Since no one does an act of good who has not been won by karma, the householder must have been acquired by Devas, etc., by their own karma. “Identifying himself with a caste and a religious order, he who knows not the Truth, with his mind turned outward, forms the support of all creatures from Devas down to ants. The householder nouṛṣes all,-nouṛṣes Devas by worshipping and offering oblations to them, nouṛṣes Ṛṣis by studying Vedas, Pitṛs by Śrāddha rites, men by gifts of food and clothing and houses, cattle by grass and water, dogs and birds by the leavings and seeds of grain. This also has been declared in a passage in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad, which is briefly explained in the Vārtikasāra as follows: Like Devas, even Ṛṣis and others are obstructors. Accordingly we find even sannyāsins taking to a vicious course of life, being thrown off their guard, with the mind turned towards external objects, bent upon quarrelling,-all this because their hearts are poisoned by Devas.” Thus it will be painful to Devas if men should know the identity of the Self and Brahman, and therefore they obstruct the growth of wisdom. When the human animal,-constituting almost the whole property of Devas,-is carried away by the thief of Brahmavidyā, all Devas are put to much pain. A man, though owning many cattle, yet suffers much pain when a single animal is stolen away. “Without knowing the true nature of his own Self, a man works to nouṛṣ external Devas by sacrifices, gifts and other rites, as a bull works for a merchant. This has been clearly stated in the Vārtikasāra as follows: Since the Veda itself thus declares that it is quite contrary to the wishes of the Devas that men should acquire Brahmavidyā, it is quite possible that Devas may place obstacles in the way of men who wish to acquire Brahmavidyā. A person, for instance, who owns many cattle will be put to much pain when even a single animal is carried away by a thief or a tiger: how much more so when many are carried away! Therefore Devas are put to much pain when men realise the identity of the Self and Brahman. Accordingly, with reference to Devas, every individual man stands in the place of all animals. As many cattle-cows, sheep, horses, bulls, buffaloes etc.-subserve the happiness of a single man, each by an appropriate service such as yielding milk, carrying loads etc., so every individual who is ignorant subserves the happiness of Agni, Sūrya, Indra and other Devas by way of offering to them sacrificial oblations, and so on. Now, i.e., after describing the glory of Brahmavidyā, the power of avidyā or ignorance is going to be described. He who worships the Divine Being as distinct from himself, thinking that the Divine Being, the object of worship, is distinct from himself and that the worshipper himself is distinct from the Divine Being,-the worshipper, thus seeing a difference, knows not his own glory of being himself Brahman. Just as an animal,-an elephant or a horse,-not aware of its own superior strength, comes under the control of men who are inferior in strength, so does the ignorant worshipper come under the control of Devas. Having thus spoken of the knower of Brahman attaining the summum bonum, the Upaniṣad proceeds to shew the contrary result in the case of him who has no such knowledge, in the words “now whoever worships Devatā as separate” etc. “And Devas cannot, verily, make him powerless he becomes their very self indeed.” For the man that knows Brahman becomes the Ātman-the very Self-of those Devas, as declared in the same Upaniṣad in the following words:
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That he who knows Brahman becomes all has been declared in the preceding passage in the words “He who knows thus etc.” Not even Devas can throw obstacles in the way of a man becoming all when he knows the real nature of Brahman. The passage maybe explained as follows:-Men are of two classes,-those who know Brahman, and those who resort to works. When one cow alone is taken away, it is unpleasant how much more so if many are taken away! Therefore Devas do not like that men should know.” Just as many cows feed one man, so every one man feeds all Devas. As a a cow (is to us), so is he to Devas. “Now whoever worships the Devatā as separate, regarding ‘He is separate, I am separate,’ he knoweth not. We learn from the following passage of the Bṛhadāraṇyaka-upaniṣad that Devas throw obstacles in the way to Brahmavidyā:
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It is therefore necessary to endeavour to remove those obstacles.
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On our way to Brahmavidyā, especially, there are possibly many obstacles placed by Devas.
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There is a popular saying that many are the obstacles which beset the way to a good end. Devas place obstacles in men’s way to Brahmavidyā.