If one looks at the verse carefully, one realizes that the deity works for the devotee. The devotee submits and then the deity works to enable the happiness and security of the devotee. And so, in this verse, the protection is a kind of spiritual hug from God that comforts the frightened and lost devotee. The emotional aspect of the divine elevates the stature of the otherwise rustic guardian and fertility gods of the village. From material, he becomes spiritual, transcendent. He makes the devotee feel that he matters, for there is someone celestial watching out for him, even if fellow humans
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