Go to Vaniquotes | Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanimedia


Vanisource - the complete essence of Vedic knowledge


GG 16 The Divine and Demoniac Nature

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada



Chapter 16
The Divine and Demoniac Nature

śrī-bhagavān kahilen:
abhaya sattva saṁsiddhi jñāne avasthān
dān dam yajña ār svādhyāy tapān
saralatā satya ār ahiṁsā akrodh
tyāg śānti dayā ār paranindā rodh
alolupatā mṛdutā tej acapal
kṣamā, dhṛti, śouca, vā hrī adroha sakal
abhimān śūnyatā se chāvviśa ye guṇ
sampad se hay tār yār daivīte janam

Texts 1-3: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Fearlessness; purification of one's existence; cultivation of spiritual knowledge; charity; self-control; performance of sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity; simplicity; nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger; renunciation; tranquillity; aversion to faultfinding; compassion for all living entities; freedom from covetousness; gentleness; modesty; steady determination; vigor; forgiveness; fortitude; cleanliness; and freedom from envy and from the passion for honor—these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.

dambha, darpa, abhimān, krodh, niṣṭhuratā
sampada āsurī hay yathā ajñānatā

Text 4: Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance—these qualities belong to those of demoniac nature, O son of Pṛthā.

daivī sampada ye tār muktira kāraṇ
āsurī sampada hay saṁsāra vandhan
tomāra cintāra kathā nāhi he pāṇḍava
daivī sampade tomār hayechhe janam

Text 5: The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demoniac qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, O son of Pāṇḍu, for you are born with the divine qualities.

he bhārat, e jagate dui bhūt sṛṣṭi
ek daivī dvitīya se āsurī vā dṛṣṭi
daivī yārā tār kathā anek hayeche
śuna ebe kathā yārā asura janmeche

Text 6: O son of Pṛthā, in this world there are two kinds of created beings. One is called divine and the other demoniac. I have already explained to you at length the divine qualities. Now hear from Me of the demoniac.

pravṛtti nivṛtti yāhā asura nā jāne
śoucācār satya mithyā nāhi tārā māne

Text 7: Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them.

asura ye lok tārā nā māne īśvar
jagater vidhātā yini asvīkāra tār
sṛṣṭira kāraṇ sei anīśvaravādī
jaḍa kārya-kāraṇa se kāmuka vivādī

Text 8: They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control. They say it is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust.

ei kṣudra dṛṣṭi laye asurera gaṇ
ātma-tattva-jñānahīn alpa-buddhi han
ugra-karme utsāha tār jagata ahita
kṣaya-kārye paṭu tārā hay prabhāvita

Text 9: Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.

duṣpūra āśraya kāma dambha madānvita
mohagrasta asadagrāha aśuci-vrata

Text 10: Taking shelter of insatiable lust and absorbed in the conceit of pride and false prestige, the demoniac, thus illusioned, are always sworn to unclean work, attracted by the impermanent.

apareya cintā tār yatadina bāṅce
kāma-mātra upabhog hṛdayete āche
śata śata āśā-pāś śudhu kām krodha
kāma-bhoga lāgi artha anya se virodha
anyāya se kare nitya sañcayete
citta tār nitya viddha asata kāryete

Texts 11-12: They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus until the end of life their anxiety is immeasurable. Bound by a network of hundreds of thousands of desires and absorbed in lust and anger, they secure money by illegal means for sense gratification.

adya ei artha-lābh mano-ratha siddhi
punarbār bhaviṣyate habe artha vṛddhi
se śatru marila anya niścaya māriba
āmi se īśvara dhanī se kārya sādhiva
āmi bhogī siddha ār balabāna sukhī
mama sama keha nahe ār saba duḥkhī
āmi abhijanavān āmi dhana-ādhya
āmāra samāna habe kār kivā sādhya
āmi se kariba yajña āmi dān diba
strī-saṅga kariyā āmi ānanda pāiba
ajñāna mohita haye kata kathā bale
mohajāla samāvṛta kālera kavale
āsalete kāmāsakta narakera yātrī
aśuci narake bās naraka vidhātṛ

Texts 13-16: The demoniac person thinks: "So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy, and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man, surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice." In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance. Thus perplexed by various anxieties and bound by a network of illusions, they become too strongly attached to sense enjoyment and fall down into hell.

ātma sambhāvita mān dhanete anamra
madānvita asura se sarvadā vinamra
nāma-mātra yajña kare śāstre vidhi nāi
dambha-mātra āche sār kevala baḍāi

Text 17: Self-complacent and always impudent, deluded by wealth and false prestige, they sometimes proudly perform sacrifices in name only, without following any rules or regulations.

ahaṁkār, vala, darpa, kām, krodhāśray
āmāra samparke dehe dveṣ se karay
asūyār vaśe cintā svapara apare
sādhura guṇete doṣ kimbā nindā kare

Text 18: Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, the demons become envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in their own bodies and in the bodies of others, and blaspheme against the real religion.

sei se vidveṣī krūr narādhama gaṇe
nitya se kṣepaṇa kari saṁsāra gahane

Text 19: Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.

asura yonite hay janama maraṇ
ajasra aśubha tār jīvana yāpan
asurera ghare mūḍha janame janame
āmāke bhuliyā duḥkhī marame marame
krame krame pāya sei adhamā ye gati
akṣama āmāke pete yehetu kumati

Text 20: Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, O son of Kuntī, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.

sei kāma, krodh, lobh, narakera dvār
tyaja tāhā nay tin sādhu vyavahār

Text 21: There are three gates leading to this hell—lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.

ei tine mukta yārā śuna he kaunteya
tamoguṇera dvār sei atiśay heya
tabe se ācari dharma nija śreyaskar
parāgata lābh kare mama bhakti par

Text 22: The man who has escaped these three gates of hell, O son of Kuntī, performs acts conducive to self-realization and thus gradually attains the supreme destination.

śāstra vidhi parityāge kāma ācaraṇ
siddhiprāpti nahe tāhe sukha gatipar

Text 23: He who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.

ataeva śāstra-vidhi kāryera pramāṇ
jāni śāstra-vidhi kara kārya samādhāna

Text 24: One should therefore understand what is duty and what is not duty by the regulations of the scriptures. Knowing such rules and regulations, one should act so that he may gradually be elevated.

bhaktivedānta kahe śrī-gītāra gān
śune yadi śuddha bhakta kṛṣṇagata-prāṇ

Thus Bhaktivedānta sings the song of Śrī Gītā, with the hope that hearing this, Kṛṣṇa conscious pure devotees will be pleased.