SECTION XL
[(Bhagavad Gita Chapter XVI)]
"The Holy One said, 'Fearlessness, purity of heart, perseverance in (the
pursuit of) knowledge and Yoga meditation, gifts, self-restraint,
sacrifice, study of the Vedas, ascetic penances, uprightness,[288]
abstention from injury, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation,
tranquillity, freedom from reporting other's faults, compassion for all
creatures, absence of covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of
restlessness, vigour, forgiveness, firmness, cleanliness, absence of
quarrelsomeness, freedom from vanity,--these become his, O Bharata, who
is born to godlike possessions. Hypocrisy, pride, conceit, wrath,
rudeness and ignorance, are, O son of Pritha, his who is born to demoniac
possessions. God-like possessions are deemed to be for deliverance; the
demoniac for bondage. Grieve not, O son of Pandu, for you are born to
god-like possessions. (There are) two kinds of created beings in this
world, viz., the god-like and the demoniac. The god-like have been
described at length. Hear now, from me, O son of Pritha, about the
demoniac. Persons of demoniac nature know not inclination or
disinclination. Neither purity, nor good conduct, nor truth exist in
them.[289] They say that the universe is void of truth, of guiding
principle, (and) of ruler; produced by the union of one another (male and
female) from lust, and nothing else. Depending on this view, these men of
lost selves, little intelligence, and fierce deeds, these enemies (of the
world), are born for the destruction of the universe.[290] Cherishing
desires that are insatiable, and endued with hypocrisy, conceit and
folly, they adopt false notions through delusion and engage in unholy
practices. Cherishing boundless thoughts limited by death (alone), and
regarding the enjoyment of (their ) desires as the highest end, they are
persuaded that that is all. Fettered by the hundred nooses of hope,
addicted to lust and wrath, they covet to obtain this wealth
to-day,--This I will obtain later,--This wealth I have,--This (wealth)
will be mine in addition,--This foe hath been slain by me,--I will slay
even others,--I am lord,--I am the enjoyer,--I am successful, powerful,
happy,--I am rich and of noble birth,--Who else is there that is like
me?--I will sacrifice,--I will make gifts,--I will be merry,--thus
deluded by ignorance,--tossed about by numerous thoughts, enveloped in
the meshes of delusion, attached to the enjoyment of objects of desire,
they sink into foul hell. Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the pride
and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices that are nominally
so, with hypocrisy and against the (prescribed) ordinance. Wedded to
vanity, power, pride, lust and wrath, these revilers hate Me in their own
bodies and those of others. These haters (of Me), cruel, the vilest among
men, and unholy, I hurl continually down into demoniac wombs. Coming into
demoniac wombs, deluded birth after birth, they, O son of Kunti, without
attaining to Me go down to the vilest state. Three-fold is the way to
hell, ruinous to the self, viz., lust, wrath, likewise avarice.
Therefore, these three, one should renounce. Freed from these three gates
of darkness, a man, O son of Kunti, works out his own welfare, and then
repairs to his highest goal. He who, abandoning the ordinances of the
scriptures, acts only under the impulses of desire, never attains to
perfection, nor happiness, nor the highest goal. Therefore, the
scriptures should be your authority in determining what should be done and
what should not be done. It behoveth you to do work here, having
ascertained what hath been declared by the ordinances of the scriptures.'"
--------------------END OF PARVA 6 : UPA-PARVA 40 ---------------------
