Shukracharya and Brihaspati were gurus who catered to two kinds of people. Sri Swamiji said often that there have always been three kinds of people, right from the early beginnings to the present day.
One group is called devata, which means the affluent people. The second group is called danava, the backward people, who don’t have resources, facilities or economic support, and are struggling to survive. The third group is that of manava, the middle people, who can go both ways.
These three groups indicate the nature, the behaviour pattern and the mindset of the sattwic, the tamasic and the rajasic. Tamasic is the demonical, which is always in conflict. Sattwic is the devata nature, the divine nature. Rajasic is the manava nature.
These three groups have always been there, called by different names in different times, cultures and religions. Therefore, do not think of devata and demons as godly beings and demonical beings; you find them everywhere.
In society, home, ashram, anywhere and everywhere, you will find these three groups representing three different natures: the godly nature, the demonical nature and the human nature.
Godly nature is always helpful, demonical nature is unhelpful, and human nature can go both ways – it can be either helpful or unhelpful. It is the flexibility that defines the human being, to go to the right or the wrong.
This flexibility has been utilized by the yogis to the maximum, to ensure that they are able to connect with the right path and not the wrong. It is also known as viveka, the ability to discriminate between the right and the wrong. People who are negative and pessimistic by nature have the danava tendency in them. For them everything is dark, dull and gloomy. That is the tamasic danava nature.
For a happy and content person, everything is bright, shiny and happy; that is the sattwic nature, the devata nature. The human nature can say the glass is halfempty and it can also say the glass is halffull. If you are attracted to the positive side, you say the glass is halffull; if you are inclined to the negative side you say the glass is halfempty.
It is the inclination of human beings that determines what they will become. The problem is that human beings are not aware of their inclinations, and are always unsure of themselves.
It is this human nature that has to be channeled in the right direction. Therefore it is said that humans can become devatas. We have the capacity to become devatas, but devatas cannot become danavas.
They don’t have the capacity to become danavas, and danavas don’t have the capacity to become devatas as they are too rigid and fixed. It is the human temperament which is flexible, and viveka is used to direct this flexibility. Viveka means common sense, and as you know, common sense is the least common in people.
Ganga Darshan Vishwa Yogapeeth, 1 October 2017
From the book “Progression of Pratyahara 1”, pg. 14-16, Sw. Niranjanananda Saraswati