Devaru - D V Gundappa

Translation Dedicated to
D V Gundappa
Translator’s Note
D V Gundappa’s (DVG) DEVARU is one of the short essay books

which covers various rational questions raised around the topic of
Religion and God. This small book holds mammoth amount of
information and references and is very insightful for everybody no
matter whether the reader is a beginner or expert in the field.
There are many valuable lectures and various scholarly people
have discussed this work at large for the benefit of the masses, but
most of them are to be found in the original language, Kannada in
which the book was written. For the benefit of larger audience and to
arose curiosity in the other giant literary works of DVG, though being
an amateur in the field of translation, with great reverence and
salutations to the master himself, I have made this humble attempt in
bringing this book into English.
If the content presented is good and has generated interest to
know more, then the complete credits should go to DVG, the man
himself and if you find some sentences to be vague or incomplete, then
it may be entirely my fault in translation or interpretation and I
sincerely apologise for the same, though utmost care is taken to
minimize any errors as such.
To be very clear, this book is not the official translation work and
it is being presented for educative purposes only, the main intention is
to generate interest towards DVG and his works among the English
knowing population.
This translation is done for non-commercial purposes only and
this book or translation would be made available for free.
DEEPAK KASHYAP
17-03-2020
DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

Contents
PART - A
To Start With .................................................................................................................. 3

Preaching from Upanishad .............................................................................................. 6
God as is from Vedanta Belief ......................................................................................... 8
Polymorphism................................................................................................................ 13
Playfulness .................................................................................................................... 15
Benefits of Theism ......................................................................................................... 17
World System ................................................................................................................ 20
Shared Beliefs Across Religions ..................................................................................... 22
Miracles ......................................................................................................................... 25
Principles....................................................................................................................... 26
PART-B
D V Gundappa (DVG) .................................................................................................... 28

Works of DVG ................................................................................................................ 30
OTHERS
References and Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 36

About Translator ........................................................................................................... 37

To Start With
Is God Present?
Who/What is God?
Does God really exist?
In the context of this book - The Almighty, Master, Ishwara,

Parameshwara, Bhagavanta, Paramatma, Parabrahma are all used as
synonyms or alternatives to refer to God.
God is basically a spirit or radiance or core-essence or energy. In

nature or humans, whatever exists in this world comes under the
influence of God. All the acts of humans do come under it. Likewise,
God is omnipresent and omnipotent. God is responsible for creation,
existence and destruction.
To clarify the primary and frequently asked queries about the

presence of God is the main objective here. This attempt may be called
religious too.
Today in this world there are hundreds of religions. In Kannada,

the equivalent word for religion is mata, which originally means to
know, opinion or trust (Etymology of religion is from religare meaning
to bind or religio meaning obligation or bond.). With time mata was
associated to be ‘the opinion about God’. Likewise, we have many
religions/mata such as Hinduism, Christianism, Islam, Buddhism,
Jainism, Zoroastrianism (Parsi), etc. Within Hinduism we have Shaiva
and Vaishnava, also Advaitha, Vishishtadvaita, Dvaitha and so on.
For all these religions one single focal point is God, and all have their
own set of opinions about that Him.
From what we have known throughout human history,

considering any country or any period, there was always religion and
practices around it. Forget about big incarnations of God, humans

have seen God in mountains, trees, rivers, forests and have
worshipped them. In human society, ‘Religion’ is one of the most
influential aspects. To help humans evolve culturally these religions
have played a very important role. People have followed the path of
righteousness for love and fear of God. So, without the notion of God,
it would be difficult for humans to sustain. We do need God’s support
every time.
Theism (the belief in the existence of a Supreme Being or deity)

is the backbone for the human’s lifestyle and character. This belief has
resulted in humans extending a courtesy and achieving welfare over
the years.
No-one can specify the roadmap for believers to worship God. To

climb a peak of a mountain we can start from any base and can choose
any route. Likewise, believers have found their own different ways of
expressing their devotion towards God. Vedas for Hindus, Bible for
Christians, Quran for Muslims, etc, all these different religions will
align to the concept depicted in Upanishat as ‘Eko devaha’ [There is
only one God]. Hence, religious difference should not result in religious
hatred ness. A medicine may be made of different chemicals.
Nonetheless, each chemical has its own role to play. Similarly, every
religion has something to offer for human society.
In order to see the light, we should be aware of the source of light

and turn towards its direction. In the same way, whoever remembers
God and aligns himself, he will never be deprived of his grace and
mercy.
In India, with Hindus being the majority, most of the people are
believers of God. Even in the times of Vedas, we can see some doubts
cast over the presence of God.

i॒yaṃ visṛ॑ṣṭi॒ryata॑ āba॒bhūva॒
yadi॑ vā da॒dhe yadi॑ vā॒ na ।
yo a॒syādhya॑kṣaḥ para॒me vyo॑ma॒n
so a॒ṅga ve॑da॒ yadi॑ vā॒ na veda॑ ||
(Rig Veda, 10-129)
“Whence all creation had its origin,
He, whether he fashioned it or whether he did not,
He, who surveys it all from highest heaven,
He knows - or maybe even he does not know.”
But from the times of Ramayana, Mahabharata, theism has

found its deep roots in this land and spread like a forest-wide across.
Science in the Western world is making significant progress over the
last couple of centuries and the belief of God is slightly getting reduced.
Right from the days of Thomas Huxley and others, these doubts and
uncertainties have grown. Major advancements from Charles Darwin
and other scientists have questioned the theory of origin depicted in
the Bible, because of which many people started doubting the Bible
and finally started having doubts about God’s existence. These
doubters are called Agnostics, and these are the very people who argue
we cannot experience or know God.
Apart from them, communists of Russia are also cynics about

God. These people state “God is an illusion. Human fear was the trait
that resulted in the concept of God among our ancestors. Everything
in this world can be controlled and we, humans can go to moon/space
and with our thought and courage, we can win anything. The illusion
of God shouldn’t hamper his spirits”.
To answer these questions logically is one of the main intentions

of this book.

Preaching from Upanishad
Is God present? If so, what is that we expect from him? God, who
is supposed to be the superficial object or energy really exists, or is it
mere human’s psychic illusionary creation?
There are many such questions which are from time immortal.
To believe there is God, has its own set of advantages but just
from the perspective of being beneficial how can we claim it exists
when you are not sure or aware. Scientists always advocate us to rely
on truth. Everyone accepts what seems to be truth. So, no matter how
beneficial it may be, it is advised not to rely on anything but truth. So
now comes the question, what is truth?
asanneva sa bhavati |
asad brahmeti veda cet|
asti brahmeti cedveda |
santamenaṁ tato viduriti ||
(Taitreya Upanishad 2-6)
“One becometh as the un-existing, if he knows the Eternal as negation;

but if one knoweth of the Eternal that He is, then men know him for
the saint & the one reality. And this Self of Bliss is the soul in the body
to the former one which was of Knowledge”
So, what does this signify? There is a definite relation between

man and the eternal truth. This eternal truth is God. In brief
Upanishad suggests realization of God in itself, is self-realization and
vice-versa.
In this context we can remember the western philosopher Rene

Descartes. He stated “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am). To
think on the concept of whether God exists or not all, we need is a

thinker. There is no creation without a creator. As this creation exists,
it proves without doubt that there is a creator. Thoughts won’t arise
without a thinker, as we all agree on the fact thinker exists and is for
real, there is an origin for all this, and that origin is God or Brahma.
Based on our existence, we have theory of ancestors and who we are
inherited from and if we keep exploring further it leads to origin and
that origin is what we treat as God. And thus, Brahma takes the shape
of the power of our overall thinking.
Right from the days of Upanishads till date, in order to establish

the presence of God, many great people have come up with legends.
One of the such legendary stories is about the incarnation of Lord
Vishnu as Narasimha. When Hiranyakashapu questions ‘where is
your God and does he exist in this pillar?’ Bhakta (God-Believer)
Prahallada illustrates ‘God not only exists but also omnipresent.’ The
main purpose of this story is to reinforce the fact that God do exists
even in non-livings things.

God as is from Vedanta Belief
The best description of God can be seen in one of the slokas of

śvetāśvataropaniṣad (9-11)
eko devaḥa sarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ

sarvavyāpī sarvabhūtāntarātmā|
karmādhyakṣaḥ sarvabhūtādhivāsaḥ
sākṣī cetā kevalo nirguṇaśca ||
We can investigate each word to try and explain the context and
meaning of the same
• eko
• devaha
• sarvabhūteṣu
• gūḍhaḥ
• sarvavyāpī
• sarvabhūtāntarātmā
• karmādhyakṣaḥ
• sarvabhūtādhivāsaḥ
• sākṣī
• cetā
• kevalo
• nirguṇa
• śca
(1-2) eko devaḥa

There is one God and He is the only One. The core-essence of all
living and non-living and the realization of our inner self of all these
things, is God. He is one massive spirit or a superpower.
‘devaha’ means One who radiates or brightens.

(3-4) sarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ
God is present within(hiding) all the objects. Though Bhūta
primarily means past, the word here indicates all objects, animals and
anything living. Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Sky are the five basic
physical elements and all the living and non-living are made up of
these great elements in different compositions. Within these objects
resides life in living beings and is generally referred to as ‘ātmā’. Thus,
in this context Bhūta refers to any living.
(5) sarvavyāpī
Though God is hiding, he is spread wide across in each and
everything. ‘vyāpa’ means to spread. There are things which exists at
one place and need not necessarily spread across, for example like a
log of wood at one corner which just exists at that corner alone and
doesn’t spread. But if the same wood is lit, the fire, the light and the
warmth it provides gets extended. God exists and his glory would
always be bright, which spreads across. This characteristic of him is
known as sarvavyāpī.
(6) sarvabhūtāntarātmā
God resides within every living being as ‘ātmā’. The ātmā’ or soul
is the spirit or energy within the living beings, that helps us realize
our inner-self.
(7) karmādhyakṣaḥ
God is the supervisor of all the work which we humans do take
up or don’t. The inner-self or spirit provides the energy to do the work,
but it alone won’t do it. A bank or a financial institution provides you
necessary loans based on your profile to take up necessary
project/work, but they are not responsible for that work. With the
money you loaned, you can do good charity deeds of feeding many or
can also do anti-social activities like robbery or killing. The karma of

your deeds is no way connected to the banker; he is unbiased. Likewise,
is the inner-spirit or soul.
(8) sarvabhūtādhivāsaḥ
God is one who is present within all the living beings and He is
the energy or the spirit who directs them.
ādhivāsaḥ - One such energy which is most important and above
all is the Soul. It is the most eminent one. Life is made up of different
elements and it is not simple, there are different factors in varied
proportions which make-up what it is. Body, Organs, Senses, Feelings,
Brain, Intentions, Intelligence are the primary ones. Above all these
factors is the principle/philosophy of God.
(9) sākṣī
Not by indulging into any worldly affairs, just witnessing it as a
neutral spirit is ‘sākṣī’
It is like standing on a shore and watching unaffected, if people
drown in a river or struggle to survive.
(10) cetā
It is the manifestation of main source of energy of our conscience.
The energy which motivates everything belongs to God.
(11) kevalo
Self-made and doesn’t have relationship with anything else;
Doesn’t have any sort of restrictions or boundaries. It is like mere
absolute on its own. This doesn’t have any limitations, rules or
jurisdictions.

In day today lives we use ‘kevala’ term in context of many other
things like ‘very close’, ‘cheap’ etc but mere absolute is the correct
meaning which signifies it is complete and nothing is needed to make
it whole.
(12) nirguṇa
nirguṇa indicates no specific quality or character.
Each object in this world has its own quality or characteristics:
Shape, Colour, Taste, Smell being the primary ones. God doesn’t have
any of these qualities. We tend to attribute all the good qualities to
God. Quality is for things; pureness is for God. Here pure signifies
without any uncertainties. All the qualities are part of God or resides
within him. He can show us any such quality based on his choice. As
God is super-powerful, he can take any shape and the characteristics
of his choice. We cannot ascertain some qualities and define God
(anirdeshya-vapuh from Vishnusahasranama indicating He whose
form is indescribable). Feeling of Goodness is limited to humans, God
is neither Good nor Bad. He just exists and He is powerful. With our
own experiences we deduce all the good qualities and bad qualities and
ascertain them to God. In reality, there is no specific character for God.
Water doesn’t have any specific colour, smell and taste, it gets all those
qualities of the element it dissolves in. Similar to this is Air and so is
God, unbiased.
Vaishamyanairghrinye na sapekshatvat tatha hi darsayati
(Brahma Sutra 2-1-34)
“Partiality and cruelty cannot be ascribed to Brahma on account
of His taking into consideration (other reasons in that matter viz.,
merit and demerit of the souls), for so (scripture) declares.”
Quality/Attribute has one more meaning, and all the things can
be broadly classified into 3 major categories: (1) sattva (goodness,
constructive, harmonious), (2) rajas (passion, active, confused), and (3)
tamas (darkness, destructive, chaotic). God is the one who is not
affected to any of these 3 qualities, he is called ‘trigunaateeta’ meaning
He is much above all these. All these 3 qualities are governed by him.

He can display any choice of his quality through various deeds; but
that doesn’t define his character. In one’s wardrobe you can find
clothes of different colours (White/Red/Blue/Green etc), he can wear
any cloth of his choice. Based on his outfi,t we cannot ascertain or
judge who he really is, on a given day he can wear anything. Likewise,
God too can take different forms and any form is a possibility for him.
But we cannot attribute one definitive form to him. This is what
nirguṇa or anirdeshya-vapuh tries to convey about God.
(13) śca
‘Śca’ is like in addition to, it is more of a conjunctive word ‘and’.
nirguṇaśca means He is the one without any definitive quality in
addition to other definitions used.

Polymorphism
Various religions do primarily agree on God being ‘eko devaḥa’,

‘sarvavyāpī’, ‘nirguṇa’. God doesn’t have any particular form or colour.
If we say Vishnu is black, then it arises the question isn’t Shiva white.
If we say Vishnu (Trivikrama) is giant then it arises questions like
other form or incarnation of God, Vamana is short. God basically can
take any shape and colour. He can be of any height like tall, short and
of any colour like black, white, red etc. These attributes are all
dependent on the believers’ taste. Same opinion is expressed in
kaṭhopaniṣad mantras below:
agniryathaiko bhuvanaṁ praviṣṭo
rūpaṁ rūpaṁ pratirūpo babhūva |
ekastathā sarvabhūtāntarātmā
rūpaṁ rūpaṁ pratirūpo bahiśca ||
eko vaśī sarvabhūtāntarātmā
ekaṁ rūpaṁ bahudhā yaḥ karoti |
tamātmasthaṁ ye'nupaśyanti dhīrā
steṣāṁ sukhaṁ śāśvataṁ netareṣām ||
(2-2: 9,12)
“When Fire takes its form in this world, it takes the shape of the
thing it is burning. Like the shape of wood log when it is burning it.
Likewise, God is present in all the elements which makes up any object
but takes the shape of the former. God alone is present in all the living
and non-living but exhibits or showcases himself in polymorphism or
multiple forms. Those with the ideology of having this glorious God
residing within themselves will enjoy everlasting happiness, not the
rest.”
Bhagavan Sri Krishna has preached us the same in
Bhagavadgeetha:
yo yo yam yam tanum bhaktah
sraddhayarcitum icchati |

tasya tasyacalam sraddham
tam eva vidadhamy aham ||
“Those who wish to worship me (God) in any of the form of their
liking with faith, for those I will appear in that form and ensure the
faith in that form gets rewarded.”
What does all this signify? It all states that, God doesn’t have a
shape or colour which is the other way of saying he is in all shapes or
colours. When he blesses us with his existence, he can do it in any form,
shape or colour. So, we cannot ascertain any particular shape or colour
and ‘kevala’ which means mere absolute signifies the same. There is a
theory that based on our intelligence, rituals, limitations and what we
deserve, we can see God accordingly or God is capable to take any form.

Playfulness
God is one independent Spirit. He is complete by Himself. If so,

why did He create this universe or saving this world and why is He in
middle of all this chaos?
The answer to why God created this world is more to express
Himself.
As defined earlier if God is ‘karmadyaksha’,’sakshi’,’kevala’,’nirguna’
and all, then why did He create whole lot of different things? Why did
He bring life to things? There is only one answer what Vedanta comes
up with:
devasyaiṣa svābhāvo'yam ||
(Mandukya Kaarika, 1-9)
lokavattu lilaakaivalyam ||
(Brahma Sutra, 2-1-33)
The kid in a cradle will be playing on its own by doing various
movements through its eyes, tongue, hands and legs, do we have any
explanation for this? It’s just for its play and mere play alone. It is
intrinsic nature of the energy to express itself, as God is of unlimited
energy, he expresses himself in various forms. To perform deeds is one
of energy’s characteristics and it doesn’t have any restrictions as such.
God’s energy will manifest itself and exhibits in different deeds. The
result of this is the creation of this world, its maintenance and
destruction. This is play of God and result of this play is what all the
life around us and within. In this relation of world and God, He is
‘Ishwara’ meaning Lord or Owner. As He is the Lord, He needed
somebody whom He can govern, if that doesn’t exist then for whom is,
He Lord? ‘Ishwara’ is a dependent word and it would be expecting
deeds. God thought of ruling and thus he created this universe.
Likewise, for the reign of God this world was created, and
everything comes under his regime, all the living should adhere to his

laws. There is nobody who could question “Why is this play and what
for?”. Even if somebody questions there is no obligation for the God to
answer. You can raise concerns like if this world is governed by God
himself why do we see lot of undesirable things happenings, why there
is inconsistency, why does lots of things happen without intelligence
but when we see the world order from the overall perspective
everything makes sense. Things which looks inconsistent when seen
separately starts making sense when seen from the context of world.
When we start tasting salt or sour or spices or sweet separately then
it may make them inconsistent or one taste dominating but when the
chef adds all of these in proper proportions to make a dish, that dish
makes sense and all the factors would be considered consistent.
Likewise, the things which are considered as more or less, starts to
complement each other and looks perfect from the larger picture.
Major tenets do state like ‘purusha evedam sarvam’,’sarvam
khalvidam brahma’,’sarvam brahmamayam’ meaning there is nothing
which excludes God, there is nothing with is outside of God, anything
and everything exists within him.

Benefits of Theism
What benefits do we get by believing that God exists?

(1) Courage
We do keep experiencing all kind of worries and difficulties in

our life. During these difficult phases of life, the belief of God is one big
tool which helps us overcome all these and lead life courageously. The
one who has savings in his bank account always relies or takes
confidence in them whenever losses or expenses are experienced in day
today life. Similarly, for believers, the belief of existence of God gives
that additional strength and moral support. The very thought of this
difficult phase of life is temporary and for their protection there is
always a rock-solid support in form of God, which no one can take away
from them, and this beleif is the one which brings relief and optimism.
(2) Dharma
By acceptance of God in this world, we will be establishing
Dharma. Dharma means ‘one who acknowledges and adopts the way
of life’. Dharma is the way of our moral conscience and one of the ways
of how we lead our life. This is deeply rooted from two things: (1) Ruta
(Right) (2) Satya (Truth). Ruta is by our nature, it is based on
righteousness. Truth is by thoughts; it is based on the society. First
thing we get in our mind is Ruta, then we look around in the society
and then ensure about that belief and this is our we arrive at our own
Satya. To bring this Satya in our day today life by the deeds we do is
Dharma. Dharma is leading life in accordance to Ruta and Satya. Each
one of us are having Soul and showing respect to it through our
character and attitude is Dharma. Complete world is Ishwara’s
property and we need to make use of it as per his wish is what it states
in brief.

(3) Punya – Paapa
Dharma in itself is very holy. It is the way God ensures society
follows certain traditions laid out by him through our mindset. If we
follow and lead our life as per this mindset then it is Holy. Opposite of
this is Sin. Through punya we achieve good results and through Sin
we are penalised with bad results. If we are an atheist, then this
concept of Punya and Paapa doesn’t exists. Why shouldn’t we speak
lies? Why shouldn’t we do theft? Why shouldn’t we do murder? If we
are beneficial, if it satisfies my desires why shouldn’t I do it anyway –
if your argument is on these lines who can stop you? If the belief that
God will punish the sinners doesn’t exist, then what can effectively
stop people from doing all wrong? This is how uncertainty in the world
stamps its authority, exclusively our way of leading lives through the
lens of Punya-Paapa.
(4) Multiple Lives

The deeds of punya-paapa is what results in many numbers of
lives for a being. Each life brings in the experiences of struggle and
happiness.
So, the behaviour of many either good or bad entirely depends on
the belief he has towards God. These are the main benefits which we
can derive by believing in God.
Humans need God, if humans pray for God then he would be
ready; even if they don’t want, he would be ready. (mama
vartmānuvartante manuṣhyāḥ pārtha sarvaśhaḥ - Bhagavadgeethe 4-11)
No one can escape him.
We cannot label every atheist as a person with bad thought or
sinner. You cannot state they don’t have any morals. From knowledge
or through deep thoughts these people are no less than anyone. In the
field of science though they are very famous, but we can see some sort
of hindrance in their knowledge. They don’t consider that there are lot
of thoughts, experiences, explorations which cannot be comprehended
by our human brain. This is their biggest mistake. Isn’t there exists

lot of people or communities which could have mastered lot of things
which may not have come to the imagination or experiences of
atheists? Couldn’t they understand that there is no one person who
can master at everything? A scientist can experiment on this physical
world which he can see and feel. There is a different world which
cannot be seen and not physical at the same time. These concepts
which they may not be aware of could be felt by others. There are lot
of principles in this world which are followed by many generations
through various centuries and just because they don’t experience it,
they should not be denying it. If you don’t consider other people
experiences, then your own knowledge cannot be accepted as proof for
any matter.

World System
We do describe God as one who blesses us, fulfils all our desires,
always on the side of believers and to support our stance, we do give
examples of Dhruva, Gajendra and Prahallada stories. But common
people do keep asking if God is attributed with all such qualities why
doesn’t God fulfil all our wishes? There are many people who do suffer
from different ailments, issues and problems and indeed seek support
from God through their prayers. Why doesn’t their wishes are fulfilled
all the time? If God is so generous why is this the case, why can’t he
keep everyone healthy and happy is the question.
Primarily we can classify the three main aspects which God has
been entrusted with: (1) Worldly Order (2) Karma & Providence (3)
Taking care of people. Just to take care of the third deed, God cannot
compromise on the first two. Just for the benefit of one of the believers,
God can neither ignore the world order nor the karma or the previous
deeds of the person. This is God’s Dharma. Just for the benefit of the
one he cannot bring injustice to others. Ishwara is the one who is
unbiased and do treat everyone fairly. Just for the sake of showing
courtesy to one person he cannot ignore the traditions and customs
and the order in which the world works from early times. Nature,
Society and Traditions are ancient. Human world is based on all the
ancient factors. Karma is also dependent on the past deeds. There are
special circumstances when God would have defied the above for the
benefit of the follower but at large it would be more so for the world
and its structure. Likewise, God do fulfil people aspirations and wishes
in alignment with the system which he has established. Even our asks
or demands should be in line with the karma and should not be
affecting the nature there by indicating that even demands or asks do
have their own restrictions.
If God start fulfilling all the demand and wishes of the people, it
need not be ensured it will be benefiting him. People like Ravana,
Kumbakarna were blessed with their asks but because of the boon they
ended being bad. We should be having enough qualifications to be

blessed with boons. If we order everything at a restaurant and keep
having them, does our stomach have the capacity to digest them? God
do bless people based on what is good for them. Because of the world
structure or our karma if any of demands are not met by God then we
should be fine and agree with him. We should always have a mindset
of whether we are capable enough to handle all the wishes which we
are aspiring for, if fulfilled by God? Do we really know our capabilities
in asking the boons?

Shared Beliefs Across Religions
Each religion basically has two major parts. (1) Doctrine (2)
Ritual. Doctrine is like the essence or core of a fruit and Ritual is the
peel. Without peel there is no fruit. Fruit is indeed protected by peel.
So is the saying “aacharo dharmapaalakaha” (One who follows rituals
are the saviours of dharma) but we should not forget that peel by itself
is not fruit, meaning rituals alone is not religion but sadly many have
forgotten this in our lives. In implementing the religion these mistakes
do happen and enough care should be taken. We should not be satisfied
with the offering to God just in terms of name recital or rituals. Yes,
do agree that Name recitals-rituals are necessary but even if they are
absent and we are devoted to God then these rituals limitations won’t
be considered.
We should be having belief towards our religion but not the
fanaticism towards it. Don’t group based on the attire you wear every
attire has its place.
We have discussed that there are lots of religions and there may
be differences between them but majorly many of the religions do have
beliefs which are shared across and we should always keep that in
note.
1) Mainly apart from Agnostics all religions do believe in God. They
believe God exists.
2) They believe God is omnipresent and He is the one who controls
this universe and He is considered the saviour
3) All religions do agree that people should abide to God as their
duty.
4) They do agree on aspects of Punya and Paapa
5) They do accept few philosophies, mainly (A) Satya or Truth (B)
Courtesy among living (C) Cleanliness (D) Respect towards
society

Likewise, even though religions differ, there are major pointers
which are applicable for everybody. Difference between them may be
on the emphasis they provide the mentioned pointers.
One old saying is as below which covers the essence of different
religions:
1) shrotvyaha soughato dharma
2) smartavyha punaraahartaha
3) vaidiko vyavahartavyaha
4) dhyaatavyaha paramaha shiva
(1) We should be listening to Buddha (soughato) Dharma all the

time meaning realization that our body is mortal, all the
pleasures of the world are momentary, everything has an end.
(2) Should always keep Jain (aaharta) dharma in mind meaning as
their doctrine says keep feeding the poor, help patients get their
treatment, enlighten the fools through shastras and knowledge.
(3) In day to day lives, we should be following the principles laid out
in vaidhika dharma like praying God, taking good care of parents
and guests and other traditional values.
(4) If doesn’t matter what you do or don’t but keep praying the very
blissful Paramashiva or God, all the time.
If you see from this perspective every religion has something

which can be widely accepted, so we cannot outrightly reject any
religion. All religions do devote their prayers to God, and He is the
same for all.
aakashath pathitham thoyam
yatha gachathi sagaram |
sarvadeva namaskaram
keshavam prathi gachathi ||
No matter where the water drops from sky into the earth it will
end up reaching ocean. Likewise, the devotion and prayers we offer to

God either following Hindu, Christian, Muslim, Parsi or any religion,
it will end up reaching the same God.
Every religion is just a path for realization of God. So, every
religion has good intentions. Each religion does expect the soul
enrichment and thus every religion insists its followers to adhere to
the customs and traditions laid out by them. If you are a Hindu, be
true to your religion, and so should be a Muslim or Christian. Nobody
should be having any hatred-ness towards other religions. Hatred
towards other religions implies hatred towards self-religion. Similar to
the belief you have towards your religion others do have their own and
indeed if you have true belief towards your religion then it shouldn’t
be based on the hatred towards belief systems of other religions.

Miracles
Every now and then in the name of God we do encounter lots of

miracles. Miracles are the things which we don’t experience in day-
today lives. It couldn’t be explained through the scientific approach of
reasoning. Few of the known miracles are Vidyaranya’s Rain of Gold
or Garuda Stotra of Vedanta Deshikas. Lots of such stories are also
associatied even during Basavanna’s time. Jesus Christ walking on
water or bring back life to dead are some of the acts of miracles.
Primarily many instruments are used to establish these miracles
which includes and not limited to chants, names etc. These are used
even in today’s lives, and if you ask that, does this have alignment with
the theists and if so how then I could answer as below:
To believe in God, miracles are not at all necessary, belief
towards God is independent. But for few miracles do help in affirming
their belief towards God and if these people do believe in miracles then
theists can hardly defy them. If you are thoughtful and thinking, then
this whole world may present itself as a miracle. Sunrise, Sunsets are
miracles. Birth of living organisms is a miracle. Getting awake every
day after night’s sleep is a miracle. These miraculous acts are very
common acts of God and we will be suspicious only when the people
claim they can do miracles and can control Godly acts. Each and every
one is independent to question these claims and clarify all the doubts
which are resulted because of these miracles. Everybody concludes on
the experiences and realizations of their own. Its left to individuals
whether to believe in miracles or not.

Principles
1) God exists.
2) God is omnipresent and omnipotent. He is present in all living
and non-living things.
3) God is ruling all of the universe.
4) This world and governing of it is act of God and it is His sole
decision to do so.
5) In this governing act it looks like He has followed some principles
and laws and we could notice few of them in nature
6) God is present in all the living and his radiance is more in
humans.
7) To know the willingness of God and abiding to it results is Punya
and doing the opposite is Paapa
8) He is authorised to bless us with all good for acts of punya and
for paapa he does penalise.
9) God is Satchitananda and its etymology is as below:
Satchitananda is a compounded Sanskrit word consisting of
"sat", "cit" and "ananda", all three considered as inseparable from
the nature of ultimate reality called Brahman in Hinduism.
sat: In Sanskrit sat means "being, existence", "real, actual",
"true, good, right", or "that which really is, existence, essence,
true being, really existent, good, true"
cit: means "consciousness"
ānanda: means "happiness, joy, bliss", "pure happiness, one of
three attributes of Atman or Brahman in the Vedanta
philosophy"
Ananda is a feeling which is independent of all the Joy and

Sorrows of life. Joy and Sorrows usually are associated with a
sense of ego and Ananda is independent of self or ego. Joy is
always relative, and it may always end or can be disturbed
whereas Ananda doesn’t have this conflict and it brings peace to
the mind and peace do bring Ananda. This can be termed as
‘Adhisukha’. As humans do have component of ananda, he

always strives to have happiness in life and wouldn’t be afraid to
say no for things which doesn’t bring happiness. Realization of
God results in no sorrows for humans.
Being happy is important attribute of being a believer. How

can there be any deficit for the one who does believe in God and
loves each and every one as his own and spread love, he would be
always satisfied. Being happy is one of the forms of love.
santhosham janayeth praagnaha

tadeshwara poojanam ||
The ones who have unshaken belief towards God do see
him.
tasmat sarvesu kalesu
mam anusmara yudhya ca
(Gita, 8-7)
“In the life struggles don’t forget to remember God to fight
your battle”
shadurasadannake nalidaaduva jihve

kaduruchigombuva savi ninnadayya |
tanu ninnadu, jeevana ninnadu – ranga
anudinadolu bahu sukhadukha ninnadayya ||
- Kanakadasaru
“My body, my life, every day’s happiness and sorrows and

everything else belongs to you my God.”

D V Gundappa (DVG)
D V Gundappa famously known as DVG is one man who is known

for various aspects and who has worked in different dimensions
throughout his life and amazes us always with a question “How much
a man can achieve in one’s lifetime?”. Below pointers are in brief which
covers very little about the literary giant.
Personal Life:
• D V Gundappa was born on March 17th, 1887 at Mulbagal,
Kolar district.
• His father name is Venkataramaniah and Mother name is
Alamelamma
• He was married to Bhageerathamma and his children are
B.G.L Swamy and Indira
• He led a very simple way of life and was a perfect example
for “Simple Living, High Thinking”
• DVG passed away at the age of 88 on 7 October 1975
Public Life:
• Advisor to various Dewans’ of Mysore
• DVG was member of legislative assembly and worked for
good of people
• DVG worked in many NGO’s and also started a NGO
himself
Litterateur:
• Mankuthimmana Kagga, Jnapakachitra Shaale are few of
his works which has gained cult status.
• His detailed works are presented in next chapter

Vedanta & Nationalism:
• DVG was well versed in Indian Philosophy and authored
and conducted various lectures on vast range of topics
• Started non-political institution Gokhale Institute of
Public Affairs (GIPA) which is still running on the vision
of DVG
Journalist:
• Started his stable career as a Journalist
• Never once was apprehensive to question the
government/authorities
• Have written various articles which serves as starter kit
for anyone who needs to know about Journalism and its
principles
Awards & Recognition:
• Kendra Sahitya Academy award in 1967 for ‘Srimad
BhagavadGeeta Tatparya’
• Padmabhushan award from Government of India in 1974
• Public honoured him and presented a cheque of close to
1,00,000 rupees in 1970 which he donated to GIPA
• India Post has issued a commemorative stamp during his
centenary birthday celebrations in 1988

Works of DVG
Works of DVG is like an ocean and consistently excelling in all

the areas is the very skill in which DVG excelled. DVG has authored
more than 50 books, hundreds of papers and various editorial articles
and notes which are top notch in their own area and serves as standard
even today.
Based on Nilattahalli Kasturi’s Biography on DVG, various
works of DVG are categorized as below.
Kannada
ಜೀವನ ಚರಿತ್ರೆ / Personal Sketches

• ದೀವಾನ್ ರಂಗಾಚಾರ್ಯಲು
• ಗೀಪಾಲ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಗೀಖಲೆ
• ವಿದ್ಯಾ ರಣ್ಾ ವೃತಾಂತ
• ವಿದ್ಯಾ ರಣ್ಾ ರ ಸಮಕಾಲೀನರು
• ದ್ಯದ್ಯಭಾಯಿ ನವರೀಜಿ
• ರಾಜಾರಾಮ್ ಮೀಹನರಾಯ್
• ಜಾರ್ಜಯ ಚಕ್ರ ವರ್ತಯಗಳ ಕಿರೀಟಧಾರಣೆ
ಕವಿತ್ರ / Poems
• ವಸಂತ ಕುಸುಮಾಂಜಲ
• ನಿವೇದನ
• ವಿದ್ಯಾ ರಣ್ಾ ಸುು ರ್ತ
• ಉಮರನ ಒಸಗೆ
• ಮಂಕುರ್ತಮಮ ನ ಕ್ಗಗ
• ಕುಮರವಾಾ ಸದರ್ಯನ
• ಶ್ರ ೀರಾಮ ಪರೀಕ್ಷಣಂ

• ಸವ ತಂತರ ಭಾರತ ಅಭಿನಂದಸು ವ (ಭಾರತ ಭೂ ವಂದನಂ ಎಾಂದು ಪುನಮುದರ ತ)
• ಮಹಾತಮ ಗಾಾಂಧಿ ಜಾಾ ಪಕ್ ಪದಾ
• ಅಾಂತಃಪುರ ಗೀತೆ
• ಮಹಾಚುನಾವಣೆ
• ವಾಲಮ ೀಕಿ ವಾಾ ಸವಂದನಂ
• ಗೀತ ಶಾಕುಾಂತಲಂ
• ಶಾಂಗಾರ ಮಂಗಳಂ
• ಶ್ರ ೀಕೃಷ್ಣ ಪರೀಕ್ಷಣಂ
• ಕೇತಕಿೀವನ
• ಮರಳು ಮುನಿರ್ನ ಕ್ಗಗ
ನಾಟಕಗಳು / Drama
• ಕ್ನಕಾಲುಕಾ ರ್ತಲೀತು ಮೆ
• ಮಾ ಕ್ ಬೆತ್
• ವಿದ್ಯಾ ರಣ್ಾ ವಿಜರ್
• ಜಾಕ್ ಕೇಡ್
• ಪರ ಹನಸತರ ಯಿೀ
• ಪರಶುರಾಮ
ಧರ್ಮ-ನೀತಿ-ಚಿಂತನೆ
• ಬಾಳಿಗಾಂದು ನಂಬಿಕೆ
• ಪುರುಷ್ಸೂಕ್ು
• ಈಶೀಪನಿಷ್ತ್
• ಶ್ರ ೀಮದಭ ಗವದಗ ೀತ ತತಪ ರ್ಯ (ಜಿೀವನಧಮಯಯೀಗ)
• ದೇವರು

• ಋತು – ಸತಾ – ಧಮಯ
• ಸಂಸಕ ೃರ್ತ
• ಶ್ರ ೀಮದ್ಯಾಂಜನೇರ್ಸ್ವವ ಮಿ
• ಅದ್ವ ೈತ : ತತವ ಮತುು ಅನುಷ್ಟಾ ನ ( ಕ್ನನ ಡ ಅನುವಾದ : ಡಿ. ಆರ್.
ವಾಂಕ್ಟರಾಮನ್)
ರ್ಕಕ ಳ ಸಾಹಿತಯ
• ಬೆಕ್ಕ ೀಜಿ
• ಇಾಂದರ ವಜರ
ನಬಂಧ – ಲೇಖನ
• ಜಿೀವನ ಸಾಂದರ್ಯ ಮತುು ಸ್ವಹಿತಾ
• ಸ್ವಹಿತಾ ರ್ಕಿು
• ನಮಮ ಸ್ವಹಿತಾ ದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆ
• ಕೆಲವು ಪಾರಭಾಷಿಕ್ ಪದಗಳು
• ಕ್ನಾಯಟಕ್ದ ಪರ ಗರ್ತಪಥ
• ಕಾವಾ ಸ್ವವ ರಸಾ
ರಾಜಕೀಯ
• ಮೈಸೂರನ ಕೈಗನನ ಡಿ
• ವೃತು ಪರ್ತರ ಕೆ
• ಸವ ರಾಜಾ ಎಾಂದರೇನು ?
• ರಾಜಾ ಶಾಸು ರ
• ರಾಜಾಾ 0ಗ ತತವ ಗಳು
• ರಾಜಕಿೀರ್ ಪರ ಸಂಗಗಳು (I)
• ರಾಜಕಿೀರ್ ಪರ ಸಂಗಗಳು (II)

• ಇಾಂಡಿಯಾ ಭಾಷ್ಟಪರ ಶ್ನನ – ಇಾಂಗಿ ಷಿನ ಸ್ವಾ ನ
• ಸ್ವವಯಜನಿಕ್ದಲಿ ಸ್ವರ್ತವ ಕ್
• ರಾಜಾ ಕುಟಾಂಬ
ನೆನಪಿನ ಚತೆ ಗಳು (ಜ್ಞಾ ಪಕ ಚತೆ ಶಾಲೆಯ ೮ ಸಂಪುಟಗಳು)

• ಸ್ವಹಿರ್ತ ಸಜಜ ನ ಸ್ವವಯಜನಿಕ್ರು
• ಕ್ಲೀಪಾಸಕ್ರು
• ಸ್ವಹಿತ್ಾ ೀಪಾಸಕ್ರು
• ಮೈಸೂರನ ದೀವಾನರುಗಳು
• ವೈದಕ್ ಧಮಯ ಸಂಪರ ದ್ಯರ್ಸಾ ರು
• ಹಲವು ಸ್ವವಯಜನಿಕ್ರು
• ಹೃದರ್ ಸಂಪನನ ರು
• ಸಮ ೃರ್ತ ಚಿತರ ಗಳು
• ಹಕಿಕ ರ್ ಪರ್ಣ್ (ಆರ್ದ ಬರಹಗಳು, ಸಂಪಾದನೆ – ಹಾ ಮ ನಾರ್ಕ್)
English
Personal Sketches
• Dewan Rangacharlu
• Sir. K. Seshadri Iyer
• H.H Sri Satchidananda Nrisimha Bharati
• Tolstoy
• Sir. S. Subramanya Iyer
• Sri Krishnarajendra Wodeyar

Other Works
• Karnataka Year Book
• All About Mysore
• Problem of Indian Native States
• Memorandum of Montagu
• Reform of Hindu Mutts
• Government of India and Indian States
• Lectures on Morley’s ‘On Compromise’
• Dominion Constitution of India
• The States and Their People In The Indian Constitution
• Constitutional Reforms for Mysore
• The Press in Mysore
• India’s Political Dilemma
• The Case of the People of Indian states with a note on the
Treaties
• India’s Political Problems
• To End the Deadlock
• Towards a New world order
• Simla and After
• The cabinet delegation and after
• All India Federal Union
• The Consistent Assembly and the States
• The Indian Independence Act
• What the Republic Needs
• Gokhale for Today – Liberalism Restated
• The Language Tangle

• All India Union
• All India Federal Union
• The Indian States and the Linguistic Problem
• From Ideology to Commonsense
• Man and the Infinite
• Samyujtha and United India
• Vedanta and Nationalism
• Advaitha : Faith and Practice
ಡಿ.ವಿ.ಜ. ನಡಿಸಿದ ಪತಿೆ ಕೆಗಳು
(DVG and his Press Acquaintance)

• ಕ್ನಾಯಟಕ್ (ಇಾಂಗಿ ಷ್ – ಕ್ನನ ಡ )
• ಸುಮರ್ತ
• ಭಾರರ್ತ
• ಕ್ನಾಯಟಕ್ ಜನಜಿೀವನ ಮತುು ಅಥಯಸ್ವಧಿಕ್ ಪರ್ತರ ಕೆ
• Indian Review of Reviews
• Public Affairs ( ಸ್ವವಯಜನಿಕ್ )
• Mysore Times (Co-Editor)
• ಸೂಯೀಯದರ್ ಪರ್ತರ ಕೆ (ಲೇಖಕ್ರು)
• Evening Mail (Article Writer)
• ವಿೀರಕೇಸರ (ಲೇಖಕ್ರು)
• Karnataka and Indian Native States

References and Acknowledgements
I should be thankful for various valuable resources which are

available in internet and books which I looked up for information.
Below is the list of few resources which I have made use of and my
sincere thanks to them and these are used in good faith with no-
commercial intention and no copyrights infringement intended
whatsoever.
• ‘Devaru – Ondu Vichara Lahari’ Kannada book published by

Sahitya Prakashana, Hubballi was used for translation
reference
• Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) which organizes

various public lectures on DVG’s works and owns the copyrights
for most of the DVG’s works.
• Cover Photo is created using image by Pono Lopez on

Unsplashhttps://unsplash.com/@ponolopez
• Nasadiya Suktha:
https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_veda/naasadiiya.html?lang=iast
• Taitreya Upanishad:
https://upanishads.org.in/upanishads/7/2/6/1
• Brahma Sutra 2-1-34:

https://www.swami-krishnananda.org
• Etymology of Satchitananda is from Wikipedia
• English Dictionary, Kannada Sahitya Parishat Sankshipta

Nigantu is used to lookup for meanings and synonyms
• Preeksha portal https://www.prekshaa.in/

About Translator
Deepak Kashyap is a software engineer by profession currently

working for a MNC in London, United Kingdom and originally from
Kolar, Karnataka. He is ardent fan of D V Gundappa (DVG) and this
humble attempt of translation is to make DVG work accessible for
English knowing population. This experience has indeed helped
translator personally to know more about the Indian scriptures at
large. He maintains a portal to document DVG and his works and is
always open for collaboration, do reach out if you have any ideas which
helps in reaching more people with the sole intention of making DVG
a globally celebrated person for his ideologies.
Deepak would like to acknowledge the support by his wife,
Prathima in making this translation a reality. He is thankful to his
family and friends who always support positive initiatives.
https://dvg.video.blog/

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D V Gundappa’s (DVG) DEVARU is one of the short essay books

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

To Start With .................................................................................................................. 3

D V Gundappa (DVG) .................................................................................................... 28

References and Acknowledgements ............................................................................... 36

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

In the context of this book - The Almighty, Master, Ishwara,

God is basically a spirit or radiance or core-essence or energy. In

To clarify the primary and frequently asked queries about the

Today in this world there are hundreds of religions. In Kannada,

From what we have known throughout human history,

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

Theism (the belief in the existence of a Supreme Being or deity)

No-one can specify the roadmap for believers to worship God. To

In order to see the light, we should be aware of the source of light

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

But from the times of Ramayana, Mahabharata, theism has

Apart from them, communists of Russia are also cynics about

To answer these questions logically is one of the main intentions

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

“One becometh as the un-existing, if he knows the Eternal as negation;

So, what does this signify? There is a definite relation between

In this context we can remember the western philosopher Rene

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

Right from the days of Upanishads till date, in order to establish

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

The best description of God can be seen in one of the slokas of

eko devaḥa sarvabhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ

(1-2) eko devaḥa

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

Various religions do primarily agree on God being ‘eko devaḥa’,

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

God is one independent Spirit. He is complete by Himself. If so,

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

What benefits do we get by believing that God exists?

We do keep experiencing all kind of worries and difficulties in

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

(4) Multiple Lives

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

(1) We should be listening to Buddha (soughato) Dharma all the

If you see from this perspective every religion has something

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

Every now and then in the name of God we do encounter lots of

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

Ananda is a feeling which is independent of all the Joy and

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God

Being happy is important attribute of being a believer. How

santhosham janayeth praagnaha

shadurasadannake nalidaaduva jihve

“My body, my life, every day’s happiness and sorrows and

DVG’s Devaru: A Thought Sequence on God