Origin of the devatas as part of the triad

Fact is that most commentators of Purana and Vedas agree to the count of 14, the importance of devatas given in them and their role in this cosmos but fail to relate them with our lives. HH Wilson states in his commentary on Vishnu Purana that the Vedic God Prajapati who was regarded as father of creation and as Svayambhu (Self-born) came later to be identified as Brahma, the creator. Five devatas were created from Brahma, but there were nine more mind-born sons of Brahma who were entrusted by Brahma with the work of creation, they came to be known as ‘Nine Brahmas’ (nava Brahmanah) and consequently the original Brahma became the Pitamaha (grandfather) in relation to the created beings.
This description confirms that the name Prajapati, also used in Vedas, is the name of Brahma, the first of the noors (that of Mohammad). Dowson’s account clearly mentions that in the Ramayana, ‘mention is made of a female Manu, and it appears that the word is sometimes used for “the wife of Manu.” Truly, there is a female Manu, who is very much one of the fourteen and also the wife of a Manu (Ali, or Manu or Vayu or Rudra or Marut or Aditya). It is they, who were created in the beginning and it is said that God created the world when pleased with their worship. Therefore, they took the task of leading the world to the worship of that One God.
As I.2.5 of Mundaka Upanishad says:
Whosoever performs works, makes offerings, when these are shining and at the proper time, these in the form of the rays of the sun lead him to that where the one lord of the devatas abide.
Salvation, it is clear, is only possible through treading their path. That is why Mohammad asked his followers to come aboard the vessel of Ahlebayts (Masooms) for salvation and one who wouldn’t do so perishes. The aforementioned verse from Mundaka Upanishad also confirms that the Indo-Aryans were waiting for the devatas to arrive and prayers were being made in this regard. This confirms that the devatas had not made an appearance till the Vedas, the Puranas and Upanishads had been composed. The translation given by Radhakrishnan clearly says that they would come to shine at a proper time and through ritual offerings the aim was to invite them to come. The irony of history is that when they did come and a majority of them have departed but we continued to make those offerings which invited them to come on earth.
Following verse I.2.6 of Mundaka Upanishad only elaborates our point of view.
The radiant offerings invite him with the words, ‘come, come,’ and carry the sacrificer by the rays of the sun, honouring him and saluting him with pleasing words: ‘This is your holy world of Brahma won through good deeds.’
Verse 8 of Mundaka Upanishad tells clearly that those who consider themselves as wise but are ignorant of this knowledge related to the role of the devatas in salvation and subsequent permanent stay in Brahma’s Heaven, are blind.
I.2.8: Abiding in the midst of ignorance, wise in their own esteem, thinking themselves to be learned, fools, afflicted with troubles, go about like blind men led by one who is himself blind.
I.2.9. The immature, living manifoldly in ignorance, think ‘we have accomplished our aim.’ Since those who perform rituals do not understand (these 7 moving tongues of fire) because of attachment, therefore they sink down, wretched when their worlds (i.e. the fruits of their merits) are exhausted.
Isn’t the aforementioned verse again stating that it is not possible to ‘accomplish one’s spiritual aim’ without recognizing these seven names? People who are not able to recognize these “seven moving tongues of fire” are described as wretched, immature and ignorant. Those who perform rituals without knowing their true purpose are condemned. Are our knowledgeable scholars aware of any explanation about the identity of the seven?
I.2.10. These deluded men, regarding sacrifices and works of merits as most important, do not know any other good. Having enjoyed in the high place of heaven won by good deeds, they enter again this world or a still lower one.
Verse 1.2.10 further reveals the role of devatas in attaining salvation. Even Gita has confirmed this when it talks of Indra’s heaven (read our commentary of Gita). Gita as well as this verse clearly tells that sacrifices, works of merit and even good deeds guarantee a place in heaven but salvation or nirvana or nijaat (from rebirth) is not possible without adhering to the path of devatas. People who do not cognize these devatas but perform good deeds are given a place in heaven, at the time of dissolution, and may enjoy the benefits of living in heaven during the night of Brahma, which is equal to the life of this creation, but are sent once again for a test on earth when a new creation takes place, perhaps even in a lower birth. Salvation or nijaat, on the other hand guarantees freedom from rebirth and the person enjoys a permanent stay at the highest level of heaven where there is no death, no suffering, no rebirth, and only bliss and happiness.
Maitri Upanishad says:
Verily, in the beginning Prajapati (Brahma or the first noor) stood alone. He had no happiness, being alone. Then, meditating on himself, he created numerous offspring. He saw them to be like a stone, without understanding, without life, standing like a post. He had no happiness. He then thought to himself, ‘Let me enter within in order to awaken them.’ He made himself like wind (spirit) and sought to enter into him. Being one, he could not do it. He divided himself five fold and is called prana, apana, samana, udana, vyana.
II.7. Verily, this self, the seers declare, wanders here on earth in everybody unaffected, as it seems, by the light or the dark fruits of action. On account of this unmanifestness, subtility, imperceptibility, ungraspability, freedom from self-sense (the self) is unabiding and a doer only in seeming, truly is not a doer, he is abiding. Verily, he is pure, steadfast, unswerving, stainless, unagitated, free from desire, remains fixed like a spectator and abiding in his own self. As an enjoyer of righteous work he covers himself with a veil made of qualities, but he remains fixed, yea, he remains fixed.
This explains that the Manifest Self has a role to play inside our bodies as well.
See these verses from Maitri Upanishad. Those who still see air, fire, etc. as five elements, please take special note.
IV.5. They said, ‘Revered One, you are the teacher, you are the teacher. What has been said has been duly fixed in mind by us. Now answer a further question. Fire, air, sun, time, whatever it is, breath, food, Brahma, Rudra, Vishnu, some meditate upon one, some upon another. Tell us which one is the best for us! Then he said to them.
Please note that all names are not taken. This is evident from mention of ‘whatever it is’ in between. It is clear from the question that the questioner wished to ask whose worship was the best, out of all the devatas. See the answer in IV.6:
IV.6. These are but the chief forms of the Supreme, the immortal, the bodiless Brahman. To whichever each man is devoted here in this world he rejoices. For it has been said, ‘Verily, this whole world is Brahman.’ Verily, these, which are its chief forms one meditates upon, worships and discards. For with these one moves higher and higher in the worlds. And when all things perish (in universal resolution), he attains unity of (with) the person, yea, of the person.
They are the chief forms of the Supreme. The fact that names like Brahma, Rudra were there should have been enough to conclude that Agni (Fire), Vayu (Air), Kal (Time) too were devatas and it has been said that these are the Chief forms of the Supreme – the bodiless. Truly this is the Manifest of the Unmanifest, as said in the Gita.
Unable to notice the words like ‘chief forms of the Supreme’, and presence of revered names like Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra, Radhakrishnan has wrongly concluded that this is reference to entire humanity. Says he: ‘At the end of this world, at the time of universal dissolution, Hiranya-garbha lapses into the Absolute Brahman. Till then individualities are retained by the souls including the world-soul.’
Prajapati or Visva – the head of these devatas and from whom the fourteen were created - is distinctly described in Chapter VIII (verse 7) of Maitri Upanishad, which states:
And he, verily, is the self within the heart, very subtle, kindled like fire, endowed with all forms of him all this is food. In him are woven creatures here. He is the self which is free from evil, ageless, deathless, sorrowless, free from uncertainty, free from fetters, whose conception is the real, whose desire is the real. He is the supreme Lord, he is the ruler of beings, he is the protector of beings. He is the determining bridge. This self, verily, is the Lord, the beneficent, Creator of all, the golden germ, truth, life, spirit, the ruler, the unshaken, the pervader, Narayana. He who is yonder in the sun, he is one. To these who art this, endowed with all forms hidden in the real space, adoration.
See how Manifest Self has been described. This creation of God is the creator of all, protector of beings, the ruler of beings, the pervader and the determining bridge but is definitely not God. Absolute God is even higher, who created this creator and is to lead the subsequent creations to the worship of Absolute God. A little earlier you also saw how the sole aim of Mohammad and rest of the Masooms too was described to be the same.
Hope it is clear that the Creator and Manifest Self which created the Prajapati or Vishva – who created the rest of the creation – are distinct and not one. You have already seen how Quran too has talked about the Manifest Self (referred to in first person) doing the creation and want us to worship the Absolute God, mentioned in third person. If there is any confusion still, we present here two separate verses from Subala Upanishad, which will clarify the distinction between the description of One God and the One Self.
IV.I. In the beginning this was non-existent, uestablished (in anything else), devoid of sound, devoid of touch, devoid of form, devoid of taste, devoid of smell, imperishable, not dense, not prodigious, originless, as one’s own self (he), sorrows not. That which is lifeless, mouthless, earless, speechless, mindless, splendourless, devoid of name and clan, headless, devoid of glowing redness (like fire), immeasurable, not short, not long, not gross, not minute, not small, not great, not definable, not obscure, not demonstrable, not manifest, not shrouded, not obscure, not demonstrable, not manifest, not shrouded, without an interior, without an exterior. It does not feed on anything, nor does anything feed on it. One should attain this (Brahman) by recourse to the six means of truthfulness, charity, austerity, fasting, chastity (of mind and body) and complete indifference to worldly objects. One should also attend to the following three, self-control, charity and compassion. The pranas (vital breaths) of this (knower of Brahman) do not go out, even where He is they get merged. He who knows thus, becoming Brahman remains Brahman alone.
Does this not clearly establish the relationship between Brahman and the Manifest Self? Eventually, the purpose of our worship is to cognize the Absolute God and to bow down in supplication to Him. One who does this and performs righteous actions, with full knowledge of the path that was laid for us, goes back to get united with God, i.e. attains salvation.
You have seen the description of the Absolute God in Subala Upanishad. The same Upanishad describes the Manifest Self a little later. You are invited to make comparisons yourself between the description of Absolute God above and that of the Manifest Self given below:
V.15. This (self) is all-knowing. This is the Lord of all This is the ruler of all. This is the indwelling spirit. This is the source of all. This, that is resorted to by all forms of happiness, does not stand in need of happiness of any kind. This, that is adored by all the Vedic texts and scriptures does not stand in need of Vedic texts and scriptures. Whose food is all this but who (himself) does not become the food of any. For that very reason (it is) the most excellent, the supreme director of all. Consisting of food (it is) the self of (all) gross objects; consisting of life (it is) the self of (all) sense organs; consisting of bliss, (it is) the self of dissolution, when there is not Oneness whence (can arise) duality? When there is not mortality, whence (can arise) immortality? (It is) not (endowed) with internal knowledge; nor with external knowledge; nor with both these kinds of knowledge, not a mass of knowledge, not knowledge, nor not-knowledge, not (previously) known or capable of being known. This is the doctrine relating to liberation. This is the doctrine of Veda. This is the doctrine of the Veda.
You have seen how different the Absolute God is from the Manifest Self. While the Absolute God “does not feed on anything, nor does anything feed on it”, the Manifest Self is one “Whose food is all this but who (himself) does not become the food of any”. There are Upanishads which use words like ‘we all are food’ and ‘we are being eaten all the time’. Even certain Muslim books, though mostly attributed to Sufis, talk of us being food. Even scientifically, it has been established that the same energy because of which we eat and walk also keeps on eating our body system so that the young becomes old and finally dies. That is why Gita says that one who eats without making offerings to the devatas is a thief.