Chapter 17: Śraddhā-traya-vibhāga-yoga:: Verse 4
यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसा: ।
प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जना: ॥
yajante sāttvikā devānyakṣa-
rakṣāṃsi rājasā:
pretān-bhūta-gaṇāṃścānye
yajante tāmasā janā: – 17.4
Those of sāttvika orientation worship devas (gods), rājasas worship yakshas and rākshasas (celestial beings and demons), and others of tāmasa temperament worship the spirits of the dead and bhūta-gaṇas (manes and ghouls).
Chapter 17: Śraddhā-traya-vibhāga-yoga: - Verse 4
Swami Bhoomananda Tirtha
Though worship is sublimating, each takes to it with a variety of fascinations and choices. The outcome also will be correspondingly different. Nature of worship rests upon what the worshipper relishes and aims at by worshipping. Krishna categorizes worship into three, giving their respective identifications.
One’s object of worship evidences his tendencies. The sāttvika kind worship godly and divine beings, and thereby inculcate divinity and refinement in themselves. The rājasa kind takes to worshipping yakshas and rakshasas, meaning celestial beings and demons. Their mind’s impurity and desires lead to such a selection. The tāmasa chooses to worship the spirits of the dead, manes and ghouls.
The first is refining, elevating, while the others are partially or fully putrefying and lowering. The best act, wrongly done with lower cravings, will lead to similar outcomes!
