Bhagavad Gita (16)

March 20, 2008

CHAPTER 16THE TWO DESTINIES :DIVINE OR

DEGENERATE(Daiva-Asura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga)"... the cardinal virtues and tendencies that reveal the real nature of human beings : their Divinity."1-3.

"I can see your continuing interest, old friend, and will now describe

the distinctive qualities and practices of people with Divine

tendencies and degenerate (sometimes called 'demonic') tendencies.

First, the Divine traits :"Fearlessness, purity (of heart and emotions), steadfast (in pursuit of Atma), charity (alms giving), and control of senses."Sacrifice (yajna, the spirit of giving), study of scriptures, austerity (tapas, purification, literally to 'melt' and recast), straightforwardness (integrity, sincerity), and noninjury (ahimsa, doing no mental, physical, or spiritual harm)."Also

on the list of godlike traits are : truthfulness, absence of anger,

renunciation (turning away from worldly attachments), equanimity, and

not slandering."Compassion, not coveting (no desire), gentleness, modesty, not fickle (no fluctuations of mind), and vigor."Forgiveness, fortitude (courage, endurance, 'putting up with'), cleanliness (saucham, clean mind and body), no hatred, and no pride."All those, Arjuna, are the cardinal virtues and tendencies that reveal the real nature of human beings : their Divinity.4. "On the other hand are the degenerate qualities, behaviors and moods that render a person less than human :"Pride

(ostentation, hypocrisy), pompousness (arrogance), vanity

(self-conceit), anger, harshness (coarseness, sternly judgmental), and

absence of discrimination (between right and wrong, Truth and

not-Truth, Real and not-Real).5. "The 'divine' behaviors on the

longer list lead to liberation; the degenerate behaviors lead to more

time on the wheel of death and rebirth. Do not be concerned, however,

Arjuna, as your seeds are good; you have brought divine qualities into

this lifetime.6. "Look more closely at degenerate behavior - not to dwell on negativeness, but to guard against them.7. "Degenerate beings, because they have no sense of truth or right conduct (dharma), do not know what they should or should not do. There is no purity in them.8.

"If asked why they carry on in such a detestable way they argue that

the scriptures are a lie, that God is dead or never existed, that the

universe is a dog-eat-dog place with no moral foundation. They contend

that what exists in the world is merely the outcome of lust, or is just

an accident.9. "Holding this distorted viewpoint in their

minds, they become enemies of the world and serve a negative purpose.

Without thinking of the consequences of their actions, they cause

destruction and suffering. If left alone to their self-indulgence they

would heedlessly destroy the world.10. "Stuffed with endless,

insatiable desires, they are arrogant, vain, and prideful. They live in

delusion and chase blindly after evil (those things that lead to

suffering).11. "Beset with dreads, they assume their

fearfulness will cease only upon their death - which is a fallacy, as

the same mind will be reborn into a like situation. They are blindly

certain that gratifying their own lust is all there is to life.12.

"They are bound on all sides by scheming, greed, and anger because,

being hurtful themselves, they attract hurtful people to themselves.

They amass and hoard wealth for the sole purpose of indulging senses

and whims. Grabbing for riches governs their every thought and move.13-15.

"They arrogantly proclaim, 'I wanted this or that and I got it!

Tomorrow I will get more. These riches are mine, and I will spend my

life making more and more. I have destroyed this and that enemy, and I

will get rid of the rest of them. I am indeed mighty. I am ruler of my

domain. I love having things of the world. I am successful, powerful,

and rich. Who can compare to me? I will buy my way, making lavish

contributions to the poor and weak, and revel in my own goodness.' That

is how far blindness and ignorance has eaten into their soul.16.

"These degenerate, bewildered, trapped in their addiction to sense

gratification, are stuck in the spider-web of delusion. They spiral

downward into the filthy, painful hell of their own foul minds.17.

"Stuffed until choking with pride and conceit, drunk with their own

wealth, they pay mere lip service to Divinity. They make offerings to

the deities only for name and fame, outward show and self-promotion.18.

"Because they have fully given themselves to the dark forces of egoism,

insolence, desire, and wrath, these cruel beings loathe Me, who dwells

in their own bodies. They deny My presence in themselves and in others.19. "Time after time, according to their karma, I cast these malicious evildoers into the wombs of like-minded parents, subjecting them to the wheel of death and rebirth.20.

"Life after life they take birth in similar degradation without ever

reaching Me or even reaching toward Me. Thus they sink to the worst

possible depths.21. "The three main causes of this depravity

are the so-called three gates to hell : desire, greed, and anger. Any

one of them is enough to bind you to this darkness, so abandon all

three.22. "Those who finally pass by these three dark gates and

turn Godward do eventually reach Me, the Supreme Goal. In fact,

progress can be rapid once the degenerate person turns his or her

aggressive energy toward Me and takes the divine way.23. "The

function of the scriptures is to guide people toward living a perfected

life on earth and repeatedly remind them of the goal, which should be

nothing short of achieving Divinity Itself. But those who spurn the