Originally Posted by
Avyaydya
[My personal view as polytheist, let no one take offense of it]
Namaste,
We may want to realize that when you go to a temple of a Deva, we meet the Deva in an entourage, and it is no different than going on other official visits. These are not informal visits. Suppose we are invited to a party of a very important person. Will we be walking straight up to him? No.
They have an entourage around them and they await the guests. There will often be a line up to shake hands with all the guests arriving. It is not so that the most important person is met first or last. If this were so he would have to be the gatekeeper, letting you in or out. No it it is more like ascending a mountain one side and descending another side. The highest person will be in the center, because he is in the center of things.
The first people to shake hands with would be his assistances and envoys, the people that represent him, and then his children. The children are put forward purposely as the are the next generation and need to build contacts. They may not yet be important but they are the future. As the future they are before us. So they are greeted before. Envoys are like the hands on our long arms, they are the first to make contact. They are before us, so they are greeted before.
Then there are also people that represent the past or are in the shadow, less active but very important and influential. They have eyes sharpened by experience. These can be personal advisers, parents, great-parents, aunts and uncles. These are people not on the "fore-ground" but "back-ground". These people normally do not interact with the outside world directly but are still very important through their influence. They are purposely in the shadow of the most important person.
If the most important persons brother is greeted before him, this means he plays an active role and he is someone you will normally meet first. Not someone you can pass by! If on the other hand he is greeted after him, this means you are not considered to meet him bypassing the most important person. You may however become to meet them through the most important person.
So this line up of people that are waiting to shake hands is actually telling a story and any change in the line up also tells a story. This is no different in corporate business today than it was in the earlier times at courts. The principles of power do not change. We should not forget that Devas are also principles of powers. And like principles of powers they are interrelated with other principles of powers, but uniquely in a particular setup.
But like the same person can have different positions in different environments, so can the Devas. For instance someone can have an important position in a sports organization, but a lesser one in the company he works for. And even a lesser person will be presented as the important person when you meet him in his own home. In the same way the line up of Devas is different in different temples. It is never telling us what the absolute division of power is, only in this particular setting.
We should also want to recognize that Devas are very dynamic entities that lend their power to others and back. For instance this picture is not an insult at all.
In polytheistic traditions we also see Gods come up and then go to the background. That is how Nature is. Today you may be "on top", tomorrow someone else is at the center. That is no different with the gods, that is why the times are changing. In every era of history other principles become dominant. Yes, one day you are "a rising star", and one day you will be "over the hill". But that is no tragedy, there will be a new life and you will rise once again. The Devas do not loose their lives, they just lose their rule, until time has made a circle and they rule again.
In a formal setting we "pay" respect to people according to their position, because we are not interested in the persons themselves but what they can mean for us in their present role. If you go to a rulers court or a company, you do not go there to make intimate friends, but to represent certain interests, yourselves but often also others. It would even be presumptuous that anyone can walk in and say: Glad to meet you, my dear friend. Friendship is build mutually, not self-proclaimed. Public women open their intimate doors to many, but they too have limits.
Still, realizing that each being is self-aware we should also treat each being with a deeper respect that is not limited by the interests we represent. And at all times we may want to remember it is just roles we are playing on a big stage. In Nature each plays his part. We talk about more and less important roles, but they are never more than roles. That goes as much for the Devas as ourselves.
When it seems that a Deva plays "a lesser part" in a scene or subservient role that does not mean he has lost position and respect. We should look better. Devas lend their forces where needed. The wind can become a hurricane and dominate all, but it can also be a light breeze that cools us, or a hard wind that makes ships sail. In all cases it is about the particular qualities that the wind adds to the scene. A play is made by all roles working together
Feelings of insults come easily when people get to much attached to their roles and lose sight of the real purpose of the play, which is simply to create happiness for all in playing. We should not want to worship any being because they are "the highest" in a certain setting. We should each give respect for their unique contribution, and for their Divine essence in general.
Meeting with the Devas is like meeting with honorable people. Do not offend them with pity bias. If you meet an important business contact and praise him abundantly, but slightly insult his wife, you think you will enter a successful business relationship? If your are intelligent you will want to understand the roles each of them plays. And if that is not clear to you, you will be careful to give each the same amount of respect.
The Devas are not considered simply forces, technical principles of Nature, but self-aware beings. As such they sense, feel and have feelings. They cooperate and also compete at times. Even among honorable people their is a danger of jealousy, even more if beings have great pride. People in North European traditions did not do much sacrifices to the Gods, only if utmost necessary. But they did bring a lot of sacrifices to their servants and other lower spiritual beings. Which is logical. A employee will not bring his requests to the highest CEO either, he will talk to his chef. That is the natural order.
The idea that every other being should preferably address directly to the highest being is unnatural. That is why they call it "supernatural". But in Nature religions, polytheistic, pantheistic religions there is no supernatural, Natural order prevails. In fact Nature religion is no religion as many understand religion today, it simply is the reality we live in. The world of Gods and other spiritual beings simply is part of our Natural environment, part of daily reality. You sense it in the world around you.
The idea of worshiping one God as highest, can easily become deifying a self-chosen boss that favors you. The more important you make your boss, the more important you feel yourself. That is why some monotheists developed into the most arrogant people. Hey, we work for the number one. We talk to him directly. We have a special communication channel with the ruler of this world. We can phone him up. In their arrogance they do harm to others they regard as "children of the lesser gods". This worship of only the highest is low consciousness. Lower consciousness tends to be more aggressive and big claims tend to come from big egos.
In commercial temples people are made to believe they are welcome as they bring money. Then priests become more like pimps. Now when someone goes to a temple and treats Ganesha like the doorman and then hurries to the prime deity? Is he honoring the Gods? Is his conduct creating a favorable impression? Is this opportunist attitude going to be rewarded by the Gods? Maybe he had better stayed at home.
One may want to understand that the mere "presence" of a statue of a God mean (s)he is considered "present" in this setting. Ignoring them is putting yourself above them. No matter how deep you kneel for your personal God, there is little modesty or awareness in such behavior. If your excuse is that you did not know, than you are still living in lower consciousness most of the time, because your heart surely knows. The one that only does do it because he is taught it is the correct procedure, does not know either.
Revering the highest consciousness means little if it does not allow us to act out of this high consciousness from within. A deeply felt respect for all comes with this consciousness. Then the right behavior comes natural, and is no longer learning. Too much learning easily creates a false feeling of accomplishment. You have read many books but still do not know how to behave respectfully? How tragic. You think reading one more book will help? That is like plastic surgery. One operation leads to another.
It serves a person better to respect the Gods and to know he knows little. Then the Gods will surely come to teach him. Because when we meet with the Gods, is not our deepest desire to hear them talk, so our heart will speak to us?
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