FolioCorpusBhagavad-gītā

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.27

రజస్తమ:ప్రకృతయ: సమశీలా భజన్తి వై । పితృభూతప్రజేశాదీన్శ్రియైశ్వర్యప్రజేప్సవ: ॥ ౨౭ ॥
rajas-tamaḥ-prakṛtayaḥ
[rajas-tamah-prakritayah]
sama-śīlā bhajanti vai
[sama-sheelaa bhajanti vai]
pitṛ-bhūta-prajeśādīn
[pitri-bhoota-prajeshaadeen]
śriyaiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ
[shriyaishvarya-prajepsavah]
rajaḥ — the mode of passion tamaḥ — the mode of ignorance prakṛtayaḥ — of that mentality sama-śīlāḥ — of the same categories bhajanti — do worship vai — actually pitṛ — the forefathers bhūta — other living beings prajeśa-ādīn — controllers of cosmic administration śriyā — enrichment aiśvarya — wealth and power prajā — progeny īpsavaḥ — so desiring.
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
rajas-tamaḥ-prakṛtayaḥ
rajaḥ
the mode of passion
tamaḥ
the mode of ignorance
prakṛtayaḥ
of that mentality
sama-śīlā bhajanti vai
sama-śīlāḥ
of the same categories
bhajanti
do worship
vai
actually
pitṛ-bhūta-prajeśādīn
pitṛ
the forefathers
bhūta
other living beings
prajeśa-ādīn
controllers of cosmic administration
śriyaiśvarya-prajepsavaḥ
śriyā
enrichment
aiśvarya
wealth and power
prajā
progeny
īpsavaḥ
so desiring.
Those who are in the modes of passion and ignorance worship those in the same category — namely the forefathers, other living beings and the demigods who are in charge of cosmic activities — for they are urged by a desire to be materially benefited with women, wealth, power and progeny.

There is no need to worship demigods of whatsoever category if one is serious about going back to Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gītā (7.20, 23) it is clearly said that those who are mad after material enjoyment approach the different demigods for temporary benefits, which are meant for men with a poor fund of knowledge. We should never desire to increase the depth of material enjoyment. Material enjoyment should be accepted only up to the point of the bare necessities of life and not more or less than that. To accept more material enjoyment means to bind oneself more and more to the miseries of material existence. More wealth, more women and false aristocracy are some of the demands of the materially disposed man because he has no information of the benefit derived from Viṣṇu worship. By Viṣṇu worship one can derive benefit in this life as well as in life after death. Forgetting these principles, foolish people who are after more wealth, more wives and more children worship various demigods. The aim of life is to end the miseries of life and not to increase them.

For material enjoyment there is no need to approach the demigods. The demigods are but servants of the Lord. As such, they are duty-bound to supply necessities of life in the form of water, light, air, etc. One should work hard and worship the Supreme Lord by the fruits of one’s hard labor for existence, and that should be the motto of life. One should be careful to execute occupational service with faith in God in the proper way, and that will lead one gradually on the progressive march back to Godhead.

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, when He was personally present at Vrajadhāma, stopped the worship of the demigod Indra and advised the residents of Vraja to worship by their business and to have faith in God. Worshiping the multidemigods for material gain is practically a perversity of religion. This sort of religious activity has been condemned in the very beginning of the Bhāgavatam as kaitava-dharma. There is only one religion in the world to be followed by one and all, and that is the Bhāgavata-dharma, or the religion which teaches one to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead and no one else.

— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Desirers of progeny and power along with wealth, having natures of rajas and tamas, corresponding to the natures their deities, worship the Pitṛs, Śiva, Brahmā and others.
Commentary

Prakṛtayaḥ means (having the nature of). These natures are similar to those of the Pitṛs, Śiva and other devatās. Śriyā, in the instrumental case, means “along with wealth.”

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