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Srimathe Ramanujaya namaha.

Pranams.
The ongoing debate in this list on anya devatha
aradhana makes interseting reading.
I have given below a section of the mail(with some
modifications) I sent to Bahkti-list about a couple of
years ago when the same dabate was raging then.

adiyal,
jayasree

-------------------------------------------------

The issues are
(1) If one is desirous of getting specific benefits
(phalam), one goes to worship anya devathas.
(2) Can a sreivaishnavite who has done sharanagathi
worship anya devathas?


Sources.

 As vEdas and upanishads are the chief pramAnAs, I
have based my arguments on these alone while relying
heavily on Sri Bhashya of Ramanuja. The
transliteration of the Sri Bhashya for the first 32
aphorisms of the 1st chapter of Brahma sutras (by
Rangacharya & M.B. Varadaraja Aiyangar, 1961 edition
of The Educational Publishing co) which will be quoted
as 'SB' and the book 'Brahma sutras, Sri Bhashya' 
written by Swami Vireswarananda and Swami Adidevananda
which will be quoted as 'BS', are extensively quoted
in this mail. May Emperumanar guide me in my 'avA' of
obliging his foremost commandment of the six
kainkaryas in the best possible way.

The assumptions

The indestructible and undeniable assumptions we take
up are as follows: -
(1) Aphorism 3.2.36 of Brahma sutra: -
"By this (Brahman) everything is pervaded, as is known
from scriptural statements etc, regarding Brahman's
extent"
BS: - " 'whatever is seen or heard in this world is
pervaded inside and outside by Narayana' (Ma xii.5)

(2) Narayanopanishad (2): - 
" Narayana yEvEdam sarvam yad bhotham yachcha bhavyam/
  nishkalangO niranjanO nirvikalpO nirAkhyAth: shudhO
dEva
  yEkO nArAyanO  na dwithIyOsthi kaschith/"
(Everything is Narayanan who is nish-kaLangan,
nir-vikalpan, niranjan and shuddhan. He is ONE without
a second)

(3) Aphorism 3.2.32 of Brahma Sutra: -
" (Brahman is depicted as having size) for the sake of
easy comprehension (i.e. upasana) just like (four)
feet."

BS: - "The statements describing Brahman as having
four feet or sixteen digits are meant for the sake of
upAsana or meditation. Brahman which is infinite as
declared by  texts like,  "Truth, Knowledge, Infinite
is Brahman" can not be limited. The texts which
declare such limitation are meant only for meditation,
even as Brahman is imagined to have the organs of
speech, nose, eyes and ear as Its four feet (Chhan
iii. Xviii.2) for the sake of upAsana."

Now arguments.

Q: - What are devatas?
Do the scriptures that we have taken as pramAnA speak
of devatas?

A: - AitarEya Upanishad and Chhandogya upanishad
elaborately trace the birth of worlds, the presiding
deities of pancha bhoothas and the deities
(ati-devathas) for senses.
The realms of Bhu, Bhuvah and Suvah as being
controlled by the deities, Fire, Air and Sun
respectively are being spoken not only by AitharEya
but also Taiittriya  upanishad. There may be other
vEdanthic texts too, but in my limited knowledge I am
able to quote only these.

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad (III ii 2-9) (prAnavo vai
garbha?)
lists out 14 ati-devathas for 14 sense perceptions
that include apart from natural forces, gods like
Vishnu, Prajapathi, Brihaspathi, Kshetrajna, Indra,
Death, Moon, Rudra and Ishwara

Taking into consideration assumption (1) and (3), it
is deduced that Brahman had pervaded all the deities
-something asserted by Aitareya too while detailing
how worlds were created.

But worship / upasana in those days seemed  to be in
the form of sacrifices and Homas.
To cite a case, let me draw your attention to Rama's
upasana of Sriman Narayana, (quoted from Valmiki
Ramayana) prior to his Pattabhisheka, which was in the
form of conducting a Homa and meditation.

In his commentary on the first aphorism of the first
chapter of Brahma Sutras, Ramanuja concludes that an
inquiry into sacrificial actions as commanded by the
Karma Khandam of the vEdas must precede an inquiry
into Brahman. He takes up discussion on various
sacrifices to ascertain whether the fruits from them
are inferior or superior to the fruits derived from
meditating on Brahman and Brahman alone. (We will
incorporate this at suitable contexts)
For the sake of knowing who / what these devatas are,
we, hereby take the liberty to equate different
deities as being associated with sacrificial actions
as bestowers of fruits of those sacrifices. 

It is presumed that just as how Brahman is worshiped
as having form (assumption 3), the ati-devathas also
came to be worshipped as having forms. The primary
Ati-devathas (as mentioned earlier) namely Agni, Vayu
and Sun are seen incorporated with different deities
in agama sashtras and the variations have grown
manifold down the ages.  As we have not taken up this
for our discussion, suffice it to say that discussion
on ati-devathas and the fruits of sacrifices are
inter-changeable with Anya devathas and the power of
jurisdiction of Anya devathas, (respectively)  as we
know today.

Q (2): -
"What is the difference between Anya dEva upasana and
upasana of the Brahman and what happens in Anya dEva
upasana?

For better understanding, let us divide the discussion
here under 2 topics, phalam and form.
(1) what kinds of benefits are accrued in different
kinds of upAsana and 
(2) in what forms  deities receive  the upAsana and
give the benefits.
The Phalam factor: -
BS (3.3.43) > The context is to find justification for
different kinds oblations for the same Brahman
" Texts mention a separate fruit of the meditation
which is apart from the fruit of the sacrifice itself.
 Thus the quality of possessing greater strength is
the fruit, which is different from that of the
sacrificial rites. What is this greater strength? It
is non- obstruction of the fruit of sacrifice. The
fruit of a sacrifice might be obstructed by the fruit
of some other powerful performance. Thus the
mediations on the Udgitha (OM), though dependent on
auxiliaries to sacrifices, have different fruits from
those of the sacrifices" ?.
?..The oblations to the Supreme Self is also different
for different reasons. 
"He is to be meditated on in His essential nature in
the first place, and then there is the repetition of
the meditation with a view to realizing His auspicious
attributes.
This case is analogous to that of sacrificial
oblations. There is the text (Tai sam II.iii.6.2); 'He
has to offer "PurodAsha' to Indra, the ruler' etc.
Though Indra is one god, oblations are separately
offered to Indra, the ruler, the supreme ruler, and
the self-ruler according to his different capacities.
This principle is established in the Samkarshana
Khanda: 'as the deities are different, the oblations
are different'." 

To throw more light on this refer BS (1.1.2)

"An action like meditation, which is enjoined, should
have the result of a particular nature and quality,
and we have to find this from other laudatory
statements, just as in the case of other Vedic
injunctions. In texts like 'He who desires Heaven must
perform Ashwametha sacrifice,' we do not have any
description of heaven; we have to gather it from
others statements like 'where there is neither heat
nor cold nor suffering' etc. Again in texts like 'he
shall perform the nocturnal sacrifices' no mention is
made of the result of such sacrifices, but later the
texts say, 'those who perform these sacrifices attain
eminence'. Similarly the result of mediation on
Brahman, which is prescribed by the scriptures, is the
attainment of Brahman has to be known from texts like
'He who knows Brahman attains the Highest' (Tai II.i)
The nature and attributes of Brahman also have to be
gathered from similar other texts."

The summary so far is that different deities are
capable of giving different benefits. Even the same
deity (like Indra) must be worshipped in different
ways to enable him give you different benefits
depending on what forms and  for what purpose you are
worshipping him.
It is true of Brahman who is equated to Narayana
(assumption -1 & 2)
If it be said that Brahman is capable of 'giving
anything and everything,'  we quote Ramanuja as
following (SB -1.1)
"The passage which makes known the result of worship
of the Brahman, viz, 'shoshnutE sarvAn KAAMAAN saha
brahmana vipaschita (tai up II.i.i) speaks also of the
infinitude of the qualities possessed by the Highest
Brahman who is intelligent. (The prose order of this
sentence runs thus)-'vipaschitA BrahmanA  sarvAn kAmAn
samashnutE' The word 'kAmA' is derived from the root
'kam' to covet and means that which is covetable,i.e.,
auspicious qualities. The meaning (of the passage
accordingly) is that he (the successful worshipper)
attains along with the (intelligent) Brahman all those
(auspicious) qualities. The word 'with' (according to
Panini) (is used) to bring out prominently the
(possession of) qualities (by the Brahman) as it is
brought out in connection with the Dahara-vidya, viz,
"what exists within that (small space inside the
heart) that has to be sought after'. (chhand VIII.1.1)
That, between worship and its result, there is a
similarity of nature, is proved conclusively by the
scriptural passage which says - ' of whatever nature a
man's worship is in this world, of that same nature
that man becomes after death'. (chhand III.14.1)'

To understand this further let me quote the footnote
on Dahara -vidya.
" Dahara -vidya is that vidya or form of worshipping
the supreme Brahman, which consists in meditating on
Him as dwelling in the small ethereal space within the
heart. In connection with this vidya or form of
worship, the Brahman who has to be meditated upon is
declared in the context to be the 'Self who is devoid
of sin, is free from old age, free from death, free
from sorrow, free from hunger, free from thirst and
desires the Truth and wills the Truth."

In summary, if Brahman is meditated upon, one attains
Brahman along with the auspicious qualities of Brahman
and nothing less and nothing more, as  'there is
nothing higher than or different from Him' (sve III.9)
To apply this to the issues in question, (remembering
the assumptions we have taken up) meditation on
Narayana for the sake of attaining Him (moksha) gives
one nothing less and nothing more. The supreme wish of
moksham is granted by Him and not the lesser wishes.
Because (also) craving for lesser wishes is anathema
to the one desirous of Moksha

Q (3) Does not the above-drawn conclusion undermine
the Supremacy of the Supreme one?

A:- No, if we  look at the  following passages.
BS (3.2.39 & 40) :- 
"Jaimini (thinks), for the same reasons(viz,
scriptural; authority and possibility), that religious
work (is what brings about the fruits of actions)'
"But Badarayana (thinks) the former (i.e., the Lord as
the bestower of the fruits of actions), on account of
His being declared to be cause (of the fruits of
actions)"
(BS cont'd)> 
"the word 'but' refutes the view of the previous
sutra. Badarayana maintains that the supreme Person is
the bestower of the fruits of all actions. Scriptural
texts like  "Let him who is desirous of prosperity 
offer a white animal to Vayu.. and Vayu lead him to
prosperity (Tai SaII.i.1) show that the deities
worshipped  bestow the results of the sacrifices 
through which they are worshipped. But ultimately it
is the Lord, abiding in Vayu etc. as their inner self,
who, being pleased   with the devotion of the
sacrificer, bestows on him the results: 'Offerings and
pious works, all these He bears, who is the nave of
the Universe. He is Agni Vayu: He is the Sun and the
moon' (Ma I.6.7). "He who dwells in Vayu? of whom Vayu
is the body' etc. (Br III.vii.7) Smrti also says the
same thing: "whichever divine form a devotee wishes to
worship.. and obtains from it the results he desires,
as ordained by Me" (Gita, VIII. 21-22). Giving up all
this teaching, where is the need to imagine an
'apurva'?"

Giving up all this teaching, may I ask how can a sri
vaishnavite, an ardent devotee of Sriman Narayana,
denounce anya deva aradhana?
If he denounces it, does it not amount to 'dhooshaNai'
of  the Brahman to attain whom is his supreme desire?
What he must do instead is to renounce every kind of
desire (anya-Asai) which is other than the desire to
attain Him. (sarva dharmAn paridhyajya..)
He must  denounce 'anya Asai' and not anya deva
Aradhanai. Because, I repeat, that is akin to
'apachAram' to  Narayana as not willing to accept His
other 'qualities' like His ability to be in all bodies
(read deities) and bestow whatever the jiva asks for.
This must have been the original  import of the
teachings of the Acharyas, but as has always happened
we have clung to the shell and missed the sap.

To continue this thread, 
BS (3.3.43) 
" On account of the abundance of indicatory marks (the
Narayana -anuvaka deals with the object of worship in
all the meditations); for, it (indicatory mark) is
stronger (than the contxt). This also (has been stated
by Jaimini)."
"The Taiitrriya text, immediately after the Dahara
-vidya, declares in the folowing way: " 'The
thousand-headed God, whoses eyes see every thing..who
is Narayana, the Imperishable, supreme Master' etc (Ma
XI.1). Here the doubt is raised whether the
meditation, as being identical with meditation
previously introduced, describes attributes which are
inculcated in that vidya, or whether it describes
those attributes of the Supreme self to be included in
all the meditations as enjoined in all the upanishads.
The opponent  favours the former because of the
context; for in the previous section (anuvaka 10) the
meditation on the small ether is introduced as the
subject matter: 'The small space free from all evil,
the abode of the Supreme: within that is a small space
free from sorrow . What is in that should be mediated
upon' (Ma XI.7)
     The Sutra-kara refutes this view and declares:
'on account of abundance of indicatory marks'. This
section of Mahanarayanopanishad has come just to
declare the characteristics of the supreme self, who
is the object of meditation, in all meditations. The
supreme being is denoted in all those meditations as
Akshara, Shiva, Shambhu, Para brahman, Paramjyothi
etc. Finally, the same entity is here declared to be
Narayana. There is abundance of authoritative marks to
prove that Narayana alone is the object of worship  in
all meditations. Here the word 'linga' means symbol,
sign or indicatory mark. There are many passages which
contain indicatory marks. Such passages have,
according to Purva-Mimamsa, greater force than
context." 

To summarize, worship of Brahman alone is one thing
and worship of deities in names other than Narayana is
another, though the second one is further categorized
into two, namely (1) deities like Vayu etc and
atidevathas of sacrifices etc which are capable of
giving specific benefits by the strength of Brahman
present in them and (2) deities in whose name Brahman
is worshipped as in the case of Akshara, shiva etc.

The second aspect forms the second category namely
'forms in which deities give benefits' which is
discussed below.

Forms: -

A conflict of idea seems to arise if we refer to 1.4 
to 1.6 of Kenopanishad, which says 'this alone is
Brahman and not that which people worship'. 
Bhagavad Ramanuja  makes a reference to this passage
and writes thus:- (SB IV.4) 
" If you say that by means of the scriptural passages
-' Not this which they worship'- (Keno) -the character
of being the object of meditation is denied (in
relation to the Brahman), it is replied that it can
not be so.  The fact of the Brahman being the object
of meditation is not denied (herein), but the fact
that Brahman is distinct from the world is declared in
this passage. The meaning of this passage is this -"
this world which people here worship, - that is not
the Brahman. Know thou him alone to be the Brahman who
is not made out by speech and by whom speech is
brought into existence."

 The worship that Brahman alone is supreme  and the
goal of worship (which a devout Sri vaishnavite must
follow) is one and the worship of other forms and
names with or without the knowledge and expectation of
Inner reality is another.
In passages "Brahma Narayana:/ Shivascha Narayana:/
shakrascha Narayana;/ "( Na up 2) it is made out that
Narayana is worshipped in the worship of other
deities.
The controversial (if deemed so) passages (from
Svetahswathara) are given here which praise the other
forms as the Supreme and Ramanuja's reply also
follows.

1) " Ekohi Rudro na dwiti'ya'ya tasthurya ema'n
loka'ne's'atah e's'ani'bhib/
 pratyangjana'stishth'ati sanchu koca'nta kale
samsr'jya vis'va bhuvana'ni gopa'h/ (sve 3.2)
(The  supreme consciousness is described as Rudra.
Rudra is one only. The in-dwelling self watches the
deeds of men. He is the destroyer of sins and sorrows.
So he is called Rudra)

2) 'Yo dEvAnam prabhavasch choptavascha vishwAdhipo
RudrO maharshi:/ (sve 3.4) 
( the one who creates the dEvas and takes care of
them, the one who is the Lord of the worlds, the one
who is the Rudra capable of wiping out sorrows..)

3) "yA tE  rudra shivA tanu-raghOrApapakAshini/
tayA nastanuvA shantamayA girishantAbhichakashIhi:/ "
(sve 3.5)
(hey Rudra, the bestower of happiness to the world
from your abode of Kailash. Let that form by means of
which you destroy the sins to uplift into liberation,
brings all that is auspicious.)

4) "yamishum girichanda hastE bibharshyasthavE/
shivAm girithrathAm kuru ma himsI: purusham jagat:/"
(sve 3.6)
(Seated in Kailash, you bestow happiness. Seated in
Kailash you protect those who surrender unto you.
Please use your weapon in your hand with utmost
compassion, without giving any suffering to the
people)

5) "yO dEvAnAm prabhavaschOthbhavascha vishvAdhipo
rudrO maharshi:/
hiraNya garbham pashyata jayamanam sa nO buddhyA
shubhayA samyunaktu/ ( swe 4.12)
(The one who creates the dEvas and makes them
flourish, the one who is the Lord of all the worlds,
the one who is Rudra, the destroyer of sorrows, the
one who sees things beyond, who has seen the birth of
HiraNyagarbha, let Him give us best of knowledge.)

Rudra as explained in the above passages is none other
than Brahman / Narayana. To substantiate this, let me
quote the final conclusion of Ramanuja to chapter 1 of
Brahma sutras.

SB: - "wherever particular individual selves from the
four -faced Brahma downwards and particular
non-intelligent things from Prakruti downwards are
found mentioned in association with the particularly
characteristic attributes of the Supreme Self, -or
whatever the words denoting them (i.e., those
intelligent selves and non-intelligent things) are
seen to be grammatically equated with the words
denoting the Supreme Self: - in all such cases, what
is intended to be taught is the continued meditation
of the Brahman as forming the inner self of those
particular intelligent and non-intelligent entities."

It is therefore concluded that Brahman (Narayanan) by
any other name (anya devata) is Narayanan only as long
as the worshipper meditates on the supreme attributes
of the Self in those forms. (Same is true of the
repeated reference of 'Vishalakshi' to Sita in Valmiki
Ramayana and Uma dEvi showing who the Brahman is, to
Indra in Kenopanishad -these two form a separate issue
and yet for the purpose of drawing a parallel, quoted
here)

Even otherwise, he is said to worship Narayana in
those forms, in His being the bestower of benefits
through those forms.
But benefits are in accordance with what one asks for
/ meditates upon. (If liberation is what is desired,
the supreme form as Brahman. / Narayanan is
worshipped. If desires other than this are aimed at,
Brahman bestows them in those forms that have been
sanctioned as the ati-devatas for such desires. )

This can be understood the following way.
If the water supply to my house is affected, I have to
approach the Municipality that is directly involved in
supplying water. I may have known the President of
India but I can not refer this problem to him taking
advantage of my friendship with  him. Even if I refer
it to him, he can not supply the water to me directly
but only direct the Municipality to do that for me. 
But if a person facing the gallows need a respite, he
can not get it by any means other than petitioning the
President for mercy. Because the President is directly
responsible for it.
Even though all governmental functions are done in the
'pleasure' of the president, even though the president
is technically the chief of all that happens, there
are events that he directly deals with. Everything
else happens in his name, by drawing the power from
him, but he does not do them by himself.
Taking this analogy to our discussion,
The Brahman equated with Narayana, is the chief of
all.
Those who approach him for the exceptional benefit
(like mercy petition) are taken note of / granted
benefits as He may deem the recipient  fit to be.
For everything else the benefits are siphoned out
through his agents (Anya devatas) under his grace.

Conclusion

Going by the above given (many) versions, may we
conclude 
that 
"He who knows Brahman attains the Highest"(tai II.1.1)
as the reply for the issue that it is Brahman who
grants Liberation and liberation alone - also
justified by the Taittriya passage 'soshnutE sarvAn
kamAn' - the meaning for kAmAn explained -(not as
desires),
That 
Whatever worship is done to the anya devatas indeed
goes to Brahman who bestows the benefits through the
respective devatas and as such a devout Sri
vaishnavite must not resort to denouncement of anya
devata but instead make a resolve to not to desire
anything other than Brahman, for the gratification of
which he has to be always clinging to the feet of
Sriman Narayana,
That 
For the gratification of specific benefits, specific
devatas must be worshipped (BS 1.1.2) as in the case
of AshwamEtha sacrifice and JyothistOmEna Homa for
reaching heaven,
And that
Even if one worships anyadevata by meditating on the
qualities associated with Brahman, he is said to be
worshipping the Brahman and Brahman alone and none
else.

Quotable story:-

Let me conclude with (once again a contrioversial
note:))the famous incident of Namperumal being carried
inside  Thiruvannaikkaval Temple while Ramanuaja
stayed outside with his parivar when it rained.


When confronted with the question why he didn't go
inside, when his perumal didn't have any qualms to go
inside, (there are quite a few versions of Ramanuja's
answer. I take up the one as told by a swamin who
belongs to the Manavala mamunugal lineage and who is 
doing kainkaryam in MAmunigal sannidhi at Sri
Rangam), he had answered, 'Pathi may go to any place.
But can the pathni follow him everywhere?'

The first part of ramanuja's answer does not negate
Lord's 'cosiness' with  anya devas as an In-dweller in
them. 

The second part does not negate a 'pure' vaishnavite's
obsession with Narayana thiruvadi sambhandam.

The entire thing does not negate what He can give as
'pathi' to His pathni and what anya devatas can give
-through Him.



Ever at the feet of Narayana,
adiyal,
jayasree 

Quote of the mail:-
"urraikkindra mukkat pirAn yanE ennum,
urraikkindra thisai mugan yAnE ennum,
urraikkindra amararum yAnE ennum,
urraikkindra amara kOn yAnE ennum,
urraikkindra munivarum yAnE ennum,
urraikkindra mugil vannan yErakkollO?
Urraikkindra ulagathIriku en sollugEn
Urraikkindra en kOmaLa von kodikkE?
(Thiruvaimozhi 5.6.8)

 

 





                
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