The Bhagavad Gita

by George Thompson

  4. But, Arjuna, the qualities of a man born into a demonic destiny are: hypocrisy, arrogance, exaggerated pride, anger, harsh speech, and ignorance.

  5. Divine destiny leads to release. Demonic destiny leads to bondage. But do not worry, Arjuna. You are born into a divine destiny.

  6. There are two kinds of creation in this world: the divine and the demonic. I have spoken of the divine at length. Arjuna, hear now from me of the demonic.

  7. Demonic people do not distinguish between activity and the cessation of activity. You will not find purity, or the observance of custom, or truth in them.

  8. They say that the world has no reality, no religious basis, no god. They deny that the world arises through mutual causation. If not caused by this, then by what else? They say that the world is driven by desire.1

  9. Stubbornly maintaining this view, these lost souls2 with so little insight rise up and seize power through terrible acts of violence, wretched people intent on destroying the world.

  10. They surrender themselves to insatiable desire. They are intoxicated by their own hypocrisy and pride. They are seized by delusion, and so they themselves seize upon false ideas. They engage in practices that pollute them.

  11. They devote themselves to anxiety beyond measure, which ends only when they die. They have convinced themselves that this is all that life amounts to, and so their greatest ambition is to satisfy their desires.

  12. Hope, with its hundred snares, binds them, and desire and anger preoccupy them. They strive for vast hoards of wealth by illegal means in order to fulfill their vain desires.

  13. “I have gotten this much today, and next I will get this wish fulfilled too. This wealth is mine, and that is too. And I’ll have more in the future.

  14. I have killed this enemy today, and I will kill others as well. I am the lord here. I enjoy myself. I am successful, powerful, and happy!

  15. I am rich and well-born. Who else can compare with me? I will perform the sacrifices. I will give to the poor. I will enjoy myself!” This is how such ignorant fools talk!

  16. Distracted by their many worries, they are caught in the web of delusion. Obsessed with satisfying their desires, they fall headlong into a polluted hell.

  17. Self-absorbed, stubborn, intoxicated with wealth and pride, they perform their sacrifices in name only, dishonestly, ignoring the traditional obligations.

  18. Egotism, violence, pride, desire, and anger—they resort to these, and in their envy they hate me, both in their own and in all other bodies.

  19. In the endless rounds of rebirth, I cast these vile, hateful, bloodthirsty, these lowest of men, over and over again into demonic wombs.

  20. And deluded they enter, in birth after birth, into a demonic womb. Arjuna, they do not ever reach me. In this way they take the lowest path.

  21. This is the destruction of the self. This is the threefold gate of hell. Desire, anger, and greed. One should abandon these three.

  22. But, Arjuna, a man who is released from these three gates of hell engages in what is good for the self. In this way he takes the highest path.

  23. If a man neglects the injunctions of tradition,3 and behaves according to the demands of his own desires, he will not gain success or happiness or the highest path.

  24. Therefore, let traditional law be your authority in deciding what is right to do and what is not. Know what is taught in the law books. You should perform here the actions that you are obliged to perform.

  SEVENTEEN

  Arjuna spoke:

  1. There are those who neglect the injunctions of tradition, yet they faithfully perform sacrifices nevertheless. Ka, what is their condition? Is it clarity, or passion, or dark inertia?

  The Blessed One spoke:

  2. Among embodied souls there are three kinds of faith. This arises from each one’s own nature. Thus there is the quality of clarity, and of passion, and of inertia. Listen now to what I say about faith.

  3. Each man’s faith conforms to his true nature. Arjuna, a man is made up of his faith. What he puts his faith in is what he himself is.

  4. Men of clarity offer sacrifices to the gods. Men of passion sacrifice to spirits and demons. And those others, men of darkness, sacrifice to the dead and to ghosts.

  5. Some men practice horrible austerities that are not ordained by tradition. They are motivated by hypocrisy and egotism. They are driven by the force of desire and passion.

  6. They recklessly starve the cluster of elements that reside in the body. And they starve me as well, the one who dwells within the body. Know that their resolve is demonic.

  7. Also the kinds of food that men enjoy are of three kinds. Likewise also are their sacrifices and their austerities and their gifts. Hear how these are to be classified.

  8. Foods that men of clarity prefer increase one’s life span, strength, courage, good health, contentment, and pleasure. Such foods are tasty, mild, firm, and easy to digest.

  9. A man of passion desires foods that are pungent, sour, salty, very hot, sharp, dry, or burning. Such foods cause discomfort and pain and indigestion.

  10. The food that is preferred by men of dark inertia is spoiled, tasteless, putrid, or stale—such as leftovers or food that is unfit for sacrifice.

  11. A sacrifice is sāttvika and is characterized by clarity, when it is offered with attention to the traditional injunctions, and by men who have no desire for rewards. They concentrate their minds, thinking only “This sacrifice must be performed.”

  12. Arjuna, know that a sacrifice is rājasa and is characterized by passion, when it is performed in order to gain some reward, or when it is offered insincerely.

  13. A sacrifice is said to be tāmasa and characterized by dark inertia, when it is performed without faith, with no regard for the traditional injunctions, when the food offerings are neglected, mantras are not recited, and sacrificial fees are not paid.

  14. To honor the gods, and the twice-born Brahmins, and gurus and the wise, and to be pure and honest and chaste and non-violent—this is called the austerity of the body.

  15. Words that do not agitate, words that are true and pleasing and kind—as well as the daily practice of Vedic recitations—these are called the austerity of speech.

  16. Serenity of mind, gentleness, meditative silence, self-control, the purification of one’s emotions—these are called the austerity of the mind.

  17. This threefold austerity is considered to be sāttvika. It is performed with the highest faith by men who have no desire for reward for their actions.

  18. But austerity that is performed with desire for the respect, honor, reverence that austerity wins, such austerity is performed insincerely. It is called rājasa. It is austerity dominated by passion. It is wavering and unstable.

  19. When austerity is performed because of deluded ideas, or as a form of self-mortification, or as a means of destroying someone else—it is considered to be tāmasa and ruled by dark inertia.

  20. As for gift-giving, when it is given with the thought that it ought to be given, when given to one who is unable to reciprocate, when given at the proper place and time, and to a worthy person, tradition calls it giving from the state of clarity. It is sāttvika.

  21. But when a gift is given in order to get a gift in return, or with consideration of reward, or if it is given reluctantly, tradition calls it giving from the state of passion. It is rājasa.

  22. When a gift is given at an inappropriate place and time, and to people who are not worthy, when it is given with disrespect and contempt—then it is known as giving from the state of darkness. It is tāmasa.

  23. OM TAT SAT!1 This is preserved by tradition as the threefold explanation of Brahman. By means of it, in the ancient days, the Brahmin priests, the Vedas, and the sacrifices were established.

  24. Therefore, those who teach the doctrine of Brahman always recite OM before performing sacrifices, giving gifts, and practicing austerities—as required by tradition.

  25. Those who see
k liberation recite TAT [“that”] when they perform the various acts of sacrifice, and austerity, and gift-giving—doing so without any concern for rewards.

  26. The word SAT is used in the sense “true” and also in the sense “good.” Arjuna, it is also used to refer to actions that are praiseworthy.

  27. With regard to sacrifice and austerity and gift-giving, steadfastness in these activities is said to be SAT—good and true. And all action that is performed for such purposes is called SAT.

  28. But whatever is offered or given without faith, or whatever austerity is performed without faith—it is called ASAT [“false, unworthy”], Arjuna, because both in this world and in the next it amounts to nothing.

  EIGHTEEN

  Arjuna spoke:

  1. Ka, I want to know the truth about renunciation, and about abandonment also, and what the difference between them is.1

  The Blessed One spoke:

  2. The ancient poets understand that renunciation is the giving up of acts of desire, whereas the learned say that abandonment is the giving up of the fruit of all actions.

  3. Some men of insight say that action should be abandoned because it is harmful. But others say that acts of sacrifice and gift-giving and austerity should not be abandoned.

  4. Hear my judgment on the matter of abandonment, Arjuna, O tiger among men. Abandonment is known by tradition to be threefold.

  5. Works of sacrifice, of gift-giving, of austerity, should not be abandoned. In fact, they should be performed. Sacrifice, gift-giving, austerity—these things purify men of insight.

  6. But while such actions should be performed, one should abandon attachment to them as well as their fruit. Arjuna, this is my final judgment on this!

  7. To abandon an action that is obligatory is not acceptable. To abandon such action out of confusion is recognized by tradition as an act of darkness.

  8. Anyone who would abandon an action thinking that it causes pain to others, or out of fear of harm to his own body, does so from a passionate, a rājasa, point of view. He will not gain any reward from the abandonment of such things.

  9. When an action that is required by custom is performed only because it should be performed, Arjuna, while one abandons attachment to it as well as its fruit, that kind of abandonment is thought to be sāttvika, rooted in clarity.

  10. One who abandons in this way does not dislike unpleasant actions, nor is he attached to pleasant action. He is filled with clarity, and he is wise, and he has severed himself from doubt.

  11. In fact, it is impossible for one who is still in a body to give up action completely. But one who abandons in this way is able to give up the fruits of his actions.

  12. At the moment of death, those who have not abandoned the fruits of their action must confront them. These are of three kinds: the desirable, the undesirable, and the mixed. But this is not the case for true sanyāsins.

  13. Arjuna, know that in the teachings of the Sākhya school there are said to be five causes that lead to success in all actions:

  14. the material basis or the body; the agent; the instruments of various kinds; the different kinds of exertion; divine fate is the fifth.

  15. Whatever action a man undertakes, with the body or speech or the mind,2 whether lawful or not, these five are the causes.

  16. Since this is the case, anyone who regards himself alone as the agent has only partial insight. Confused in his thinking, he does not see at all.

  17. A man who has no sense of egotism, and whose awareness is not clouded by attachment, does not really kill, nor is he bound—even if he must kill all of these people!

  18. The impulse to action is threefold: it involves knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the knower. And action itself is threefold: it involves an instrument, the act itself, and an agent.

  19. The Sākhya doctrine of the three conditions of nature teaches that knowledge, action, and agent are also each threefold, depending on the three conditions. Concerning these, listen further:

  20. that knowledge which is rooted in the condition of clarity sees the one unchanging reality that resides in all beings, divided among them and yet not divided. It is important to understand this!

  21. Knowledge that is rooted in the condition of passion sees many conditions among all beings, constantly changing, one thing after another.

  22. If one’s mind is focused completely on only one insignificant task, without considering causes, and without having genuine purpose in it, such knowledge is understood to be conditioned by inertia.

  23. An action that is required by tradition and performed by a man who has no interest in its result, without passion or hatred and without attachment—such an action is said to be rooted in clarity.

  24. When an action is performed by a man who is driven by desire, or by one who is driven by egotism, involving too much effort—it is held to be rooted in passion.

  25. When an action is initiated out of delusion, without regard for its consequences, or for the destruction and violence involved, or merely for one’s manly virtue—that action is rooted in dark inertia.

  26. The agent who is devoted to liberation, who prefers not to talk about himself, who is determined and vigorous, and unchanged by success or failure—he is rooted in clarity.

  27. An intensely passionate man who is eager for the fruits of his actions, who is greedy and violent and impure, who is consumed by his joys and his griefs—he is an agent rooted in passion.

  28. On the other hand, an agent is said to be rooted in dark inertia when he is undisciplined, uncivilized, and vulgar, arrogant, dishonest, lazy, depressed, procrastinating.

  29. Arjuna, listen: the classification of intelligence and of resolve according to the conditions of nature is also threefold. I will explain each of them to you fully and in detail.

  30. That intelligence which knows what activity is and what its cessation is, what is obligatory and what is not, what is fear and what is fearlessness, as well as what is bondage and what is liberation—Arjuna, that insight is rooted in clarity.

  31. That intelligence which incorrectly perceives what is lawful duty and what is not, what is obligatory and what is not—Arjuna, that insight is rooted in passion.

  32. And that intelligence which supposes—immersed as it is in darkness—that lawlessness3 is lawful duty, dharma, and which imagines everything to be exactly what it is not—such intelligence is buried in darkness.

  33. That resolve by means of which one controls the activities of the mind and the breath and the senses as well, that resolve which is practiced with unwavering yoga—that resolve, Arjuna, is based on clarity.

  34. But when one tries to attend to one’s duties, desires, and ambitions with a resolve that is too attached to them, and when one worries too much about the results—Arjuna, that resolve is based on passion.

  35. And that resolve by means of which the complete fool clings fast to sleep and fear and pain and depression and drunkenness—Arjuna, we call that the resolve of darkness.

  36. But now listen to me, Arjuna. That happiness is also threefold wherein one comes to rest through long practice and comes also to the end of suffering.

  37. That which at first seems like poison but which in the end is like nectar—such happiness is rooted in clarity and arises from the peace that comes from insight into the self.

  38. And that which arises from contact between the senses and sense objects and which at first seems like nectar but in the end is like poison—according to tradition, that sort of happiness is rooted in passion.

  39. And that happiness which in its beginning and in its conclusion is mere self-delusion arising from sleep, or sluggishness, or negligence—that is held to be rooted in dark inertia.

  40. There is no one on earth or among the gods in heaven who could be free from the three conditions of nature.

  41. Arjuna, Brahmins, and warriors, and villagers, and slaves—they all have obligatory caste duties that are distinguished by the qualities that arise from th
eir innate nature.

  42. Serenity, self-control, austerity, purity, patience, honesty, as well as knowledge and discrimination, and religious faith—these are the caste duties of a Brahmin, which arise from a Brahmin’s nature.

  43. Heroism, energy, resolve, skill, and also the refusal to retreat in battle, generosity, and ruling with authority—these are the caste duties of a warrior, which arise from a warrior’s nature.

  44. Farming, cattle-herding, and trade are the caste duties of a villager, which arise from his nature. And service is the caste duty of a slave, which arises from the nature of a slave.

  45. A man achieves success when he is content in doing the work that is his own. Hear how one who is content in doing his own caste duty achieves success!

  46. That man finds success in his caste duty when he worships the one who pervades this entire world, the one from whom everything here unfolds.

  47. It is better to perform one’s own caste duty poorly than to perform another’s well. By performing action that conforms to one’s own nature, one does not accumulate guilt.

  48. Arjuna, one should not give up the work that one is born to do, even if it is harmful. For harm accompanies all of our involvements, just as smoke accompanies fire.

  49. One achieves that highest form of perfection beyond action through renunciation.4 Then one’s consciousness remains unattached at all times. One’s longings are gone. One has conquered oneself.

  50. I will show you how the man who has attained this perfection also attains to Brahman. Briefly, this is the highest culmination of knowledge.

  51. Disciplined by a purified awareness, he restrains himself with firm resolve. He abandons sense objects, sounds, and all the rest. He casts off both passion and hatred.

  52. He cultivates solitude, and he eats lightly. He is restrained in speech, in body, and in mind. He devotes himself constantly to yoga and meditation. He rests upon dispassion.

  53. He has freed himself from egotism, force, pride, desire, and anger, and also from possessiveness. Selfless and serene, he has prepared himself to become Brahman.