It is the law-of-life that as you think so you become. The thoughts entertained at a given moment get crystallised to form a blue-print for the individual’s character formation in days to come. This is a fact, very well realisable by everyone in his own life. Applying this natural law of psychology in the field of spiritual self-development, Lord Krishna says: “VOTARIES OF THE DEVAS GO TO THE DEVAS,” etc. The worshippers of the Devas, ancestors (Pitris), and the elements (Bhutas), as a result of their worship and adoration with single-pointed mind for a sufficiently long time, come to attain the desires of their constant meditation.
Devas, we have seen, represent the various sense-organs, through which we experience the world. To indicate the work done, by the term denoting the instrument with which the work is executed, is quite common in life. To axe, to scissor, to knife, to hammer, to steer, to pen, etc., are examples wherein the name of the instrument is employed to indicate the work done with it. Similarly, here also, the plural noun ‘Devas,’ may be taken to mean “the entire field of all physical experiences.” Those who are courting the external world of joys and successes consistently and with the required amount of devotion, come to gain that field of demanded experiences.
Accepting the term ‘Pitri’ as denoting the ‘ancestors,’ ‘votaries of ancestors’ would mean ‘persons who are enthusiastically alive to the cultural purity and tradition of their ancients, and who are striving to live up to those ideals.’ An individual, who is constantly endeavouring to live up to the ancient cultural tradition of spiritual India, as a result of his constant self-application, comes to gain the beauty and the shine of the exquisite life of purity and perfection.
The ancient Seers of our land did not overlook the fact that, apart from the spiritual aims, in any society, there would also be active scientific enquiries and repeated discoveries that were possible among the folds of Mother Nature’s own garments. The active quest in the field of “objective-sciences” is a part of man’s hunt for knowledge, and therefore, the “worshippers of the Bhutas,” are the secular scientists who try to observe, codify and systematize the observed knowledge of physical nature and behaviour of things and beings as it is now done under such classifications as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Zoology, Botany, Engineering, Agriculture, Politics, Sociology, Geography, History, Geology, and so on — an endless array of specialised lines of investigation, adopted, pursued and accepted by the modern world. A large portion of the Atharvana Veda gave us the accepted theories of nature and its behaviour, as finally conceived of by the Rishis of that time. The psychological theory, which Krishna is observing here, is applicable to all branches of human endeavour — that is, if one were to pursue diligently even in the secular field, success would be assured in direct proportion to the amount of self-application put forth by the seeker.
Thus, if consistency of meditation upon the Devas yields the Devas; if constant meditation upon the “ancestors” takes us to our ancestral heritage; and if diligent self-application in the fields of intellectual enquiry (Bhutas) can ultimately assure us a positive success in ripping open the secret vaults of nature — then, according to the same principle, we are assured that, “MY VOTARIES COME UNTO ME.” By constant meditation, with a single-pointed mind, upon the nature of the Self, the meditator can, in the long run, successfully discover his total identity with the Self, Eternal and Immutable. In our elementary text-books on Vedanta, this technique of the ego’s constant meditation on the Self and its ultimate transformation into the Divine Self, has been indicated by comparing it with the manner in which a “worm” is transformed into a wasp.
The attempt of the Geeta is to give, not only the Jnana but also to supply the Vijnana. In order to convince the student that this elementary technique can take the seeker to the highest achievements, this stanza is given. Just as consistent pursuit with all dedicated self-application brings, in the end, sure success in all fields of activity of art or science, so too, in the realm of the “within,” and ultimately in the field of spiritual achievement, constant meditation will definitely pay. The logic behind this assurance is given here by the Lord.
CAN MERE WORSHIP WITH DEVOTED THOUGHTS, HOWEVER SINCERE, BRING ABOUT SUCH AN ABSOLUTE SUCCESS? IS IT NOT NECESSARY THAT WE SHOULD PURSUE ALL THE ELABORATE RITUALS THAT THE VEDAS PRESCRIBE, AND OFTEN SEEM TO INSIST UPON?… LISTEN:
