Bhagavad Gita - Chapter 16 - Daivaasura Sampad Vibhhaaga Yogah - Yoga of Division between The Divine & the Demoniacal Traits

CONTENTS

• PREAMBLE
• TRAITS OF DIVINE NATURE
• DEMONIAC TRAITS
• THEIR RESPECTIVE RESULTS
• NATURE OF THE DEMONIAC PEOPLE
• THE TRIPLE GATE OF HELL
• SCRIPTURES, THE CANON FOR DUTY
• CONCEPTS AND ISSUES
• LIVE AS THE GITA TEACHES YOU TO LIVE
• POINTS TO PONDER

Preamble

In  this Chapter the entire mankind has been classified as the divinely (Good-Deva)  and the diabolical (Fallen-Asura). It enumerates their respective qualities and ways of  conduct.

The demoniac always live contrary to scriptural  injunctions in agitation, sorrow and bondage. With endless desires they go  through the cycles of birth and death. The divine conquer their desires. They  live in peace and happiness until they reach the goal of Enlightenment.

The purpose of this Chapter is that one may adopt the  divine qualities and reject the demoniac qualities after fully understanding  their nature in the journey towards God-realization. Hence this Chapter is  designated as “Yoga of the Division  between the Divine and the Demoniacal Traits”. Lord Krishna  brings out quite clearly the intimate connection between ethics and  spirituality, between a life of virtue and God realization and liberation.

Listing two sets of qualities of opposite kinds, the Lord  urges us to eradicate the latter and cultivate the divine qualities. What kind  of nature should one develop? What conduct must one follow? What way should one  live and act if one must attain God and obtain divine bliss? These questions  are answered with perfect clarity and very definitely.

 

TRAITS OF DIVINE NATURE

sri bhagavaan uvaacha
    abhayam sattwasamshuddhih jnaanayogavyavasthitih
    daanam damashcha yajnashcha swaadhyaayastapa  aarjavam // 16.1 //

Sri  Bhagavan said
    Fearlessness,  purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga, charity , control of the  senses, sacrifice, study of scriptures, austerity and straightforwardness,

The  Lord had earlier described in Chapter 13 verses 7-11 twenty values of life.  Here He enumerates the nobler traits in a cultured man who lives those twenty  values of life.

Fearlessness  - abhayaam - comes first in these Divine Qualities. Fear is the expression of  ignorance and when there is knowledge there is fearlessness.

Purity of heart - honesty of intentions and purity of motives.

Steadfastness  in Knowledge and Yoga - Ethical purity can not be brought about when the mind  is turned outward. Only when it is turned inward it can renounce worldly desires.  Devotion to knowledge is the positive way to persuade the mind to leave all low  temptations and make it aware to the joys of the Self.

Charity,  Restraint of the Senses and Sacrifice - These are the techniques by which  steady devotion to knowledge is cultivated. Oneness between the giver and the  recipient is the basis of real charity. It is the capacity to restrain one's  instinct of acquisition and attachment to wealth and replacing it with the  spirit of sacrifice and sharing. Charity can be at the level of head and heart  also and need not be merely at the material level. Sharing with others our  sympathy and kindness and to distribute one's knowledge are also charities.  Restraint of the sense organs is the saving of energy for the higher purposes  of meditation.

Study of the scriptures - It implies not only the regular study of scriptural texts  but also the practice of their teachings.

Austerity  - It means the denial of sensual requirements and concentrating on the divine.

Straightforwardness - Avoidance of crookedness in thoughts, words and actions.

These  ethical qualities, if pursued sincerely, will contribute to the discovery of  the Divine in oneself.

ahimsaa satyamakrodhas tyaagah shaantirapaishunam
    dayaa bhooteshvaloluptwam maardavam hreerachaapalam  // 16.2 //

Harmlessness,  truth, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness,  compassion towards beings, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of  fickleness.

Harmlessness  - This connotes not as much physical non-injury as avoidance of injury in the  thought process itself because in the world of living physical injury in some  form or the other to another can not be avoided. But in so living one can  always maintain pure and clean motives in which case the harm caused is not an  injury.

Truth  is explained under straightforwardness in the previous verse.

Absence  of anger - It is the capacity to check anger as it arises and manifests in  actions under its influence.

Renunciation  - Without renunciation an even temper can not be maintained.

Peacefulness  - Keeping a balance in the midst of stormy conditions of life.
  Absence  of crookedness - Honesty of conviction and avoiding double-talk, full of  devotion, love and sincerity to others.

Compassion  towards beings - Recognising the imperfections in others and loving them.
 

Uncovetousness  - Remaining in self-control over sense enjoyments.

Gentleness and modesty - This is the result of an individual's good training.

Absence  of fickleness - Economy of physical energy in any activity.

tejah kshamaa dhritih shauchamadroho naatimaanitaa
    bhavanti sampadam daiveem abhijaatasya bhaarata // 16.3  //

Vigor,  forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, and absence of pride - these  belong to the one born in a Divine   State, O Bharata.

Vigor  - This is not of the physical structure of the body but the brilliance of the  seeker's intellect, his peaceful nature, quietitude in his activities and his  love for all.

Forgiveness  - It implies unruffled serenity even in the face of powerful oppositions and  provoking situations in life.

Fortitude  -  Strength of faith, conviction of the  goal, consistency of purpose, vivid perception of the ideal and the spirit of  sacrifice in the task undertaken.

Purity  - Purity of thoughts and motives, purity of environments, cleanliness of habits  and personal belongings.

Non-hatred  - It implies not only absence of hatred but also absence of even a vague desire  to injure any living creature.

Absence of pride - Leaving the sense of one's own over exaggerated pride and notions of  self honor and importance.

The  twenty six qualities described above give a complete picture of the man of Divine State.  They serve as a guide to all those who are in search of a right way of living  and endeavor to become perfect.

Sri  Krishna now starts the description of a man of demoniac (Asuric) nature in the  following verses. It should, however, be born in mind that human race is not  divided into two exclusive categories; many beings partake of the natures of  both. Nothing is wholly good or wholly evil.

DEMONIAC TRAITS

dambho darpo'bhimaanashcha krodhah paarushyameva  cha
    ajnaanam chaabhijaatasya paartha sampadamaasureem  // 16.4 //

Hypocrisy,  arrogance, self-conceit, anger and also harshness and ignorance, belong to one  who is born in a demoniacal state, O Partha.

Hypocrisy  - Pretending to be righteous but living in unrighteous way of life.

Arrogance  - Pride in one's learning, wealth, social status or family connections thereby  living in imagined self-importance. This leads to self-conceit.

Anger  - When a person of self-conceit looks at the world and finds that its estimate  of him is totally different from his own he becomes angry over everything  around him which leads to audacity.

All  these qualities arise from one's own self-assessment out of self-delusion and  ignorance about the scheme of life in the world around him. This ignorance of  oneself and his relationship with the world around is the cause of his revolt  against his environment and the resultant eccentric actions. These types of  people are called demoniac or asuric in contrast to the Daivic or Divinely  described earlier. The effect of these two types is discussed now.

THEIR RESPECTIVE RESULTS

daivee sampadvimokshaaya nibhandhaayaasuree mataa
    maa shuchah sampadam daiveem abhijaato’si paandava  // 16.5 //

The  divine nature leads to liberation and the demoniacal for bondage. Grieve not, O  Arjuna, for you are born with divine properties.

After  hearing the features of the Divine and Demoniac natures Arjuna starts wondering  where he stands. Hence The Lord assures him that he is born with Divine  qualities.

He  reiterates that Divine nature is for liberation - liberation from the  psychological entanglements through living these healthy values of  righteousness. As a contrast to this Demoniac nature leads to confusion and  sorrow preventing one from rising high in the spiritual and moral fields.

Sri  Krishna analyses the diabolically fallen or people of demoniac nature in more  details in the following verses.

NATURE OF THE DEMONIAC PEOPLE

dwau bhootasargau loke’smin daiva aasura eva cha
    daivo vistarashah proktah aasuram paartha me shrinu  // 16.6 //

There  are two types of beings in this world - the divine and the demoniac; the divine  has been described at length; hear from Me, O Arjuna, of the demoniac.

pravrittim  cha nivrittim cha janaa na viduraasurah
    na  shaucham naapi chaachaaro na satyam teshu vidyate // 16.7 //

The  demoniac do not know about the way of action or the way of renunciation ; neither  purity nor right conduct nor truth is found in them.

asatyamapratishtham te jagadaahuraneeshwaram
    aparasparasambhootam kimanyat kaamahaitukam // 16.8  //

They  say ‘this Universe is without truth, without a (moral) basis, without a God,  brought about by mutual union with lust for its cause, what else’?

The  devilish personality is incapable of deciding about the actions to be pursued  and those to be avoided. He does not possess outer cleanliness or inward  harmony. Good conduct is absent in him. He can not maintain truthfulness in his  words.

They  fail to recognize the truth that upholds the Universe i.e. they do not recognize  the eternal unchanging Reality behind the ever-changing flux of things.  According to them there is no commanding intelligence that orders, regulates,  determines and guides the happenings in the world. They believe that the  universe is formed as a result of mutual combination of the elements and the  driving force that determines the creation is nothing but lust.

etaam drishtimavashtabhya  nashtaatmaano’lpabuddhayah
    prabhavantyugrakarmaanah kshayaaya jagato’hitaah //  16.9 //

Holding  this view, these ruined souls of small intellects and fierce deeds, come forth  as enemies of the world for its destruction.

Believing  that the world has no substratum, that there is no controlling power and that  it exists and continues on the basis of lust, the devilish people with selfish  sense-gratifying intellect and ruined soul i.e. ignorant of their own Divine nature  perform fierce deeds. They carry out all sorts of licentious acts to the  detriment of the world at large ultimately leading to the destruction of the  world itself. They bring about a discordant note of disharmony in the community  and plunge the world into disaster.

kaamamaashritya dushpooram dambhamaanamadaanvitaah
    mohaadgriheetvaasadgraahaan pravartante  shuchivrataah // 16.10 //

Filled  with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, holding evil  ideas through delusion, they work with impure resolves.

Given  to desire - Yielding to desires devilish persons lead a life of perpetual  suffering and endless disturbances in and around them as all their desires are  insatiable. They are full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance. They are the  victims of their own delusion because they forget their divine nature by  identifying themselves with the unreal things and values of life.

When  all these negative tendencies rule over the demoniac people their actions in  the world can not but be the cause for disaster and destruction to others.

chintaamaparimeyaam cha pralayaantaamupaashritaah
    kaamopabhogaparamaa etaavaditi nishchitaah // 16.11  //

Giving  themselves over to immeasurable cares ending only with death, regarding  gratification of lust as their highest aim and feeling sure that it is all.

aashaapaashatairbaddhaah kaamakrodhaparaayanaah
    eehante kaamabhogaartha manyaayenaarthasanchayaan  // 16.12 //

Bound  by hundreds of ties of desire, given over to lust and anger, they strive to  amass by unjust means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyment.

This  materialistic doctrine which states

“yavad jivet sukham jivet rnam krtva ghrtam  pibet |
    bhasmibhutasya dehasya punar aagamanam  kutah ||

“Eat,  drink and be merry, for death is certain and there is nothing beyond”.

Such  desperate men with all anxieties and cares lead a futile life. Struggling to  acquire the desired objects and to be anxious for preserving what is acquired  are all the cares of their lives. Satisfaction of lust is their highest goal.  Their firm conviction is that there is nothing beyond this in life. They do not  know what is peace, harmony and joy in life. According to them sorrows and  cares alone are the contents of life. Ultimately they end in miserable death,  exhausted and disappointed.

Entangled  by insatiable desires, the energies of demoniac persons get dissipated. They  become restless and impatient with their surroundings and lose their sense of judgment.

Irritated  and constantly unhappy with their environment, they become angry over  unfulfilled desires. They ceaselessly try to acquire more and more wealth to  satisfy their sensual hunger losing sight of a diviner principle of existence.

idamadya mayaa labdhamimam praapsye manoratham
    idamasteedamapi me bhavishyati punardhanam // 16.13  //

This  has been gained by me today; this desire I shall obtain; this is mine and this  wealth shall also be mine in future.

asau mayaa hatah shatrur hanishye chaaparaanapi
    eeshwarohamaham bhogee siddhoham balavaan sukhee //  16.14 //

That  enemy has been slain by me and others also I shall slay. I am the Lord; I  enjoy; I am perfect, powerful and happy.

aadhyobhijanavaanasmi konyosti sadrisho mayaa
    yakshye daasyaami modishya ityajnaanavimohitaah // 16.15  //

I  am rich and born in a noble family. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice.  I will give charity. I will rejoice - thus deluded by ignorance.

anekachittavibhraantaah mohajaalasamaavritaah
    prasaktaah kaamabhogeshu patanti narake’shuchau // 16.16  //

Bewildered  by many a fancy, entangled in the meshes of delusion, addicted to the gratification  of lust, they fall into a foul hell.

Such  persons live in constant consciousness of what has been acquired and always exert  to acquire more and more wealth of the world. As desires are insatiable, they  remain in perpetual disappointment and thirst for unlimited possessions.

They  always raise the cry of success claiming themselves to be the lord and victor  of all their enemies. They boast themselves to be perfect, powerful, healthy,  wealthy and happy.

They  look down upon the world with conceit, vanity and contempt and entertain the  hope of rejoicing in the world. Sri Krishna says that these people are deluded  by their ignorance.

In  short, such people fall into hell because of a) their fanciful egocentric ideas  b) their judgment and discrimination getting eclipsed by delusion and false  values and c) their addiction to sense gratification.

aatmasambhaavitaah stabdhaa dhanamaanamadaanvitaah
    yajante naamayajnaiste dambhenaavidhipoorvakam // 16.17  //

Self-conceited,  stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform  sacrifices in name, out of ostentation, contrary to scriptural ordinances.

ahankaaram balam darpam kaamam krodham cha samshritaah
    mam aatmaparadeheshu pradwishanto’bhyasooyakaah // 16.18  //

Given  over to egoism, power, and pride and also to lust and anger, these malicious  people hate Me in their own bodies and those of others.

taanaham dwishatah krooraan samsaareshu  naraadhamaan
    kshipaamyajastram ashubhaan aasureeshweva yonishu  // 16.19 //

These  cruel haters, the worst among men in the world - I hurl these evil doers for  ever into the wombs of demons only.

Sri  Krishna describes the characteristics of the demoniac people. He states that  the spirit of selfless effort in the service of mankind is the greatest Yagna i.e.  work is to be considered as worship. The Demoniac people because of their very  personality are incapable of selfless service and whatever they do as sacrifice  is merely an act influenced by their sensuality, arrogance and false values of life.  As a result of this sorrow only ensues. Such men continue to fall lower and  lower each day. They are full of egoism, brute strength, arrogance, passion and  anger. A person of this kind of attitude would ignore the sanctity of life,  become malignant and because of egoism would hate The Lord Himself or the  Paramatman in his own body and those of the others. They will hate to seek the  Self.

These  people are called as the worst among the men in the world. They are malicious  against the dignity of themselves and cruel to the people around. Hence Sri  Krishna assuming the role of the Law of Action and Reaction orders such people  again and again to be born in the Asuric environments till such time as they realize  their follies.

aasureem yonimaapannaa moodhaa janmani janmani
    maamapraapyaiva kaunteya tato yaantyadhamaam gatim  // 16.20 //

Entering  into demoniacal wombs and deluded in birth after birth, not attaining Me, they  thus fall, O Kaunteya, into a condition still lower than that.

THE TRIPLE GATE OF HELL

trividham narakasyedam dwaaram naashanamaatmanah
    kaamah krodhastathaa lobhastasmaadetattrayam tyajet  // 16.21 //

Triple  is the gate of this hell, destructive of the Self -lust, anger and greed-  therefore, one should abandon these three.

etairvimuktah kaunteya tamodwaaraistribhirnarah
    aacharatyaatmanah shreyas tato yaati paraam gatim  // 16.22 //

A  man who is liberated from these three gates to darkness, O Kaunteya, practices  what is good for him and thus goes to the Supreme goal.

Sri  Krishna says that an individual having repeatedly reached the Asuric  environments, life after life, fails to realize the Infinite Self. They never  climb higher in their culture and sink to the bottom most level in their  evolution and thus complete their fall.

The  Lord advises how even the one who has fallen so hopelessly can improve his  spiritual evolution. He says that there are three gateways to hell viz. desire,  anger and greed. These characteristics are corollary to each other. He emphasizes  that these three evils must be abandoned if one wants to rise up in the ladder  of spirituality.
  The  Lord says that the one who has abandoned these three gateways to darkness will  steadily progress towards the life's goal. He will be practicing what is good  for him; good in the sense that which not only brings happiness to the  practitioner but also contributes much to the well being of the others around  him. Progressing thus in the right direction such an individual goes to the  Supreme, reaches the goal of life. 

SCRIPTURES, THE CANON FOR DUTY

yah shaastravidhimutsrijya vartate kaamakaaratah
    na sa siddhimavaapnoti na sukham na paraam gatim //  16.23 //

He,  who has cast aside the ordinances of the scriptures, acts under the impulse of  desire, attains neither perfection nor happiness nor the Supreme goal.

Scriptures  need not mean the ritualistic ones but they mean the texts discussing the  theory of Truth - Brahma Vidya. A  seeker should renounce desire, anger and greed. Anger is the result when  fulfillment of desire is obstructed and greed is the consequence of  satisfaction of one desire.

Sri  Krishna warns that if one were not to obey the life advocated in the scriptures  he will live a life of restless agitations and passions. Such a man cannot feel  any happiness or attain any cultural development.

tasmaat shaastram pramaanam te  kaaryaakaaryavyavasthitau
    jnaatwaa shaastra vidhaanoktam karma  kartumihaarhasi // 16.24 //

Therefore,  let the scriptures be the authority in determining what ought to be done and  what ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinance of the  scriptures you should act here in this world.

The  seeker should therefore follow the authority of the scriptures in conducting  his way of life as to what is to be pursued and what is to be avoided. Sri  Krishna concludes with the command that having known the scriptural injunctions  regarding the right way of living, one should act here and now without desire,  anger or greed.

The  drive of desire must be displaced by the knowledge of right action, but when  the supreme end of the freedom of spirit is attained, the individual acts not  from instinct, not from law but from a deep insight into the spirit of all  life. 

om tat sat

iti srimadbhagavadgeetaasu upanishatsu brahma vidyaayaam yogashaastre

   sri krishnaarjuna samvaade daivaasura sampad vibhhaaga yogo naama shodasho'dhyaayah ||

Thus  in the Upanishads of the glorious Bhagavad Gita,the science of the Eternal, the  scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the  sixteenth discourse entitled  The Yoga of  the Division Between the Divine and the Demoniacal Traits.
 

Concepts and Issues

  Sri  Krishna discusses those traits of character that make a person divine or  demoniac, since the former leads to liberation whereas the latter leads to  bondage. The list of divine traits comprises of 26 qualities, the chief ones being:  fearlessness, purity of mind, self control, Scriptural studies, austerity,  non-violence, and truth, spirit of renunciation, compassion, forgiveness and  absence of pride.

The  other list of demoniac traits consists of six vices: hypocrisy, vainglory,  egoism, anger, harsh speech and ignorance of higher values.

Then  the description of the demoniac persons and their way of life follows. They  know neither the performance of good works nor the need to withdraw from the  evil ones. They have neither purity nor truth. They consider lust as the sole  cause of creation. Being addicted to it, they out of delusion, try to get  unholy things. They boast about their wealth or works and take pleasure in destroying  their enemies. They dislike The Lord who is the Self of all beings. Such  persons are thrown by The Lord into abominable births.

The  gateway to hell that ultimately causes self-destruction is threefold: lust,  anger and greed. One who is free from these attains the highest abode. But, for  this, one has to act according to the scriptures with Sraddha or faith.

Live as the Gita Teaches You to Live

  This  Chapter teaches that everyone should analyze himself and find out the  undesirable traits in one's own character and rectify them then and there with  discrimination and introspection. For this one must be true to oneself and be a  witness of the mental functions. Then alone one can know whether the thoughts  and actions will prove to be instruments of self-development.

RELEVANCE OF THIS CHAPTER

  “In  Indian religious symbolism, the distinction between the devas, the shining ones, and the asuras, the children of darkness is an ancient one. In the Rig Veda  we have the struggle between the Gods and the Rakshasas. The Ramayana  represents a similar conflict between the representatives of high culture and  those of unbridled egoism. The Maha Bharata tells of the struggle between the  Pandavas who are devotees of dharma,  of law and justice and the Kauravas, who are the lovers of power.

Historically  mankind remains remarkably true to type, and we have today as in the period of  the Maha Bharata some men who are divinely good, some who are diabolically  fallen and some who are damnably indifferent. These are the possible developments  of men who are more or less like us. The devas and asuras are both born of prajapati. (Chhandogya Upanishad I.2.i.)”.  Dr.S.Radhakrishnan.

Is  the world we live in at present any different with all its multi-pronged fight  against terrorism, scams, man-made disasters, trade wars, territorial  aggressions, gross injustice etc.? The guidelines set forth in this Chapter  will certainly help us to know where we are heading for and provide us tools to  take corrective steps, if one cares to improve himself.
 

Points to Ponder

 
• Comment on the three vices : Desire, Anger and Greed. Why they have to be conquered? 
• Why one should follow the rules laid down in the scriptures?

HARIH OM