Monday, March 12, 2007

Manus, devatas and the relationship between 7 and 14

The book Religious Consciousness writes: “Great time-period known as ‘kalpa’ which is the whole day of Brahma, is divided into fourteen parts, each one of them being presided over by one specific Manu, i.e., ‘Manvantara’. The present time falls within the reign of Manu Vaivasvata and is therefore in all declaratory formulae mentioned as such by the worshipper. The age (yuga) is Kali. Fourteen ‘manvantaras’ occurring during one day of Brahma which is 1000 times the period of the four Yugas together (Manu, I, 72-3, BhG, VIII,17) Brahma’s day is called a ‘kalpa’, at the end of which occurs what is known as ‘Mahapralaya’ or even simply as ‘pralaya’ or flood. Though the full traditional quota of Manus for a whole ‘kalpa’ is fourteen (S. Chitrav’s Pracinocaritrakosa, pg. 428), it appears that in the earlier literature there is no mention of more than seven of them.”
It is further written: “Tradition gives a set of seven great sages to everyone of the ‘manvantaras’ (Chitra V, loc. Cit., pp. 429-31). They have a function to discharge in the creative process and in the governance of the cosmos.” It is said that present Kalpa is called ‘Svetavaraha’ and is so announced in every declaring formula. These sages are referred to as the progenitors of mankind, called also Maharhis (maha-rishis).
Religious Consciousness says further: “The Bhagavata Gita (X, 6) mentions the category of seven ‘maharishis’ or great sages. Even then it didn’t occur to the scholars that this could be reference to those sages. Moreover, each Manu-period in theory has its own set of seven Maharishis. The Manusmriti (I, 19,63) postulates only seven first elements used in creation, and speaks of seven Manus only, though according to the theory of Manu periods, there ought to be fourteen of them, the later number being a multiple of seven. The influence of the number seven in cosmological speculation – astronomical knowledge having been in step with it, as there were only seven known planets and seven days to the artificial division of time known later as week – is clearly demonstrated by Kalidasa, the national mind, in his works which are pure literature, using the cosmological and religio-philosophical data incidentally. In his poem Raghuvamsa (X, 21) he has given his version of the prayer gods and men would have addressed to the great God Vishnu lying on the seven-hooded cobra. It is dominated by the number seven as the characteristic accompaniment or means to the propitiation of Vishnu. He is sung in seven ‘saman’ hymns; He lies over the seven oceans; He has as his mouth the seven-rayed Fire and he is the one support of the seven worlds’.
It is seen that before Kalidasa’s age, the worlds were counted as seven in number and the number of oceans had come to fixed as seven. In another context in the same work (XCIII, 78) Kalidasa has told us that the great mountains, the ‘kulaparvatas’ or ‘kulabhubhrts’ or ‘kulacalas’, as they are known and may be translated as stabilizing mountains, which have become almost fabulous legends in Hindu cosmography, were already known to be seven in number. He describes the seven ages (Kumarasambhava, VI, 3-10, 15-19) in a glowing manner as those who are called ‘upholders’ (dhatarah) by antiquarians and as what do not vanish even at the great destruction (mahapralaya) taking place at the end of a ‘kalpa’. One of the worlds of the cosmos, the earth, is itself a seven-islanded (satadvipa) unit (Sakuntala, VII, 33) of which Jambudvipa, in which India (Bharatakhanda) is situated, is one.”
The apparent duality between seven and fourteen persists. You will either have to accept that one of the two sources of information is incorrect or find a logical reason why two different numbers have been used time and again. Either there are ‘seven great sages’ as progenitors of mankind or there are ‘fourteen’ Manus. But it is not easy to say so because the count of seven and fourteen has been given time and again in the most authentic of scriptures and unless you accept our argument, you will have to yourself conclude that some of the scriptures do not give authentic and correct information, which is not true.
There is no choice but to accept that the fourteen Manus or devatas had seven names, just as the fourteen Masooms had seven names, due to repetition of names. Moreover, you have seen that Mohammad had said that
‘I was the Prophet even when Adam was in the stage of creation’
and
‘I and Ali are the divisions of the same noor’
thereby signifying that the one noor of Mohammad divided into two, one of whom was Ali. Since Mohammad also said that all the Masooms are similar, it also amounts to saying that the noor of Mohammad and Ali were similar to each other. At another place, Mohammad said that ‘Fatima is a part of me’, which part was given in marriage to Ali.
See how the inability to understand the description of this relationship in the Hindu scriptures has made translators come to weird conclusions like calling Sata-rupa both as the daughter and wife of Brahma, as per the following account given in the book ‘Religious Consciousness’. You are requested to note how Manu (name given to Ali) has been described as ‘born of and identical with his original self (the one noor which divided into two). Also note that it is clearly suggested from the following description that Sata-rupa was the female portion of Brahma where as Manu, who was her husband, is sure to be the male portion. You have seen a little earlier that Rudra (another name of Siva, also Manu) and Indra were described as two of the seven who comprise Life (Prana) along with a devi. Until now Indra and Rudra are seen as different from Brahma and Manu. Fact is that Indra is another name for Brahma and Rudra (Siva) is another name for first of the Manus. Considering the fact that from this relationship between Manu (known by several names including Rudra or Siva) and Devi (known by several names including Sata-rupa and Parvati), the legend arose where Siva is seen as the male part and Parvati as the female part of creation. All this description of the ‘secret’ could not be fathomed by the translators who came to absurd conclusions like ‘Manu sprang from the incestuous intercourse of Brahma with his daughter and wife, Sata-rupa.” Unless you take our understanding of the scriptures as true, you have no choice but to conclude either that all the legends described in religious books are untrue, which would cite a question mark on the credibility of the books itself, or that the beginning of creation of mankind was based on ‘incestuous intercourse of Brahma with his daughter’, something that your consciousness is surely not going to accept.
We invite you to see this account from book Religious Consciousness, according to which Manu sprang from the incestuous intercourse of Brahma with his daughter and wife, Sata-rupa. Brahma created himself Manu, “born of and identical with his original self, and the female portion of himself he constituted Sata-rupa,” whom Manu took to wife. The law-book commonly known as Manu is ascribed to this Manu, and so also is a Sutra work on ritual bearing the same name. The Manu of the present age is the seventh, name Vaivaswata, ‘sun-born,’ who was the son of Vivaswat, the sun, and he is a Kshatriya by race. He is also called Satya-vrata. There are various legends about his having been saved from a great flood by Vishnu or Brahma. The names of the fourteen Manus are – (1) Swayam-bhuva, (2) Swarochisha, (3). Auttami, (4) Tamasa, (5) Raivata, (6) Chakshusha, (7) Vaivaswata or Satya-vrata, (8) Savarna, (9). Daksha-savarna, (10) Brahma-savarna, (11) Dharma-savarna, (12). Savaran or Rudra-savarna, (13) Rauchya, (14) Bhautya.
One thing worth noting is that the names of the fourteen Manus are clearly given here though you must remember that these are mere appellations and there are several more appellations that the scriptures have given to each of them. If you are still of the opinion that the 14 Manus are different from the seven rishis (we have seen earlier that Rudra, Indra and one devi along with four more comprise the seven), then see the following description of Vishnu Purana, which gives the name of Indra and Manu as the seven rishis, thereby confirming what we said a little before that Indra is another name for Brahma, Manu is another is another name for Rudra and devi is the Sata-rupa, described earlier, who was married to Rudra (Siva or chief of the Manus) and has also been called by various names, including Parvati.
Chapter III of Vishnu Purana further states: “Other Seven Rishis, certain divinities, Indra, Manu, and his sons, are created and perish at one period; and the interval, called a Manvantara, is equal to seventy-one times the number of years contained in the four Yugas, with some additional years: this is the duration of a Manu, the (attendant) divinities, and the rest, which is equal to 852,000 divine years, or to 306,720,000 years of mortals, independent of the additional period. Fourteen times this period constitutes a Brahma day, that is, a day of Brahma; the term (Brahma) being the derivative form. At the end of this day a dissolution of the universe occurs, when all the three worlds, earth and the regions of space, are consumed with fire."
This description too confirms that the seven rishis were created prior to the beginning of creation and are to last till the dissolution of the universe. We have seen how Mohammad said that his noor was created prior to the beginning of the creation. We have also seen that Mohammad described his daughter as the leader of the women in heavens and Hasan and Husain, his grandsons, as the leader of youths of heaven, while Ali has been described as the leader of all. It is believed that the last of the 14 is still living on earth and will appear close to the end of the world, following whose death the world will go through dissolution.

Manus and the Devatas
The following account of Matsya Purana again confirms that Manus and devatas are the same as it refers to Indra, Varuna, etc. in the list of Manus. Therefore, it can easily be summed up that the fourteen devatas created as consequence of the process described in Brhad-aranyaka and Paingala Upanishads were the fourteen Manus, with seven names. They are the progenitors of mankind, who have posterity as devatas, but when they took birth on earth, they were killed by the people among whom they had taken birth. This has even been confirmed by Quran which, you have seen, talks of manifest signs coming on earth and the attempt of the people to cause harm to them.
Chapter VI of the Matsya Purana states that devatas were also called Tusita who flourished in the reign of Chaksusa Manu. They came to be known as Adityas (suns), owing to their having been born as the sons of devata called glorious Kasyapa from his wife, Aditi, during the reign of King Vaivasvata Manu. They were 12 in numbers, viz., Indra, Dhata, Bhaga, Tuasta, Mitra, Varuna, Yama, Vivasvana, Savita, Pusa, Ansumana and Vishnu. These were the 12 Adityas – the centre of rays.
It is also stated that the Devapraharanas the sons of Krisasva Risi, and the 12 Adityas appear at the beginning of every Manvantara and Kalpa and vanish at their termination.
This description of the 12 Adityas is sure to add to the confusion. It has been said that the Adityas too were born at the beginning of each Manvantara and Kalpa and vanish at their termination. How could this be, when we know that the fourteen Manus or devatas were born prior to the creation of the universe and will vanish at their termination? This too cannot be understood unless you note that there are several names in the list of Adityas, like that of Indra, Mitra, Varuna and Yama, which are also the names of the devatas described in the Vedas and elsewhere. This concludes that there is some commonality between the Manus and the Adityas. This apparent duality too cannot be understood unless you see the relationship that exists between the Imams and the Masooms (the Ahlebayts). Of the 14 Masooms or Ahlebayts, 12 of them were called the Imams as well and only Mohammad and Fatima were excluded from the title of Imam. Ali, the husband of Fatima, described as Rudra and Manu, is also the first of the 12 Adityas (meaning sun). Later in the book you will see from Dowson’s description that Aditi is another name used by the scriptures for the same devi, thus Kasyapa is sure to be another name used for Rudra or Manu (noor of Ali).
Chapter IX-34 of Matsya Purana states:
I have explained to you something about the past and future Manus, O King! Similarly commencing from the age of Devas, in the 994th age, the afore-mentioned fourteen Manus rule in succession. In their time, they play their part in the creation of the moveable and immoveable objects, and afterwards attain final rest with Brahma, at the end of the age. They (the Manus), after 1000 ages, shall be absorbed in Brahma and be joined to Vishnu.
Book IV Chapter I of The Vishnu Purana states:
Parasara says, “It is said: ‘The lineage of him shall never be extinct who daily calls to mind the race of Manu, originating with Brahma.’” Listen therefore, Maitreya, to the entire series of the princes of this family, by which all sin shall be effaced.”
This description too gives a relationship between Manu and Brahma. As we have said, Brahma is the one noor (light) of Mohammad that divided to give birth to the male and female powers, Manu and Sata-rupa (also referred to as Sakti). These are the noors of Ali and Fatima. Therefore, as per Vishnu Purana, the lineage of that person shall never be extinct who daily calls to mind the race of Manu (Ali) originating with Brahma (the original noor of Mohammad), that was created by the Manifest Self (Vishnu), who has been described in legends as reclining on lotus, alone with nothing else in the cosmos.
Upanishads have used the term devatma-shakti (power of the Self of devatas) as the route to spiritual elevation. It is through identifying the presence of this power inside us that a person rules over the various causes - like time, inherent nature, necessity, chance, the five elements, the womb or the person’s own soul – because of which we live our lives in pleasures or unhappiness. The following Upanishad clearly states that the route to permanent bliss is identifying the devatma-shakti within one’s own self; this devatma-shakti (self-power) is termed as the cause of this universe. It is also stated that this devatma-shakti is manifold; thereby confirming once again that there are more than one devatas and the Brahman (God) is clearly above the devatma-shakti.
A very interesting narration from the life of Prophet Mohammad given in some of the most authentic books of traditions, and popularly known as Hadees-e-Kisa, tells that the God (Manifest Self) said that He created the sun, the moon, the earth, the sky, everything in love of the Ahlebayts. On another occasion, Husain, son of Ali and grandson of Mohammad, is quoted in the book Bihar-al-Anwar to have said that they (the 14 Masooms) were the cause of the universe. See the narration from Svetasvatara Upanishad below which gives an answer to the cause of this universe.
In Svetasvatara Upanishad, Sage Svetasvatara is asked the question, “What is the cause? Brahman? Whence are we born? By what do we live? And on what are we established?” Svetasvatara replies that the cause is the devatma-sakti, which is presided by the Brahman (God), thereby confirming that Brahman (God) is not involved in the day-to-day affairs of the running of this world. All these affairs, including life and death, creation and destruction, and sending of the Messengers to lead us to the worship of Absolute God are in the hands of the devatma-shakti; the Manifest Self with manifold rope (several devatas).
Sage Svetasvatara in Svetasvatara Upanishad says:
O ye who know Brahman, presided over by whom do we live our different conditions in pleasures and other than pleasures (pains).
Now see the succeeding verses in succession:
I.2. Time, inherent nature, necessity, chance, the (five) elements, the womb or the person be considered as the cause? It cannot be a combination of these because of the existence of the soul. Even the soul is powerless in respect of the cause of pleasure and pain.
I.3. Those who followed after meditation and contemplation saw the (devatma-sakti) self-power of the Divine hidden in its own qualities. He is the one who rules over all these causes from time to the soul.
I.4. Him (the self-power or devatma-shakti), whose one rope is manifold.
See how clearly this Upanishad states that the self-power (devatma shakti) created by Brahman (the God) is one that moves this universe. It is stated that the self-power is manifold, thereby confirming that the devatas and one devi comprise this self-power. The word used is ‘rope’. Just as a ‘rope’ is made through uniting several strings of ropes, the power of the devatas when combined, form the Manifest Self or devatma-shakti. You will be surely interested to know that the subject of rope is also an oft-quoted subject in Quran and Prophet Mohammad’s traditions and there is an authentic tradition of Prophet Mohammad as per which the Masooms (Ahlebayts) are equated as ropes and it is advised that we hold on to the rope for a life of permanent bliss in the heavens.
In the next verse, this rope is compared to a river of five streams, which together comprise the Life (Prana). You have already seen that these devatas have been described as those who comprise Life (Prana), lords of all things that move and those that do not move. And the rope that constitutes Life (Prana) is manifold. Just as a rope comprises of several ropes, each of which has similar attributes and may have further sub-ropes, similarly, five devatas (Panjetans of ‘five bodies’ of the Muslims) comprise the five streams, and from them emanate the 9 sub-streams, thereby comprising the 14 who have seven names.

The five elements
You ask any Indian with certain religious knowledge about Upanishads and he would tell you that the five elements with which the entire world is made up of are earth, water, fire, vayu (air) and akash (sky). All Upanishadic translations as well as books of spiritual learning seem to agree that the cosmos was created by God using these five elements. But little earlier we have seen another that the devatma-shakti along with a manifold rope consisting of devatas was the cause of the universe.
It is ironical that the same person who tells the elements to be five in number, when asked to tell the number of elements from a scientific viewpoint, would say that the total number of elements discovered so far are close to hundred and there may still be some more that are yet to be discovered. Even a class VIII student is likely to tell the names of more than five elements and earth, water, fire, air and sky would surely not be there in the list.
The above knowledge is based on the study of the Vedas and Upanishads, which are believed to be revealed scriptures from God. We too have not an iota of doubt that these, along with Bhagavata Gita, are divinely revealed books and convey the divine plan regarding mankind, and therefore unless their text has been changed afterwards, not even a word of these can be without significance. We strongly condemn all those who find fault in the word of God when the truth is that it is their own lack of knowledge and comprehension because of which they are unable to understand certain passages. Instead of acknowledging this deficiency, they put the blame on the content of those very scriptures they call Divine.
Yet we believe that not even a word of God can be against the principles of reason and science and if it appears to be so, then either it is not a scripture from God, or it is not in the original form in which it was revealed or it has not been correctly understood. Science is the study of nature and nature too has emanated from God. Therefore, reason, science and the God’s word have to be in sync with each other. All through this book, you will find that this alone is our parameter for accepting or discarding the accepted notions.
How come all the places that talk of creation of the Universe are talking about the five elements? Who has erred – God or we? Why is this knowledge not in conformity with the modern scientific discoveries? You will know when you progress further!
In fact, certain Upanishads are also seen to mention Mahat (Intelligence), Ahankara (Ego) in this list, thus adding to the absurdity of the whole statement. Niralamba Upanishad of Sukla-Yajur Veda (as per translation by K. Narayanaswami Aiyer, published 1914) describes Brahma in the following manner:
(Brahma) is the Chaitanya that appears, through the aspects of Karma (action) and Jnana (wisdom), as this vast mundane egg composed of Mahat, Ahankara and the five elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Vayu and Akash – that is secondless – that is devoid of all Upadhis (vehicles), that is full of all Saktis (potencies), that is without beginning and end, that is described as pure, beneficial, peaceful, and guna-less and that is indescribable.
First of all ego and intelligence don’t gel together. How can ego be an element? How can ego with full of Saktis (potencies), without beginning and end, pure, beneficial, peaceful and guna-less? Moreover, there is no logic or relationship between Mahat (Intelligence) and Ahankara (Ego) and the five elements viz. earth, air, water, fire and sky. Moreover, every educated person knows that the composition of these five is the same. If water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, the two are also found in the air, along with certain other elements. What was the need to mention water then? It is carbon, which combines with oxygen to produce a gas (i.e. part of air). The same carbon combines with itself to make coal or diamond (i.e. part of the earth). Sky too is totally out of place, as we know nothing about its composition. Sky and earth would perhaps never meet but they both seem to have played a part in our creation. There is no water and air in the sky but it seems that inside our body the three have united together. If sky denotes space then air too denotes space. Does moon has no part to play in our creation? Is it that earth was created before, and moon, Pluto and Neptune later? Men of science can point out countless more absurdities. Yet this is our blind belief that we all are created from these five elements plus Mahat (Intelligence) and Ahankara (Ego).
It is unfortunate that we accept such translations blindly without bothering to think whether it is possible for the All-knowing God to err. Those who are unable to understand this duality leave the worship of God and are consequently drawn away from these scriptures, which is the root-cause of all problems that we are facing today. In a way, by accepting these absurdities as true, it is we who are responsible for our youths deviating from the path of God. After all, who would accept such absurd statements and then come again to supplicate in front of the Creator.
We invite you to read the aforementioned passage from the Upanishad again. It talks of a vast mundane egg, with seven constituents, five of which are understood to be the five elements. These seven constituents are described to be secondless, devoid of all Upadhis, full of all Saktis (potencies), without beginning and end, and also pure, beneficial, peaceful, gunaless and indescribable.
Isn’t it ironical that while the Hindus worship the devi as Sakti (the potent force), these seven that includes intelligence and ego too are referred to as full of Saktis? Moreover, some of the terms used for describing these cannot be understood easily. For instance, terms like secondless, devoid of all Upadhis, gunaless and indescribable.
It is clear that neither through science nor through logic can these seven constituents be understood, if we take them to be mere material elements. Moreover, material fire, air, sky etc. are just small parts of the overall creation by the Almighty God. There are innumerable other wonders in the universe that are yet to be understood. Why should the Creator give so much weight to certain insignificant creations of his, including this earth, fire, intelligence, ego, etc. If this is so, then what is the truth? Are we yet to understand the true content of the Upanishads? Do they refer to something other than mere material earth, sky, air, etc?
Fact is that it is true. The names of Vayudeva and Agnideva were present in the Vedas since beginning. Vayu (Air) and Agni (Fire) are the two constituents of the seven mentioned in the Upanishadic texts quoted above. As you read further, we will prove that the seven names that are given above are the names of the devatas mentioned in the Vedas, all of whom form the devatma-shakti, and because of which Life (Prana) exists. It is these devatas who have been described to be secondless, who are devoid of all Upadhis (vehicles), full of Saktis (potencies), without beginning and end, and also described as pure, beneficial, peaceful, gunaless and indescribable.
If this is not true, then you will find it difficult to digest that the Upanishads give so much of weight to earth, fire, air and space, and they are nothing but material things. Moreover, we have seen earlier that Brahma, Rudra etc. has come with the names like Agni, Vayu, thereby further strengthening our argument.
Chhandogya Upanishad (I.9.1) says:
(Salavatya asked:) ‘What is the support of this world?’) Pravahana replied), ‘Space, because all these things (moving or not moving) originate verily from Space itself, and when they die they go to Space. Since Space indeed is superior to all these, Space is the ultimate goal.’
Is space alone our final destiny? How can you explain that it is space that is the support of this world and all the things originate verily from Space? No heaven, no good deeds, nothing; it is the space which is the ultimate goal of all! If we resort to all type of crimes to live this life fully, what’s wrong, considering that our end is merely the physical space, somewhat like Kalpana Chawla?
Not only this, a great portion of Chhandogya Upanishad (that is considered as one of the greatest Upanishads), as per existing translations, seems to be talking about the Earth, Fire, etc. along with a few additions like the sun, the moon, the heavens. At one place it says that one who knows that Earth is Himkara gets fully established on the spheres (II.17.1-2). At another place, it says that one who knows that fire is himkara, air is prastava, etc. gets fully established on the devatas, attains the spheres of these very devatas, their splendour, (or) identity with them (II.19, 1-2).
These verses confirm that air, water, earth, etc. have a direct relationship with devatas, translated by most commentators as gods, when in truth the word devata should either be translated as Divine Lords or Divine Lights. Truth is that devatas are the subject of discussion whenever Agni, Prithvi, Vayu, Akash, etc. are talked about. Agni, Prithvi, Vayu, Akash etc. are nothing but the names or appellations given to these devatas.

The truth about five and seven
It is unfortunate that the answer to the mystery lies in the Upanishads itself, and yet we have been unable to reach the truth. The first five of the 14 Ahlebayts were called Panjetans (or five bodies). Their names were Mohammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain. Nine other were in Husain's progeny and were named: Ali, Mohammad, Jafar, Musa, Ali, Mohammad, Ali, Hasan and Mohammad. See how the remaining nine had only two new names; thus there were seven names for fourteen and first five were also given a different grouping 'Panjetan'. The 12 Imams are 12 of these 14, and only Mohammad and Fatima are not Imams.

The text from Niralamba Upanishad that we presented before cited a relationship between Brahma, the mundane egg and Mahat, Ahankara and the five elements. These were described as secondless, devoid of all Upadhis, full of all Saktis, without beginning and end and also described as pure, beneficial, peaceful, gunaless and indescribable.
Now see what III.13.6 of the Chhandogya Upanishad says:
They indeed, who are these five persons of Brahman (the Absolute God), are the door-keepers of the heavenly world. He who thus knows these five persons of Brahman, as the door-keepers of the heavenly world, a hero is born in his family. He who knows thus these five persons of Brahman, as the door-keepers of the heavenly world, attains the heavenly world.
Do you now realize why such importance has been placed to the five, who have been treated as elements? At other places, they are even called the guardians of faith and controllers of our organs of sense and action, and despite such clear wordings, our worthy scholars continue to describe them as the five elements viz. the material earth, fire, air, space and wind. As per them, the material fire, sky, water, etc. are the door-keepers of the heavenly world, it is their knowledge that is most sacred and it is through knowing the nature or composition of water, we attain the heavens. What lofty philosophical thoughts, indeed?
This is also despite the fact that Mahabharata and Ramayana are full of narrations about Agni-deva (fire), Vayu-deva (air) and their associate Vishnu. Krishna is said to have met Agni-deva in forest, Rama is said to have given Sita in Agni-deva’s protection, Hanuman is said to have been the son of Vayu-deva while one of the Pandavas was said to the son of Agni-deva. There are countless episodes in the Puranas where the devatas are described, talking and meeting people. Devi (Earth), known by several names, too is mentioned as Goddess Earth at several places. In spite of all these, when agni, vayu, earth etc. are used separately, the learned commentators wish to see these names only as material things. Nearly all the information that we possess about Krishna is based on the knowledge gained through Puranas and Mahabharata, yet we discount the identity of devatas as fabrications and baseless myths, whose accounts are present in abundance in those very Puranas and Mahabharata which introduce Krishna to us.
Let us take recourse to Hadees-e-Kisa, an episode (narrated Jabir ibn Ansari and also by Ayesha, wife of Prophet Mohammad) mentioned in several authentic books of Islamic traditions, as per which Mohammad, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain – the first five of the 14 Masooms, referred to as Ahlebayts in Quran, assembled at one place and the angels asked God who were they who had assembled and the God after praising each of them and their role in his creation replied that it were they because of whom the sun, the moon, the sky and all things of the universe were created. Consequent to this, the following verse of Quran was revealed in which God takes a guarantee regarding their purity. Quran says:
Innama Yoridullaho Leuzheba Ankumrrijsa Ahlalbaite wa Yotahhirakum Tathira
Verily Allah desires to keep away all blemishes from you, O Ahlebayt and keep you pure with perfect purification.
Heavenly world is possible only through the path of these door-keepers of heavenly world, as per Chhadogya Upanishad. And Mohammad said that Ali was the head of the men in the heavens, Fatima was the head of women in heavens and Hasan and Husain were heads of youths of the heavens.
You have also seen earlier how Gita too has endorsed the importance of these devatas. Our view is that till the time of Krishna, people were far more knowledgeable about the identity of devatas, and some of them even worshipped the devatas, something that Krishna said was not the desired thing, but in the succeeding period they forgot their identity and true role in creation. What circumstances forced the worship or knowledge of devatas to wane from our lives is not known with certainty. However, whether it was the Pandavas, the Kauravas or the revered saints of the time like Bhishma and Drona, all knew far more about the devatas than what we know now. That is why Arjuna, who is asking questions wherever he does not understand a point, is silent when the Krishna mentions devatas, Prajapatis (Lords of the peoples) or talks of Indra’s heaven in Gita. Truth is that Bhagavad-Gita has even allowed the worship of the devatas to some extent. This is in spite of the fact that the entire teachings of Gita revolve around establishing the worship of One Absolute God and negating all pseudo-gods that were being worshipped by the people of time.

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