaisnava on the devotional platform. Srila Ripa
Gosvami states in Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu:
anyabhilasita-sanyam
jfiana-karmady-anavrtam
