Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 7: Knowledge and Realization

Bhagavad Gita 7.20

kāmaistaistairhṛtajñānāḥ prapadyante'nyadevatāḥ | taṃ taṃ niyamamāsthāya prakṛtyā niyatāḥ svayā ||

Those whose knowledge has been carried away by one desire or another turn to other gods, following this or that observance, bound by their own nature.

Modern context

Many people turn to particular powers for particular wants: one for wealth, another for health, another for success in an exam. Krishna explains this without contempt. Their wants have drawn their attention, and they follow the practice that matches their nature. The point is not that such worship is bad. It is that it is partial. It aims at what the desire wants and stops there, missing the source behind every power. A wider vision does not need to reject these practices, only to see through them.