Village Deity
By his halo of knowledge, love, tolerance, penances and sacrifice, any such person who has done good for the whole village for its welfare is known as village deity.
But unfortunately, what happens nowadays is to make a raised platform in the name of a dead person. All the people of the village consider it as village divinity or deity. They then make offerings of sweets and other items, make a vow of a votive for getting what they wish for, and pay obeisance there. This is the height of ignorance most intolerable. Any first spiritual personality of a lineage may be said as the ancestral divinity. This sentiment is based on the proposition that all in that lineage may take motivation from him.
Family Deity
Same way, it is also necessary to understand the definition of a family goddess (kuldevi). For example, the family goddess of the family of Maharana Pratap is Lakshmi.
Unfortunately, much against Vedic contentions, worship of many imaginary insentient deities is in vogue. There is no description of any such deity or divinity in any scriptures whatsoever. The irony is that the actual family goddess (woman or daughter-in-law) is often rebuked and ultimately sacrificed at the altar of dowry. What a worship of family goddess? It is really shameful that the country which believes in the following proclamation from Manusmriti “yathra nāryāsthu poojyanthe ramanthe thathra dhevathā” (3/56), indulges in physical, mental and societal harassment of women. This only indicates that we believe in the knowledge and wisdom of scriptures in theory, not practice.
Illogical, Irrational Recordings
We are given to false, illogical beliefs like, for example, Karn is the son of that burning, scorching, insentient Sun in the sky. In fact, he was born to maiden Kunti through a very great ascetic. How could it be expected of that insentient burning cauldron of Sun bigger than the earth by 1.3 million times to seed a human form in a womb? Over time many false myths and beliefs have taken root. Many great souls with divine qualities have been accredited the position of creator God, Paramatma (Supreme Lord), etc. Every man-made scripture and believers or followers of the same recognize a different divinity as the Ultimate Lord, which is baseless and misleading. A careful consideration tells us that they were humans following the norms of society, but at best, they were great souls with the most divine qualities.
The Unknown Facts
Pandavas were born to Kunti by a system in vogue called the Niyog concept, a concept with fool-proof rules and for the societal or larger good and under extreme circumstances as Pandu was incapable of siring children. Under the command of Pandu, Kunti gave birth to Yudhishtir, Bhim and Arjun, and Madri to Nakul and Sahdev through unrevealed chosen great ascetics. However, the fathers have been said as Dharmaraj, Pavan, Indra and Ashwini Kumar. Otherwise, how could the blowing air (Pawan) produce a child? Even the so said Pawan, father of Hanuman, was the king of Kapi or Vanar clan in Kerala. His mother was Anjana, and His clan’s spiritual master was Sage Agastya.
Facts for Fiction
Out of ignorance and the aberrations of mythical mythology (Purans), Hanumanji has been depicted as a monkey, Jambuvan as a bear and Jatayu as a vulture. But the actual reality is that they were all sacred humans of divine culture. Whereas Jambuvan was very adept in self-learning and self-awareness, Jatayu was a royal sage who had taken to asceticism after fulfilling his worldly duties. Staying in the forest for long, his matted hair (jata) had grown so big that he got the nickname Jatayu. He was a friend of King Dasrath, and that is why while Ravan was taking away Sita, he tried to rescue her. Imagine if he was a vulture; how could it identify Sita?
It finds description in Bhagwat that to ensure the continuity of the Kuru lineage, Ved Vyas had sired Dħrtrashtr, Pandu and Vidhur through Amba, Ambika and a maid under the command of mother Satyavati.
The first marriage of divinity Shiv was with Sati, the daughter of Daksh. After her death at the time of symbolic fire offering of Daksh, his second marriage was with Parvati, daughter of King Himanchal.
Their two sons are Ganesh and Kartik. Similarly, even Brahma had created by his volition Marichi, Narad, Sanak, Sanandhan, Sanatan and Sanatkumar. King of divinities Indra of that time had a wife named Shachi, and Jayant was their son.
Apparently, from all the above, it is clear that even Devis and Devtas (Divine forms) also indulge in the study of Vedas and scriptures, perform penances, and obey societal norms like marriage, etc. In this creation, they are higher than ordinary humans (because of divine qualities and complete purity). But their personalities have been so exaggeratedly painted as to make it look not easy to follow in their footsteps. It becomes preposterous when these divinities are projected as the creator, sustainer, Supreme Lord, etc. In Shiv Puran, the origin of Brahma and Vishnu has been shown through him, while in Vishnu Puran, the origin of Brahma and Shiv is through him. In Shrimad Bhagwat origin of all three is through Maha-Vishnu (Ādi Nārāyan). In Padma Puran or Devi Bhagwat, all three are through Shakti (Feminine Power). Apart from misguiding the world with contradictory contents, each of these scriptures talks ill of or deprecate about the other and projects one’s own adored form as the one having all the virtues and qualities of the Supreme Lord.
The purpose of the Human form is to acquire proper spiritual knowledge and self-awareness, and through correct meditational approach, go beyond the divinities or godliness and attain the ultimate goal of “brahmavidho brahmeva bhavathi”, meaning, “the knower of Brahman is Brahman” – that means to recognize and reach out to that one and only one “SUPREME LORD’.
