GG 16 The Divine and Demoniac Nature
His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
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.