Why Vyasadeva wrote many gods as Supreme diluting his trustworthiness?
A devotee (Name hidden) asked like this:
“There are 18 Puranas they are divided into 3 types u know that Sathvik Puran, Rajsika Puran and Thamasa Puran. Sri Math Bhagvatham ,Vishnu Puranam and Sri Math Bhagavatham which are Sathvik Puranam say Krishna as Supreme lord .Where linga puranam which is Thamasa Puranam say Siva as Supreme lord . In Tamil Magazine by ISKCON stated that if contrary of information is there in Puranas we must accept the opinion of Sathvik Puranam. So i accepted it but my friend who is in a blog which say that Siva as Supreme and creator of World say 18 puranas are arranged and written by Vyasa Deva why Vyasa deva has written in Linga Puranam that Vishnu and Brama could not see the leg and head of Siva and accepted Siva as Supreme it is said Puranam. “They mentioned that how Vyasa can write a wrong information in Linga purana and confuse ordinary people if he wants to write glories of Siva he must just write his glories alone why he wrote Siva as creator in Linga puran and in Padma puran writing Vishnu as Supreme. Why he confuse us and say refer to Satvik and accept Satvik better if he says Vishnu as Supreme lord worshipped by Siva in Linga Purana itself people would just worship Siva as a perfect devotee of Vishnu and there will be no fight between Vaishnava and Saiva from 10th Century itself .Please dont hesitate my question and give councelling in Krish and Bhagvat gita page this is needed much Prabhuji. My friend before 8 years told that there family before 20 years converted to another religion only because of many contraries that siva is supreme and Vishnu is Supreme it is big confusion and contrary still now which from 10 th Century which reduce and confuse people about Hindu Gods Vishnu and Siva they confuse as each say one siva is Supreme and Krishna supreme so other religions use this and criticise Hindus (Saiva and Vainava ) liers but we have only one god and change them to their religion and make fun of Both siva and Vishnu a clearance must be there to us which is perfectly right a expect u will right about this please reply me Prabhuji i will eagerly wait for ur councelling.Hare Krishna..”
REPLY:
Yes. Vyasadeva wrote many gods as Supreme. He wrote Siva as Supreme in Linga Puran and Krishna is supreme in Bhagavatham. He even praises other gods also. No doubt in it.
It is not for lying. It is his trick and mercy.
How? Read this:
But, the ultimate aim of Vyasa deva who wrote many gods as Supreme, is to involve everyone into devotional practice and to stage by stage bring them to the topmost layer of Krishna Consciousness!
(Why Krishna alone is Supreme Personality of Godhead? READ HERE!)
Bhagavatham speaks about so many rules and regulations to come up in the devotion to Krishna, such as, regulations in food, sense gratification, etc. If you speak about these strict rules to an illiterate or layman in your area, will he accept? No possibilities. Because they may be in the domination of thamo guna or Rajo guna.
So, to include those people also in devotion, Vyasadeva wrote many gods as Supreme in his different scriptures. He wanted to make the the people of thamo and Rajo guna domination, atleast to come to any god without imposing strict rules and regulations.
So, he first wrote many Puranas like Siva Purana, Linga Purana, Vayu Purana, etc. These Puranas spoke about the respective gods. So, even a layman was able to worship his favourite god because, Vyasadev did not speak about strict rules in those Puranas.
If a layman has to accept Krishna first, Vyasa dev has to speak about many rules and regulations because Krishna Consciousness is the most advanced form of devotion.
(Two Views on Krishna’s devotee worshiping Other Gods? Which to follow? READ HERE!)
Without studying school studies, we can not expect a person to study P.hD. So, he first wrote the other puranas glorifying Rajo guna and thamo guna gods. Somehow, the layman will come to the devotion towards other gods. Then, birth after birth, he will gradually grow to the level of Pure devotion towards Krishna. At that time, we can speak about higher form of pure devotion towards Krishna through Satva guna puranas like Vishnu Purana, Srimad Bhagavatham, etc.
Among the works of Vyasadev, Srimad Bhagavatham is the ultimate and final work and hence it is the authority. Only after writing Bhagavatham, Vyasadev felt completion and satisfaction. So, among the different stages of devotion like thamo guna bhakti, Rajo guna bhakti and Satva guna bhakti, the last one is the favourite and recommended stage. So, Srimad Bhagavatham that is the satva guna purana is the ultimate purana. So, we have to take it as final authority.
Why Vyasadeva wrote many gods as Supreme that dilutes his trustworthiness?
Actually, among 18 puranas, some Puranas represent Rajo guna; Some Puranas represent thamo guna; And some others represent Satva Guna. Among these three categories, Srimad Bhagavatham comes under satva guna purana and it is considered as the topmost secret one should know in life. So, the authority that is glorified in Srimad Bhagavatham is final and topmost authority.
(Why the scriptures claim many Supreme Gods that confuses my devotion to Krishna? READ HERE!)
Other Puranas glorify the respective Gods to enhance the faith of the devotees of those gods who are dominated with thamo and rajo gunas. They will not straightaway come to Krishna because of their domination in Thamo and/or Rajo Gunas. Atleast they will be in devotion to that god now. Later, they will come up stage by stage to read Satva Guna Puranas like Vishnu Purana and Srimad Bhagavatham. Then, they will understand the Supreme Position of Krishna.
If one is dominated by Rajo Guna, he worships Brahma; If one is dominated by thamo guna, he worships Lord Siva. Whereas, those who are dominated by satva guna, worship Lord Krishna.
Because, in the stage of Satva guna, we would have attained the knowledge of who is the supreme Lord by reading satva guna literatures like Srimad Bhagavatham that is the topmost authority about Lord Krishna.
Though some thamo guna and Rajo guna puranas like Siva Purana speak of Lord Siva and Brahma also supreme, the satva guna purana ‘Srimad Bhagavatham’ establishes that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Thus, though other puranas glorify other gods, the last purana Srimad Bhagavatham is the Satva Guna Purana and hence it is the topmost authority to decide about the Supreme Position of Gods.
(33 crores or 33 types of Demigods. Which is right? READ HERE!)
We have to make conclusions based only on SATVA GUNA Scriptures. Not with the details given in Thamo guna puranas or rajo guna puranas or our own perceptions and conveniences.
Satva Guna is associated with the intelligence. So, satva guna people intelligently identify Krishna as Supreme Personality of Godhead and surrender to Him. This does not mean Lord Siva is not to be worshiped. Lord Shiva comes very close to Krishna. And, Lord Siva is the perfect devotee of Lord Krishna. So, we must honour Lord Siva. Krishna is very happy when His devotees are honoured.
You go to an insurance company to claim some insurance maturity amount that is in dispute. At the entrance, you see a peon. He gets some details from you and then allows you inside.
Then, you meet the clerical assistant. He sees your papers and says that he is not the competent authority as he is just an assistant and hence asks you to meet the assistant manager. Assistant manager sees your papers and asks you some questions and then signs your policy.
Did he stop with that? No. He sends the same paper to the Senior Manager for final approval. Senior manager sees the details and confirms the authenticity of thee claim and then signs the papers.
(Why the demigods help faster than Krishna to their devotees? READ HERE!)
Only after that, you will get that disputed Insurance settlement.
There are 300-400 district courts in every country (one per district and hence in 300-400 districts of a big country).
Next, there will be ONE high court in every state and hence a total of 30-40 high courts in a country since a country has 30-40 states like India, U.S.A.
Next, there is ONLY ONE SUPREME COURT in a country. Remember, there is ONLY ONE SUPREME COURT.
You should not ask why there should not be 4-5 Supreme courts in a country. A High Court judge should not say that he is also equal to the Supreme Court judge. Only if he is promoted to the Supreme Court, he can become a Supreme Court Judge.
Thus, you accept that there are various levels of posts in a company with only one Chairman; And, the authority and decision of Chairman is final.
You also accept that there are various levels of courts in a country with only one Supreme Court. And the authority and decision of the Supreme Court is final.
(Other gods comes and calls me in my dreams though I am a Krishna devotee. What to do? READ HERE!)
You also agree that though there are many chief ministers in a country, there will be only one Prime Minister.
You also agree that though there are many Governors in a country, there will be only one President.
But, what is the problem for the people in accepting that there will be only one Supreme Personality of Godhead, and many other posts like Demigods and celestials?
What prevents them in accepting that there can be ONLY ONE POST OF SUPREME PERSONALITY OF GODHEAD and all the others are in many other posts?
We have to pray to the secretary of the president if we like to meet the president. Does this mean that the secretary is superior or equal to the president?
We worship many gods according to our dominated guna. Like we pray to the secretary of the president.
Though we pray to the secretary and later the President, we should not forget that the president is the president; The secretary is secretary, not the president.
So, Pray with respects to all the gods to give you success in Krishna Bhakti. This is the right approach towards the other gods.
Hope you are now clear about why Vyasadeva wrote many gods as Supreme.
(Why Cultural India is not wealthy, but, meat eating countries are wealthy? READ HERE!)