Dear Devotee, A couple of things should be kept in mind in trying to address this complicated issue. The first is that the Supreme Being Sriman Narayana is the sole Svatantriyan in this Universe, meaning that He decides when, where and how He will appear. So, for reasons known only to Him, He has decided that for devotees in the West, He should be present along with a whole host of devathas. Their presence alongside of Him does not affect Him or our relationship to Him. The second thing to keep in mind is that through His Grace alone, we have become aware of His Supremacy and Accessibility, along with the reassurance that no special qualifications are required on our parts for Him to care for us. His Eternal Relationship is there with everyone, whether or not they know it. But, He has given the awareness of it only to those whom He feels will benefit by having this knowledge. So, those in whom this knowledge is not awakened will still seek out the favors from other gods. But, since it is He Alone Who permeates the entire Universe, it is through His Motivation that the other gods operate. So, there really is nothing to fear. With these two concepts in mind, we can freely visit all temples, offering our respects to all the Devathas who form a small part of His Vibhuti. But, when it comes to actually worshipping and adoring someone, it will be only natural for us to limit this only to Sriman Narayana - or one of His avatharas. So, we provide our "a:dharana", or respect to all gods and all the living beings, and our "a:radhana" or worship to the Supreme Being, His entourage, and of course, His devotees. I hope this helps. adiyen Ramanuja dasanu dasan Mohan tesh_tel wrote: >JAI shri Krishna, im am aware that a lot of discussion gruops have >had this debate before and it appears to have gone of on tangents at >times. > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/.itolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Azhvar EmberumAnAr JeeyAr ThiruvadigalE Saranam http://www.vedics.net Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ramanuja/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: ramanuja-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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