श्रद्धान्विताः साधु यजन्ति सिद्धये ।
भूतेन्द्रियान्तःकरणोपलक्षितं
वेदे च तन्त्रे च त एव कोविदाः ॥६२॥
kriyÄ-kalÄpair idam eva yoginaḥ
Å›raddhÄnvitÄḥ sÄdhu yajanti siddhaye
bhÅ«tendriyÄntaḥ-karaṇopalaká¹£itaá¹
vede ca tantre ca ta eva kovidÄḥ
kriyÄ - activities; kalÄpaiḥ - by processes; idam - this; eva - certainly; yoginaḥ - transcendentalists; Å›raddhÄ-anvitÄḥ - with faith and conviction; sÄdhu - properly; yajanti - worship; siddhaye - for perfection; bhÅ«ta - the material energy; indriya - senses; antaḥ-karaṇa - heart; upalaká¹£itam - symptomized by; vede - in the Vedas; ca - also; tantre - in the corollaries of the Vedas; ca - also; te - Your Lordship; eva - certainly; kovidÄḥ - those who are experts.
My dear Lord, Your universal form consists of all five elements, the senses, mind, intelligence, false ego (which is material) and the ParamÄtmÄ, Your partial expansion, who is the director of everything. YogÄ«s other than the devotees — namely the karma-yogÄ« and jñÄna-yogÄ« — worship You by their respective actions in their respective positions. It is stated both in the Vedas and in the Å›Ästras that are corollaries of the Vedas, and indeed everywhere, that it is only You who are to be worshiped. That is the expert version of all the Vedas.
In a previous verse Lord Åšiva wanted to see the form of the Lord which the devotees are always interested in. There are other forms of the Lord manifest in the material world, including BrahmÄ and other demigods, and these are worshiped by materialistic persons. In the Second Canto, Third Chapter, of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, it is stated that those who desire material benefits are recommended to worship different types of demigods, and in conclusion the BhÄgavatam recommends:
akÄmaḥ sarva-kÄmo vÄ
moká¹£a-kÄma udÄra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruá¹£aá¹ param
(BhÄg. 2.3.10)
The devotees, the jñÄnÄ«s, who are known as moká¹£a-kÄma, and the karmÄ«s, who are known as sarva-kÄma, are all aspiring to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Even when one performs yajñas, as stated here (kriyÄ-kalÄpaiḥ), he should always remember that the demigods are but agents of the Supreme Lord. Actually the worshipful Lord is Viṣṇu, YajñeÅ›vara. Thus even when different demigods are worshiped in the Vedic and Tantric sacrifices, the actual goal of sacrifice is Lord Viṣṇu. Therefore in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (9.23) it is said:
ye ’py anya-devatÄ-bhaktÄ
yajante Å›raddhayÄnvitÄḥ
te ’pi mÄm eva kaunteya
yajanty avidhi-pūrvakam
“Whatever a man may sacrifice to other gods, O son of KuntÄ«, is really meant for Me alone, but is offered without true understanding.â€
Thus the worshipers of various demigods also worship the Supreme Lord, but they do so against the regulative principles. The purpose of the regulative principles is to satisfy Lord Viṣṇu. In the Viṣṇu PurÄṇa (3.8.9) the very same thing is confirmed:
varṇÄÅ›ramÄcÄravatÄ
puruá¹£eṇa paraḥ pumÄn
viṣṇur ÄrÄdhyate panthÄ
nÄnyat tat-toá¹£a-kÄraṇam
Here it is clearly mentioned that the karmÄ«, jñÄnÄ« or yogÄ« — in fact, everyone — worships Lord Viṣṇu if he is actually expert in knowledge of the Vedas and Tantras. The word kovidÄḥ is very significant, for it indicates the devotees of the Lord. Only the devotees know perfectly that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is all-pervading. Within the material energy, He is represented by the five material elements as well as the mind, intelligence and ego. He is also represented by another energy — the living entities — and all these manifestations in the spiritual and material world combined are but representations of the different energies of the Lord. The conclusion is that the Lord is one and that He is expanded in everything. This is understood by the Vedic version: sarvaá¹ khalv idaá¹ brahma. One who knows this concentrates all his energy in worshiping Lord Viṣṇu.
