BG
Chapter 16
The
Divine and the Demon
16.1:
Sri Bhagavan said:
Fearlessness,
purity of mind, steadiness in yoga of knowledge, charity, self-control,
sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity, rectitude,
16.2:
Ahimsa, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquillity,
abstaining from slander, compassion to all creatures, absence of greed,
gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness
(absence of agitation),
16.3:
vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, absence of malice, and
absence of pride: These are the qualities of the one born of divine nature, O
Bharata.
Garuda Purana (1.113.37) states that there are five cleaning
substances: truth, pure mind, control of sense organs, feeling for all living
beings, and water.
16.4:
Fraud, arrogance, self-conceit, anger, rudeness, and ignorance are the
qualities of those born of demonic nature, O Partha.
16.5:
Divine qualities lead to liberation, demonic to bondage. Do not grieve,
O Pandava, you are born with divine qualities.
16.6:
Two types of beings are created in this world, the divine and the
demonic. The divine have been described at length. Hear from Me about the
demonic, O Partha.
16.7:
People of demonic nature do not know when to go forward and when to
abstain from action. In them, there is neither cleanliness, nor purity nor
truthfulness.
16.8:
They say that this world is unreal, without foundation, without Isvara
or God, and without an orderly cause and effect, and that there is no cause
other than lust or desire.
Apratistham:
without foundation. Aprasparasambhūtam: not produced one from the other
or without an orderly cause and effect
16.9:
Holding this view, these lost souls with meager intelligence and cruel
deeds, rise up hostile to the world for its destruction.
16.10:
Deceit, self-pride, arrogance, insatiable desires, entertainment of
wrong views because of delusion, pursuit of impure vows: These are their ways.
16.11:
Clinging to the immeasurable cares until death, having sense indulgence as the
supreme goal, thus they determined that this is all.
Aparimēyām: immeasurable Upāsrita: clinging
16.12:
Bound by hundreds of fetters of hope, taking refuge in lust and anger,
they strive to accumulate illegal wealth for gratifying their desires.
Asā: hope.
Pāsa: string, bond, fetter. Parāyanā: engrossed by,
taking refuge, intent on.
Verses 13 to 18 give the detailed characterization of
a person with darkness and delusion.
16.13:
I gained this today. I will fulfill this desire (tomorrow).
I have this wealth. Moreover, I am going to gain this later. This
is what they think.
16.14:
I killed this enemy. I
shall kill others too. I am the Lord. I am the enjoyer. I
am perfect, strong, and happy.
16.15:
I am rich and of noble descent.
There is nobody equal to me. I shall (perform) sacrifice.
I shall give to charity. I shall rejoice. They think thus deluded
by ignorance.
Garuda Purana (1.114.67) states that stolen and ill-gotten wealth,
though used for charity, takes a man to hell and earns merit for the victim of
robbery.
Delusion by ignorance
leads to ostentatious piety by way of rituals, ceremonies and charity.
16.16:
Disorientated by many thoughts, (caught up or) tangled up in the net of
delusion, and addicted to sense satisfaction, they fall into unclean Naraka
(hell).
16.17:
Self-conceited, arrogant, possessed of wealth, self-pride and delusion, they
perform yajna (sacrifice) in name only with vanity and do not follow the rules.
16.18:
Dependent on their ego, strength, pride, lust, and anger, these jealous
and indignant people hate Me residing in their own and others' bodies.
16.19:
I cast the cruel haters and the vilest of men again and again into the
ocean of Samsāra and the inauspicious and the demonic wombs.
Samsāra is the cycle of birth and rebirth.
16.20:
Fallen into the demonic wombs birth after birth, the foolish never
reach me, O Kaunteya, and after that go to the lowest state.
16.21:
Three kinds of hell, the destructive gates of atma (Jeevatma) are lust,
anger, and greed, and therefore one must give up these three.
Naraka is hell. Dvāram: literal meaning is
aperture. In this context, dvāram means gates. Atma here refers to the
individual soul or self. Hell has three gates namely lust, anger, greed, and
the vilest among men enter the city of Hell through those gates.
16.22:
Released from these three gates of darkness, O Kaunteya, this person does what is good
for his soul and therefore goes to the Supreme state.
Tama-dvārah: gates of
darkness (lust, anger, and greed).
Krishna states that those who overcome lust, anger,
and greed will reach the Supreme state, which is the feet of Krishna.
16.23:
Anyone giving up scriptural injunctions acts according to (the dictates
of) his desires will never attain perfection, happiness or the Supreme state.
Sāstra-vidhim:
Scriptural injunctions.
16.24:
Therefore, let sāstra be your authority in knowing the difference
between proper and improper action. Know the declared scriptural precepts and
do your work (in this world).
Akārya: improper action; Vidhāna:
precept, rule, injunction; Sāstra
Pramānam: Scriptural authority.
End
BG Chapter 16: The Divine and the Demon