Hare Krsna,
According to the Vedic principles, there are three stages of spiritual advancement, namely, sambandha-jnāna, abhidheya and prayojana. Sambandha-jnāna refers to establishing one’s original relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead; abhidheya refers to acting according to that constitutional relationship; and prayojana is the ultimate goal of life, which is to develop love of Godhead (premā pum-artho mahān). If one adheres to the regulative principles under the order of the spiritual master, he very easily achieves the ultimate goal of his life. A person who is addicted to the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra very easily gets the opportunity to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead directly. (CC Adi 7.73P)
Sambandha-jnana basically means knowledge of one’s spiritual identity and his eternal relationship with Sri Krishna. Srila Prabhupada writes, “Madana-mohana, Sanatana Gosvami’s Deity, helps us progress in Krishna consciousness. In the execution of Krishna consciousness, our first business is to know Krishna and our relationship with Him, which we can learn by worshiping the Madana-mohana vigraha.”
In essence, our relationship with Krsna is like that of servant and the served (or master). A jiva is a servant of the Supreme Lord who is the Supreme Master. He is the Lord of everything.
ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya
yāre yaiche nācāya, se taiche kare nṛtya
Lord Kṛṣṇa alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so. (CC Adi 5.142)
In the prayers of the demigods, we see that the same mood of service is highlighted. They are very much aware of the fact that they are the servants of the Supreme Lord.
In SB 3.5.49, the demigods pray, “O unborn one, please enlighten us regarding the ways and means by which we can offer You all enjoyable grains and commodities so that both we and all other living entities in this world can maintain ourselves without disturbance and can easily accumulate the necessities of life both for You and for ourselves.”
This is the mood of the servant. The demigods want to offer their service to Krsna. In the purport, Srila Prabhupada remarks, “Such demigods are always ready to render service to the Supreme Lord because they are perfectly aware of the fact that every living entity is constitutionally an eternal subordinate servitor of the Lord. They also know that it is the Lord only who can maintain all living entities with all the necessities of life.”
In the next verse (SB 3.5.50), the demigods pray, “You are the original personal founder of all the demigods and the orders of different gradations…” This again shows that the Lord is the original father of all living entities. Srila Prabhupada again highlights the sambandha-jnana, “Every living entity, however great he may be, even up to demigods like Brahmā and Indra, is an eternally subordinate servitor of the supreme father.”
In the next verse (SB 3.5.51), it is mentioned that the jīva-tattvas are separated expansions of the viṣṇu-tattvas, and although the jīvas have different potencies, they are all meant for the transcendental sense gratification of the Supreme Lord. Keeping this in mind, the demigods are asking the favor of the Lord for the intelligence and power to carry out their task.
The key takeaway for me from the demigods prayers is how to exercise my free-will. Should I use it for my own sense gratification or for the satisfaction of the Supreme Lord? There is no running away from the fact that we all have to serve. Question is, who do we serve? We serve our family, our society, our nation, our senses, etc. But if we serve those who are related to us through our temporary body, we come under the illusory energy of the Lord and become subjected to the sufferings instigated by the three modes of material nature. However if we serve the Supreme Lord, we come under His internal energy where maya (illusory energy) has not jurisdiction. As a result, we become free from material entanglement and eventually achieve a state of eternity, knowledge, and bliss.
“Any conditioned soul may also engage in the service of the Lord under the guidance of an expert spiritual master and thus gradually become freed from the entanglement of material existence. The spiritual master is the manifested representative of the Lord, and anyone who puts himself under the guidance of a spiritual master and acts accordingly is said to be acting in terms of buddhi-yoga.” (SP Purport on SB 3.5.51)
Therefore, the answer is obvious. We are eternal servants of the Supreme Lord and our constitutional duty is to serve Him. This is what the prayers of the demigods is conclusively establishing the sambandha-jnana.
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 