Acharya Prashant addresses the apparent contradiction of invoking various gods like Indra, Pusha, and Brihaspati within the Upanishads, which are known for their austere monism and the central tenet that Truth is one. He explains that the Upanishads are fundamentally about *Brahma Vidya* (the knowledge of the ultimate reality), *Atman* (the Self), and the *Aham* (the ego). The innumerable gods mentioned are not separate entities but represent the various faces of *Prakriti* (Nature or the material world) as perceived by the ego. The speaker delves into the relationship between *Purusha* (consciousness, the ego) and *Prakriti*. According to the Samkhya-Yoga school, *Purusha* and *Prakriti* constitute a duality, where *Purusha* is the watcher and *Prakriti* is the watched. However, the Bhagavad Gita, as taught by Shri Krishna, presents a more nuanced view. It suggests that *Purusha* is another kind of *Prakriti*, specifically *Para Prakriti* (higher nature), as opposed to insentient matter, which is *Apara Prakriti* (lower nature). This establishes a continuum between the insentient (*Jad*) and the sentient (*Chetan*). Consciousness is not separate from matter but arises from it, just as a plant grows from the soil. This continuum extends from the insentient to the sentient, and further to the supra-sentient or the divine. This philosophical framework explains why everything in *Prakriti* is considered worthy of worship. The gods represent the elements of *Prakriti*—such as the wind, water, and sun—which are worshipped because they are part of the same continuum that leads to the divine. Worshipping *Prakriti* is, in essence, worshipping one's own highest potential. The ego, or *Purusha*, requires the favor of *Prakriti* to achieve its ultimate goal. Therefore, one worships *Prakriti* to be able to meditate into *Brahman* (the Absolute Truth). *Brahman* itself cannot be worshipped because it is formless and unknowable to the ego. The advanced scriptures of Advaita Vedanta, like the Avadhuta Gita, assert that there is ultimately nothing and no one to worship, as the self is That. This polytheistic aspect within a monistic tradition is not superstition but stems from a profound and rigorous philosophical understanding.