On namo bhagavate vasudevayah

How many Gods? Many of us might be coming through phrase like this. Rather this is one of the propaganda used against Hinduism by those who are either ignorant or have ill intentions.

So-called multiple Gods are actually Devatas(Demigods or deities). These deities were one of those living beings created by Lord Bramha at the time of creation. Devatas are the higher beings who reside in higher planets called Devalokas(Heaven). There are not just Devatas(deities) but other higher beings, to name a few are Gandharvas, Yakshas, etc residing in their respective lokas. The number of such planets as mentioned in Santan Scriptures where life exists is 14.

Deities are higher beings, who are created to nurture human and other living beings in different planets for physical needs. The references of the same can be found in Vedas and Puranas. Shrimad Bhagvat Gita gives a brief description of deities and their significance for the human.

For this post I would like to put the following references:

Ch3:Sh10
saha-yajnah prajah srstva purovaca prajapatih
anena prasavisyadhvamesa vo ’stv ista-kama-dhuk
"In the beginning, the creator Brahma created being(including deities) with the Yajna(Sacrifice) and said "By Yajna(Sacrifice) you propagate, and grow, let Yajna(Sacrifice) be your wish-fulfilling cow of plenty"

Ch3:Sh11
Te deva bhavayantu vah devan bhavayatanena
parasparam bhavayantahsreyah param avapsyatha "

By this Yajna(religious sacrifice), you please demigods and then those demigods will nurture you. In this way, supporting each way, you shall obtain supreme good"

From the above two shlokas, we can summarize the following important facts.
1. Lord Bramha created all living beings at the time of creation including Devatas.

2. Deities are responsible for nurturing human and other living beings.

It is very clear from the above that Human should please Devatas(demigods) by worshiping in a different way. Devatas, in turn, will nurture human.

To understand in a better way we can draw a parallel with a Governing system. There is a prime minister/President who is the head. He has many ministers under him. Central Govt/Federate State is further divided into states/provinces. Each state has one chief minister/Governor who is the head of that state. The states are further divided into smaller governing bodies like districts /counties etc. There are officials at local levels who represent state/central government. This way whole governance is done.

If somebody wants to submit Income tax he is not going to Prime minister for it, rather he goes to the local Income tax office to pay the Income tax.

This system works not only in Governing bodies but in almost all types of organizations, like banks, Institutes, Companies, etc. Rather hierarchy is the best way to accomplish all complex tasks.

The ministery of God works in the same way. Devatas(deities) is the ministry of Lord. The task of all deities is divided. Indra is the king of Devatas(deities). Devatas perform their tasks to nurture human and other living beings as per the divine law Made by Lord Shri Vishnu. Lord Bramha and Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu manifested from same Parmatma(Lord) to perform the three major tasks of the Universe, the creation, maintenance, and destruction.

Human worship deities and deities in turn nurture human. This co-relation and coexistence is the best possible way for prosperous existence of human on earth. Deviation from this co-relation is an invitation to the troubles as this disturbs the balance between Devatas and Human.

I hope this note will help devotees to remove confusion related to Devatas. All such talks of many gods are due to ignorance or propagated for ill intentions. God has his full ministry and all tasks in this universe are well managed by divine laws.

Shri Hari Om Tat Sat