The demigods do not possess any independent powers. In fact, they do not wield enough power even to invoke respect for themselves. That is done by the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa's partial expansion, the Supersoul, resides in everyone's heart, and it is He who instills within one's heart faith and respect for the various demigods. The extraordinary powers seen in the sun-god and other demigods are in fact the Supreme Lord's powers. Once attracted to these extraordinary powers, an intelligent person will gradually be drawn to the source of that power, the Supreme Energetic, Lord Kṛṣṇa. Worship of demigods is indirect, inferior, and unsystematic worship of the Supreme Lord. Those who are too attached to fulfilling their material desires are naturally more attracted to the energy than to the Energetic, the source of that energy. Hence in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.21-22) Lord Kṛṣṇa says,
- yo yo yāṁ yāṁ tanuṁ bhaktaḥ
- śraddhayārcitum icchati
- tasya tasyācalāṁ śraddhāṁ
- tām eva vidadhāmy aham
- sa tayā śraddhayā yuktas
- tasyārādhanam īhate
- labhate ca tataḥ kāmān
- mayaiva vihitān hi tan
I am in everyone's heart as the Supersoul. As soon as one desires to worship some demigod, I make his faith steady so that he can devote himself to that particular deity. Endowed with such a faith, he endeavors to worship a particular demigod and obtain his desires. But in actuality these benefits are bestowed by Me alone.
The demigods' powers are like those of a king's officers. The demigods have no independent powers because they are jīvas, minute living entities. An officer of the king can bestow some favors because of the powers invested in him by the king. Similarly, a demigod can shower benefits upon his worshipper because the Supreme Lord has given the demigod some power. If the desire-filled demigod-worshipper becomes a little enlightened about the fact that the demigod he worships is fulfilling his desires by the grace of Lord Kṛṣṇa, then with clear intelligence he will begin worshiping Lord Kṛṣṇa directly.