Ishta Devata -- II

If you are born a Hindu and grew up in India you worship a number of Gods and Goddesses. But the path of spirituality is through Japa/Mantra/Meditation. If you do Japa of many different Gods, it is not effective. Also the first step in spirituality is the realization that God is one. Who is this one God? Your Ishta Devata. Then you do Japa of that God with Mantra. As the mantras vary depending on the God, you choose the Mantra of the Ishta Devata. In meditation and Japa you have to visualize the form of the God. So you visualize the form of your Ishta Devata.

One God -- with form -- without form

Though many people may not even know the term Ishta Devata the process of progress in spirituality is the same. There are people who do not have an Ishta Devata and learn the mantras of many Gods. This fritters away your energy making it more difficult to reach a higher stage.

The whole process is about raising of the Kundalini Sakthi (Consciously or otherwise).

Choose a God/Goddess known to you. The process of visualization is also simpler.

We have a music season every year in Madras during which there are a number of Carnatic (south Indian Classical) music concerts. Some years back a Catholic Nun became our friend as she also attends these  concerts regularly. Carnatic music is basically Bhakthi. When we were discussing the music the nun told us that her Ishta Devata is Lord Jesus and her Sadhana is through Carnatic music.

Hindus in India come to know about the different gods and Goddesses through the family and environment. But they also learn by visiting temples and through books/magazines. Books are a major source of information. The more gods you know about the more difficult the process of selection.

As per the classical texts the Guru selects the Ishta Devata if you do not have one. The process of selection also includes Astrology. You should be extremely fortunate to get a Guru like that.

I feel that I should have used the term "the ultimate principle" instead of God. Your Ishta Devata is the ultimate principle. Since it is easier to go from form to formless, you choose a form for the Ishta Devata.

We have misunderstandings when it is not realised that the ultimate principle is the Ishta Devata. When I say MAA KAALI is Brahman or Lord Krishna is Brahman it only means that the ultimate principle is in the form of MAA KAALI or Lord Krishna. Since I am comfortable with a form with compassion, love etc. I imagine MAA to be like that though I do realize that, since she is Brahman she is Nirguna. This is in conformity with my reasoning of going from Bhakthi Marga to Jnana Marga.

You concentrate on only one form at a time. To explain this I have to use the term Upasana. I am more comfortable with this term than with Sadhana.

Your Ishta Devata is your Upasana murthi. Though you may worship many Gods there should be only one Upasana murthi. I was warning about doing Upasana of many murthis at the same time. You may change your Upasana murthi depending on many factors. There is no harm in that. It does happen often.

Meditation requires concentration. You concentrate on the form of your Ishta Devata. Even for meditation on the formless many Gurus suggest imagining sky with a bird flying or open ocean.

Many people collect mantras like stamps. They also start Upasana of many Gods simultaneously. This leads to frittering of energy.

Sankar

Ishta Devata -- I

Choosing an Ishtadevata is similar to choosing a husband/wife/companion/friend. You ask a person why he or she chose someone as a husband/wife/companion; he or she might give you some answers. But basically you fall in love with someone and then try to justify your selection. We can try to rationalize our decision but cannot do it completely. It is a decision of the heart. It is something called Love. You choose your Ishta Devata out of love. It is a decision of the heart. The intellect does not play a major role in the selection. That is the reason we end up by saying MAA chose me. Don't we end all discussions about the choice of our lover by saying I fell in Love. Period.

But there is a basic difference. Here the love could be Mathru bhava, Pithru bhava, Vathsalya bhava etc, depending upon how you view your Ishta Devata as Mother, father, child, friend, lover etc.

However we can analyze the reasons for choosing a particular deity as Ishta Devata.

1. In most of the cases the Deity whom you have known from childhood is the Ishta Devata. If you have played with Krishna idols in childhood most likely Krishna will be your Ishta Devata. Krishna is I think the most popular God as Ishta Devata as we believe that Krishna is our friend. We look at his pictures as Bala Krishna and feel comfortable with him rather than with Siva who is always a father figure.

2. The family deity is another choice. Again a question of familiarity.

3. It is said that "For a child Mother is GOD." So many people are drawn towards Goddesses.

4. Many people who are devotees of Bagavan Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa also become devotees of  MAA BHAVATHARINI. Since you read so much about her that over a period of time she becomes your Ishtadevata.

5. Many people are attracted to MAA KAALI because there is no caste distinction in most of her temples. MAA KAALI/ MAA Durga is the favourite Goddess of all revolutionaries because of their association with overcoming the forces of evil.

Recently I was talking to a converted Hindu from Europe. She said that she saw a photograph of a Hindu goddess in a shop and immediately felt that this is her deity.

You always hear of the classical theory of the three gunas. Satwik, Rajasaik, Tamasik. People and gods are again classified according to the gunas. The theory says you choose the gods according to the gunas to which you belong. This theory looks good, but in practice it becomes irrelevant. MAA KAALI is the popular Goddess in Bengal. She is very popular among the so-called lower castes in South India. Do we conclude that all Bengalis and South Indians who worship MAA KAALI are Tamasik or Rajasaik in nature? Was Bagavan Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Tamasik or Rajasaik in nature?

We worship our Ishtadevata as the Ultimate power. This has no gunas. Nirguna. That is why MAA KAALI is called trigunathmikai. So we can safely discard this theory of Gunas ascribed to Gods/Goddesses.

So you choose your Ishtadevata as one whom you fall in love with. When it happens it will happen. Then you can rationalize your decision. As I said earlier the Ishta Devata could mean mother, father, child, friend etc. depending upon your feeling. Psychologists have written so many books trying to explain why we fall in love with someone or why we choose our friends. But I do not think there is a perfect answer. Again the concept of Ishta Devata is basically Tantrik. The Smarthas (I was born one) do not believe in this. But most people have a favourite god. Only that most of the Hindus do not use the term Ishta Devata. Your favourite God becomes your Ishta Devata.

I remember one of friends in a Yahoo group saying that even in spirituality, everything has to be logical. I do not think we can rationalize decisions of the heart. The decisions are not always logical.

It is not necessary to have an Ishtadevata for spiritual or religious Sadhana. But if you look into your heart you will find your Ishta devata. Other than Ishta Devata, you have Kula Devata, Grama Devata etc.

Sankar