The Vedic scriptures say, "There are many worshipable gods but only one supreme God, whom we refer to primarily by the name Krishna, which means the all-attractive one. The one who has beauty, wealth, strength and knowledge 100%. All others are either incarnations of His original form, demigods or demigoddesses.

 

Demigods do not have the same power as God but are beings that are more advanced than us humans. Although they resemble us, they possess far greater intelligence, beauty, mystic power and in some cases, many arms and heads. Thus we are naturally subordinate to them, and can worship them as empowered representatives of God.

 

In Greek mythology we find various gods, such as the god of water or the god of the thunderbolt. In accordance with Vedic culture, we don’t see them as imaginary persons, but rather as departmental heads in the material world.

 

We also believe in a Sun god, a Moon god, a creating god and an annihilating god. A god that gives money and a god that gives rain. All our necessities of life are given to us by God through these smaller gods.

 

A good example which we all have experienced is the powerful influence of the moon. By the influence of the moon we see changes in the ocean’s tide, it nourishes the growth of vegetables in our gardens, and a full moon can affect our mind and result in a sleepless night.

 

God has a huge government, and He requires assistance. The government of the Supreme Lord consists not only of one or two planets; there are millions of planets and millions of universes. So to assist Him there are 33,000,000 demigods and demigodesses. They are all working under His direction.

 

Some say that all the gods are equal, but the truth is that there is a cosmic hierarchy. Just like in a company, there is a natural hierarchy extending down from the owner, to the managing director, the works manager, the shop superintendents down to the supervisors and workers. Similarly, Krishna is the owner and proprietor of all that exists, and there are the innumerable subordinates who serve Him in various capacities.

 

There was once a German who went to India with the intention of finding out who was God. After visiting many temples he concluded that Krishna was God because He was playing a flute and dancing with His devotees, whereas the other deities held something that indicated that they were involved in some work.

 

So even though God is the source of everything in existence and He possesses within Himself all qualities and energies to empower the demigods, He has nothing to do but enjoy loving pastimes with His devotees.