Bhagavad Gita Chapter 9, Verse 23

English Translation

Even those who, being devoted to other deities and endowed with faith, worship (them), they also, O son of Kunti, worship Me alone (though) following the wrong method.

Detailed Commentary

**Explanation (9.23):** 'Those devotees who worship other *Devas* with faith' – those devotees who have not comprehended that 'everything is Me alone,' and who place their faith in other *Devas*, worship those *Devas* with *shraddha* (faith). Considering the *Devas* to be separate and greater than Me, they follow the prescribed rules of their chosen *Deva* according to their *shraddha* and devotion. They believe that they will receive everything through the grace of these *Devas*, and thus, they remain perpetually engaged in their worship. 'They too worship Me, though not according to the prescribed method (*avidhipūrvakam*)' – Those who worship *Devas* actually worship Me alone, for in truth, there is nothing apart from Me. The *Devas* have no existence separate from Me; they are My very forms. Therefore, their worship of the *Devas* is actually My worship, but it is *avidhipūrvaka*. *Avidhipūrvaka* does not mean that they are unaware of the correct methods of worship. It means that they consider Me to be separate from the *Devas*. In the *Gita*, it is stated that due to desires (*kāmanā*), their understanding is obscured, and instead of taking refuge in Me, they seek refuge in the *Devas*. The conclusion of this *śloka* is that: (1) If a person has no desires (*kāmanā*) and possesses the understanding that everything is *Bhagavān*, then the worship of any being or *Deva* will be the worship of *Bhagavān* alone, and its fruit will be the attainment of *Bhagavān*; and (2) If one has desires (*kāmanā*) and directly worships *Bhagavān*, then such a person falls into the category of the *arthārthi* (seeker of material gain) or *ārta* (distressed) *bhakta*, whom *Bhagavān* has called noble (*udāra*). In essence, everything is *Bhagavān*. Therefore, the worship, service, or welfare work performed for anyone is the worship of *Bhagavān* alone. Just as the water from the sky, becoming rivers, streams, or waterfalls, ultimately merges into the ocean (because that water belongs to the ocean itself), similarly, every act of worship performed by a human is for *Bhagavān* alone. However, the devotee (*upāsaka*) receives benefit according to their own sentiment (*bhāvanā*). **Connection:** What is the *avidhipūrvaka pūjana* of those who worship the *Devas*? It is explained as follows: