Vedanta

nAdhikyaM yadi sAdhye syAtprayatnaH sAdhane kutaH ..

yatnashcha dR^iShyate teShAM mahAneva mahAtmanAM .

yatra sAdhanabAhulyaM sAdhyabAhulyamatra ca.

dR^iShTaM niyamato no cenna yatnaM kuryura~njasA - A.V 3.4.4.

The gradation among the liberated can also be inferred by the gradation in the effort that is put in by manuShyAs, devatAs and others in performing the sadhana. They would not engage themselves in performing difficult penances unless they do not receive higher fruits for their actions. No intelligent person would want to work more to get the same fruits.

If there is no difference in the fruits according to the difference in the efforts, then they would not venture into performing acts that require more effort. For example in Vedic rites, they would not perform ashvamedha yAga and be content with agni adhAna only if both were to give the same fruits. No farmer would till a hectare of land when the same results can be achieved only by tilling a yard of land.

One may question - sometimes the tiller of say 100 hectares of land does not get the same results as of the tiller of 10 hectares. This shows that the effort and the fruits are not interrelated. To this we reply. In such special cases the difference is observed because of the lack of or excess of rains. This again depends on his merits and demerits which form a part and parcel of his sadhana (efforts). Therefore, it is incorrect to say that the results are not according to the efforts.

One cannot also argue that there is no evidence for the fact that the devatas perform more sadhana than the humans. There are several scriptures which clearly state this point.

Hence, as there is a difference in the amount of sadhana performed by devatas one should also accept that there is gradation in the amount of bliss they experience in the state of liberation.