Question: In the Krishna Book, Chapter 4, where the counselors of Kamsa give instructions to him, they give some examples of the demigods being very much afraid of the demons. They also talk about the demigods surrendering and begging for their lives with folded hands. How could this have happened? Don’t the demigods have a higher perception of Krishna? Doesn’t Krishna protect the demigods? Doesn’t goodness overcome evil?
Answer by Romapada Swami: The demigods are not always pure devotees – some of them still have the desire to lord it over material energy, although they are highly pious souls as well as devotees of Lord Visnu. The main distinguishing characteristic of the demigods is that they are always obedient to the laws of God, and they are happy to be subordinate in service to the Lord.
A pure devotee on the other hand, is a self-realized soul. He has no bodily conception, or sense of proprietorship over anything. Such devotees are fully surrendered and agree to be placed in any condition of life, whether in heaven or hell. Therefore they are fearless. Because the demigods sometimes have material attachments, they can temporarily be affected by pride, envy, fear etc when their position is threatened. They however take shelter of Krishna, and the Lord does protect their service — as He did by appearing as the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, and killing Kamsa.
Some demigods are pure devotees, such as Lord Brahma, Shiva, Narada, or Bhumi, the goddess of Earth. Their concern is not for themselves but for the innocent living entities who might be harassed by such demons — for this reason they may seem to fear the demons. Another example is Rupa and Sanatana Goswami, who temporarily agreed to work for the cruel Muslim conqueror for fear of his harassing the innocent people. Ultimately such devotees are always delivered by Krishna.
