5 Not deluded by pride, free from selfish attachment and selfish desire, beyond the duality of pleasure and pain, ever aware of the Self, the wise go forward to that eternal goal.
6 Neither the sun nor the moon nor fire can add to that light. This is my supreme abode, and those who enter there do not return to separate existence.
7 An eternal part of me enters into the world, assuming the powers of action and perception and a mind made of prakriti.
8 When the divine Self enters and leaves a body, it takes these along as the wind carries a scent from place to place.
9 Using the mind, ears, eyes, nose, and the senses of taste and touch, the Self enjoys sense objects.
10 The deluded do not see the Self when it leaves the body or whenit dwells within it. They do not see the Self enjoying sense objects or acting through the gunas. But they who have the eye of wisdom see.
11 Those who strive resolutely on the path of yoga see the Selfwithin. The thoughtless, who strive imperfectly, do not.
12 The brightness of the sun, which lights up the world, thebrightness of the moon and of fire – these are my glory.
13 With a drop of my energy I enter the earth and support all creatures. Through the moon, the vessel of life-giving fluid, I nourish all plants.
14 I enter breathing creatures and dwell within as the lifegiving breath. I am the fire in the stomach which digests all food.
15 Entering into every heart, I give the power to remember andunderstand; it is I again who take that power away. All the scriptures lead to me; I am their author and their wisdom.
16 In this world there are two orders of being: the perishable,separate creature and the changeless spirit.
17 But beyond these there is another, the supreme Self, the eternal Lord, who enters into the entire cosmos and supports it from within.
18 I am that supreme Self, praised by the scriptures as beyond the changing and the changeless.
19 Those who see in me that supreme Self see truly. They have found the source of all wisdom, Arjuna, and they worship me with all their heart.
20 I have shared this profound truth with you, Arjuna. Those who understand it will attain wisdom; they will have done that which has to be done.
Chapter Sixteen, Two Paths
In this most unusual chapter, the Gita departs from a lofty view of human nature and describes two opposing forces. The higher tendency, the divine, leads to increasing happiness in the course of the soul’s evolution, and eventually to its liberation; but there is also a downward current leading to suffering and enslavement of the spirit. This chapter is unusual in giving equal, if not in fact more, attention to this dark side of human nature. Here we get a detailed description of the divine qualities that liberate and the “demonic” qualities that enslave (16:5).
In a rare somber tone, Krishna describes the sinful person, the individual of a demonic kind – and it seems he knows what he is talking about. But first he assures Arjuna that he is of the divine type, so he shouldn’t be alarmed.
The “demonic” personality is basically atheistic. For such people life does not originate in God or a divine reality but is grounded in biology, in sexual desire. Taking a low view of human nature, such people cause suffering to themselves as well as others. They are arrogant and have many insatiable selfish desires, and they do not hesitate to do anything that will get them what they want. Krishna grants that they may attain their desires, enjoying wealth and power, but their destination is hell – a hell of their own making, often in this very life, as their karma bears fruit.
One of the least likable characteristics of “demonic” personalities is their sense of self-importance. They like to give gifts ostentatiously and offer ritual sacrifices; this legitimizes their wealth and makes them feel respectable and esteemed. They like being generous if it will make them look good.
Krishna does not disguise his aversion to cruel people. He tells Arjuna that he arranges for them to be born again and again in a harsh world. Such souls cannot seem to purify their sinful hearts; repeating the same selfish ways, they sink lower and lower. This is a bleak picture, which the Gita dwells on only in this chapter. But even here, amidst the gloom, Krishna will not say that such a soul is eternally damned. It may be that such a sinful creature is condemned to birth after birth in harsh, unfavorable circumstances, sinking into more and more hellish states of mind; but the cycle goes on, the choice to change direction is always open, and the Atman itself can never be stained.
Lust, anger, and greed are the three doors to hell that Arjuna must at all costs not enter. The person who enters will not only fail to reach life’s final goal, but will not achieve any measure of lasting happiness and prosperity. In Sanskrit this chapter is called the “Way of Divine and Demonic Destinies.” The words deva, god, and asura, demon, are not to be taken too literally here. The Hindu scriptures often tell stories of the battles between the gods and the demons; thus they dramatize the struggle between good and evil in the world.
No divine character from Hindu myth escapes a challenge from some demon. Usually the god or goddess is victorious; but often the demon will win a battle or two, though not the final victory. Krishna has a long battle record, celebrated by epithets like Madhusudana, “slayer of the demon Madhu.” Rama, another incarnation of Vishnu, had to confront and kill Ravana. The stories go on. The gods never seem to rest for long: there is always a new challenge to their authority, a new source of malignant evil to be destroyed.
The Mahabharata and the Gita do not dwell on these mythical battles.
Here the interest is more frankly human, and when Krishna discusses the “divine” and “demonic” qualities, he speaks not of gods and demons but of human good and evil. –D.M.
16: Two Paths
KRISHNA
1 Be fearless and pure; never waver in your determination or your dedication to the spiritual life. Give freely. Be self-controlled, sincere, truthful, loving, and full of the desire to serve. Realize the truth of the scriptures; learn to be detached and to take joy in renunciation.
2 Do not get angry or harm any living creature, but be compassionate and gentle; show good will to all.
3 Cultivate vigor, patience, will, purity; avoid malice and pride. Then, Arjuna, you will achieve your divine destiny.
4 Other qualities, Arjuna, make a person more and more inhuman:hypocrisy, arrogance, conceit, anger, cruelty, ignorance.
5 The divine qualities lead to freedom; the demonic, to bondage. Butdo not grieve, Arjuna; you were born with divine attributes.
6 Some people have divine tendencies, others demonic. I have described the divine at length, Arjuna; now listen while I describe the demonic.
7 The demonic do things they should avoid and avoid the things theyshould do. They have no sense of uprightness, purity, or truth.
8 “There is no God,” they say, “no truth, no spiritual law, no moralorder. The basis of life is sex; what else can it be?”
9 Holding such distorted views, possessing scant discrimination, they become enemies of the world, causing suffering and destruction.
10 Hypocritical, proud, and arrogant, living in delusion and clinging to deluded ideas, insatiable in their desires, they pursue their unclean ends.
11 Although burdened with fears that end only with death, they still maintain with complete assurance, “Gratification of lust is the highest that life can offer.”
12 Bound on all sides by scheming and anxiety, driven by anger andgreed, they amass by any means they can a hoard of money for the satisfaction of their cravings.
13 “I got this today,” they say; “tomorrow I shall get that. This wealth is mine, and that will be mine too.
14 I have destroyed my enemies. I shall destroy others too! Am I not like God? I enjoy what I want. I am successful. I am powerful. I am happy.
15 I am rich and well-born. Who is equal to me? I will perform sacrifices and give gifts, and rejoice in my own generosity.” This is how they go on, deluded by ignorance.
16 Bound by their greed and entangled in a web of delusion, whirled about by a fragmented mind, they fall into a dark hell.
17 Self-important, obstinate, swept away by the pride of wealth, they ostentatiously perform sacrifices without any regard for their purpose.
18 Egotistical, violent, arrogant, lustful, angry, envious of everyone, they abuse my presence within their own bodies and in the bodies of others.
19 Life after life I cast those who are malicious, hateful, cruel, and degraded into the wombs of those with similar demonic natures.
20 Birth after birth they find themselves with demonic tendencies. Degraded in this way, Arjuna, they fail to reach me and fall lower still.
21 There are three gates to this self-destructive hell: lust, anger, and greed. Renounce these three.
22 Those who escape from these three gates of darkness, Arjuna, seek what is best and attain life’s supreme goal.
23 Others disregard the teachings of the scriptures. Driven by selfish desire, they miss the goal of life, miss even happiness and success.
24 Therefore let the scriptures be your guide in what to do and what not to do. Understand their teachings; then act in accordance with them.
Chapter Seventeen,
