Illusioned Demigods

Vyasadeva next considers, muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. According to the Vedic literature, the universe is governed by powerful living beings who are called devas, or demigods. For example, in the United States government there is a president, vice-president, secretary of state and many cabinet members, all of whom serve functions in the workings of the state. Since we never see these officials, the government may seem impersonal, but still these individuals influence our lives. Thus although the government seems like an impersonal force, actually the government consists of individual persons. The government includes entire structures and organizations, but individual persons take care of each branch. If we want to discuss taxes we go to one branch, if we want to talk about agriculture we go to another branch, etc. In this way everything has been organized according to categories. Similarly, according to Vedic information the universe is also organized in this way under the supervision of individual personalities.

To give another example, I recently visited a big company in Japan where there are ten thousand workers. It was almost inconceivable how there could be so many workers in one company, and I could not see the length and breadth of that company's plant. How much greater, then, are the operations of the entire universe? The sun is coming up and going down, the rain is coming and going, etc., all according to a designed order systematically governed by laws. It is a huge, organized affair with personalities in key posts to see that everything goes on properly.

We receive our mail every day because there are hundreds of men employed to deliver it. Similarly, the sun comes up every day because there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who are responsible for this. We may not be able to imagine their potency because we think that it is significant to be able to lift a three hundred pound barbell, what to speak of the sun. But although it is beyond our imagination, someone is doing it. This we learn from Vedic information. The Vedas warn us not to think that something cannot exist merely because we cannot conceive of it. That is gross ignorance. The demigods are almost like God, for they have a great deal of control and power. This, of course, is relative.

For example, when compared to the ants, we can be considered demigods. Similarly, just as we can squash an ant in one step, there are other living beings who are so great and powerful that they could squash us or even this entire planet in one step. This we learn from Vedic information. These demigods (sūrayaḥ) are in charge of all the operations of the universe.