Within the Smarta tradition, worshiping multiple deities equally rests on the understanding that all deities are manifestations of a single, ultimate reality called Brahman. Śiva, Viṣṇu, Devī, Gaṇeśa, Sūrya, and others are not regarded as rival gods but as diverse expressions of one impersonal, all-pervading consciousness. Differences among them are viewed as symbolic and functional rather than absolute, so no form is ultimately higher or lower than another. To honor any one of them is, in this vision, to approach the same underlying Brahman through a particular doorway.

This vision is given ritual form in the practice known as Pañcāyatana-pūjā, or five-fold worship. Typically, five deities—often Viṣṇu, Śiva, Devī (Śakti), Sūrya, and Gaṇeśa—are installed together on a common altar and offered similar forms of worship. Each receives comparable offerings, such as flowers, incense, and food, reflecting an intentional equality of reverence. The practitioner may select which specific deities to include, but the structure of the ritual itself underscores that each chosen form is an equally valid representation of the same supreme reality.

At the same time, this equality does not erase personal preference. A practitioner may have an iṣṭa-devatā, a chosen deity toward whom devotion naturally gravitates, while still acknowledging that other deities are equally authentic paths to Brahman. The emotional bond may be stronger with one form, yet the philosophical stance remains that all forms are grounded in the same non-dual truth. Thus, personal inclination is understood as a matter of temperament and culture, not as a claim that one deity alone is supreme.

This approach fosters a consciously non-sectarian attitude. Śaiva, Vaiṣṇava, Śākta, and other streams of worship are seen as different ways of relating to the one reality, rather than competing camps. By offering prayers and rituals to multiple deities and recognizing the complementary aspects each represents, the Smarta practitioner cultivates a sense of unity in diversity. The many names and forms of the divine are embraced as varied faces of a single, universal consciousness, allowing devotion to flourish without sacrificing a fundamentally non-dual understanding of the sacred.