Gita : Ch-7. Slo-21.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita :

Chapter-7. ( Jnana-vijnana-yogam )

Slokam-21. ( I am in everyone's heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship the demigods, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to some particular deity.)


yo   yo    yam    yam     tanum    bhaktah     sraddhayarcitumicchati,


tasya     tasyacalam      sraddham    tameva     vidadhamyaham.


yah   yah    bhaktah    =    that   that   (   who    ever   ) the   devotee;  

yam    yam   tanum    =   which   which  (   which   ever  )   form    of   the   demigods;

sraddhaya    arcitum    icchati    =     (one   who )    desires    with faith   to worship;


tasya    tasya      tam      sraddham     eva    =     of   that     bhakta     that    faith    itself;

aham    acalam     vidadhami    =    I    make    him    steady   and    strong.


God has given independence to everyone; therefore, if a person desires to have material enjoyment and wants very sincerely to have such facilities from the material demigods, the Supreme Lord, as Supersoul in everyone's heart, understands and gives facilities to such persons. As the supreme father of all living entities, He does not interfere with their independence, but gives all facilities so that they can fulfill their material desires.

Some may ask why the all-powerful God gives facilities to the living entities for enjoying this material world and so lets them fall into the trap of the illusory energy. The answer is that if the Supreme Lord as Supersoul does not give such facilities, then there is no meaning to independence. Therefore He gives everyone full independence—whatever one likes—but His ultimate instruction we find in the Bhagavad-gītā: man should give up all other engagements and fully surrender unto Him. That will make man happy.

Both the living entity and the demigods are subordinate to the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; therefore the living entity cannot worship the demigod by his own desire, nor can the demigod bestow any benediction without the supreme will. As it is said, not a blade of grass moves without the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Generally, persons who are distressed in the material world go to the demigods, as they are advised in the Vedic literature. A person wanting some particular thing may worship such and such a demigod.

For example, a diseased person is recommended to worship the sun-god; a person wanting education may worship the goddess of learning, Sarasvatī; and a person wanting a beautiful wife may worship the goddess Umā, the wife of Lord Śiva. In this way there are recommendations in the śāstras (Vedic scriptures) for different modes of worship of different demigods. And because a particular living entity wants to enjoy a particular material facility, the Lord inspires him with a strong desire to achieve that benediction from that particular demigod, and so he successfully receives the benediction. The particular mode of the devotional attitude of the living entity toward a particular type of demigod is also arranged by the Supreme Lord.

The demigods cannot infuse the living entities with such an affinity, but because He is the Supreme Lord or the Supersoul who is present in the heart of all living entities, Kṛṣṇa gives impetus to man to worship certain demigods. The demigods are actually different parts of the universal body of the Supreme Lord; therefore they have no independence. In the Vedic literature (Taittirīya Upaniṣad, First Anuvāka) it is stated: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead as Supersoul is also present within the heart of the demigod; therefore He arranges through the demigod to fulfill the desire of the living entity. But both the demigod and the living entity are dependant on the supreme wil1. They are not independant."

The words yam yam tanum means according to whichever demigod such as Brahma the architect of creation, Indra the celestial chief, or Laxsmi the goddess of wealth. The Narada Purana states: There will be cessation to the votaries of Brahma and others due to their temporary nature; but for the devotees of the Supreme Lord Krishna there is no cessation due to His eternal nature.

 What is the goal of moksa or liberation from the cycle of birth and death? Where does the atma or soul go after attaining moksa? All these considerations are deliberated upon in the chapters of the Bhagavad- Gita dealing with liberation. Even though the avatars or incarnations of the Supreme Lord are numerous and His expansions are unlimited, moksa is guaranteed and assured to the devotee who devoutly worships any one of them. This has been revealed in the Brahma Vaivartaka Purana.

The demigods such as Indra the celestial chief, Surya the sungod and all others constitute the body of the Supreme Lord as stated in the Taittiriya Upanisad V.I. Although those who worship the demigods are ignorant of this truth as declared in Vedic scriptures. In the Brihad-aranyaka Upanisad V.VII.IX beginning ya aditye tish than yam adityo na veda it states: Who is seated in the sun, but whom the sun knoweth not, whom the sun is comprised of etc. Whomsoever wishes to worship the demigods, the Supreme Lord sanctions that they have unwavering and stable faith in that endeavour because that very faith is given to that which is a part of my universal form and constitutes the Supreme Lord Krishna's body.

If one were to propound that the Supreme Lord is the aggregate of all the demigods and that the demigods are the forms of the Supreme Lord as well. This argument is refuted by Lord Krishna stating yam yam tanum meaning whichever form of demigod or other gods that one craves for some reward seeking to gratify their desires by worshipping or causing others to worship; it is the Supreme Lord only and who keeps the faith of that individual directed towards the very demigod that one contemplates, keeping it firm and steady based upon their latent tendencies from innumerable previous lives. But it should be noted that although Lord Krishna is the Supreme Lord of all, possessing absolute power over everything in existence; He never exerts even the slightest influence over any embodied being to put their faith and devotion in Him.

Amongst those who worship a particular demigod which represents a potency of Lord Krishna then He as paramatma the Supreme Soul within all sentient beings monitoring every thought and action, makes such devotees faith steady and stable. Of others who worship illusory gods, His external potency known as Maya the deluding illusory energy keeps them steadily following the illusion of their erroneous philosophies and speculative theosophies that have no validity not being verified as bonafide in the Vedic scriptures.

To be continued ...