Hare Krsna,
This material world is like an international airport. People from different origins and desired destinations come to the airport to take the right flight. The airlines ensure that they serve different routes to fulfill the needs of the flyers. The airport provides a platform for the flyers and various airlines to operate from a common ground. Similarly living entities with unlimited variety of desires appear in this material world. The Supreme Lord (acting like an airline) provides different mechanisms (such as worship of different demigods) to the living entities to fulfill their desires. Material nature acts like the airport of this world to facilitate the fulfillment of these desires. People worship the demigods to fulfill their material desires without even realizing that the ultimate sanctioning authority is the Supreme Lord. Depending on what demigods people worship, they will reach that particular destination. As Krsna says in BG 9.25, “Those who worship the demigods will take birth among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go to the ancestors; those who worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who worship Me will live with Me.”
I grew up in demigod-worshipping family. We did not know the goal and purpose of life then. We just lived under the illusion that dharma, artha, kama, moksha are the goals of life. We performed so-called dharma (worshipping the demigods) to acquire artha (economic needs) for kama (sense gratification). Moksa was hardly ever discussed. Each member of the family worshipped different demigods. Since I have propensity for knowledge and learning, I worshipped Goddess Sarasvati (goddess of learning). Since my mother had the responsibility of running the household with a limited budget, she worshipped Goddess Laksmi for financial security. My father was a business and so he worshipped Ganesha. My sister worshipped Lord Siva. But over the years (even before coming to Krsna consciousness), we all collectively realized that the fruits derived from demigod worship are temporary and not free from misery. Such worship did not kill our material desires but fueled the fire of such desires. How ignorant and stupid we were! Thanks to the light of Krsna consciousness coming into our family, we gradually gave up the worship of demigods. We still perform limited demigod worship to continue the family traditions that have come down to us for generations. One example is worshipping Mother Durga during Dussehra in India. Or observing Siva Ratri annually. But now we perform such festivities in the mood that we are worshipping servants of Krsna (as both Goddess Durga and Lord Siva are very dear to the Lord).
This is part of a conditioned living entities journey in this material world. Some of them start from the platform of voidism (like Buddhism), then move on to impersonal stage, then to demigod worship, and finally to the one and only Supreme Lord. The highest dharma is the worship of the Supreme Lord Krsna as He is the source of all incarnations, the root of all creations, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, and the well-wisher of all living entities. BG 5.29.
We now know that “The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self. By rendering devotional service unto the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, one immediately acquires causeless knowledge and detachment from the world.” (SB 1.2.6-7)
And this is exactly what Lord Kapiladeva is advising His mother Devahuti. He is advising her that instead of following the path of fruitive religious activities, she should simply take direct shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by performing devotional service.
SB 3.32.11: Therefore, My dear mother, by devotional service take direct shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is seated in everyone’s heart.
Because I still have some material desires (the material conditioning is so hard to get rid off), I am not a pure devotee yet. I am a sakama-devotee (devotee with material desires). The goal is to gradually move to become a niskama devotee (without any material desires). The ultimate goal is to imbibe the mood of Lord Caitanya in Siksastakam 4: O Lord of the universe, I do not desire material wealth, materialistic followers, a beautiful wife or fruitive activities described in flowery language. All I want, life after life, is unmotivated devotional service to You.
To become a pure devotee (completely surrendered to Krsna) in the mood of dasanudasa (servant of the servant) is the innermost core of my desire. But I accept that I am not there yet. It is a journey and I hope to reach there at some point (or in some lifetime). May I just take shelter of the Holy Name of the Lord because nothing will purify my dirty heart better than the chanting of the Holy Name. I don’t care what results I obtain out of devotional service – be it going back to Godhead or becoming liberated from the clutches of maya. I just wish to be situated in my eternal constitutional position as a servant of the Lord acting for His pleasure only. Now I do not desire to go to the heavenly planets where materialists live. What is the use of associating with them there as we have had enough of their association on this earthly planet? It is better to stay in the association of sincere devotees wherever we are and serve them. This should be our core desire.
“Śuddha-cetasaḥ means Kṛṣṇa conscious; their consciousness has become purified. In unpurified consciousness one thinks of himself as the Lord of the universe, but in purified consciousness one thinks himself the eternal servant of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Putting oneself in that position of eternal servitorship to the Supreme Lord and working for Him perpetually, one actually becomes completely satisfied…Engaged in devotional service in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one has no proprietorship claim, nor is one situated in the false egoism of thinking that he is God or the master. He always thinks himself the servant. That is the process of purifying consciousness. With pure consciousness only can one enter into the kingdom of God.” (SB 3.32.5-6 P)
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 