Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 16

Yoga through Discerning the Divine and Demoniac Natures

16.1Krishna starts listing the good qualities of a godly person: being fearless, living cleanly, staying steady in seeking wisdom, giving to others, self-control, making offerings, studying scripture, simple self-discipline, and honesty.Krishna
16.2Krishna continues the list: not hurting anyone, telling the truth, not getting angry, letting go, being peaceful, not scheming, kindness to all living things, not being greedy, gentleness, modesty, and not being restless or changeable.Krishna
16.3Krishna finishes the list: energy, forgiveness, endurance, purity, and freedom from jealousy and pride. He says these belong to a person born with godly qualities.Krishna
16.4Krishna tells Arjuna the qualities of a person born with demonic, or harmful, nature: faking goodness, arrogance, being full of oneself, anger, harshness, and foolishness.Krishna
16.5Krishna says godly qualities lead to freedom, and demonic qualities keep a person trapped. He comforts Arjuna: do not worry, you were born with godly qualities.Krishna
16.6Krishna says there are two kinds of beings in this world, godly and demonic. He has already described the godly kind in detail, and now he will describe the demonic kind.Krishna
16.7Krishna says demonic people do not know when to act and when to hold back. They have no purity, no good manners, and no truthfulness.Krishna
16.8Krishna says such people claim the universe has no truth, no foundation, and no God. They say it came about only by chance mating, driven by desire and nothing else.Krishna
16.9Krishna says people who hold this view are lost and narrow-minded. They do cruel things and become enemies who bring harm and destruction to the world.Krishna
16.10Krishna says people with a demonic nature give in to desires that are never satisfied. They are full of vanity and arrogance, believe wrong ideas because they are confused, and act with selfish, unclean goals.Krishna
16.11Krishna continues: such people are filled with endless worries that last until death. They think satisfying their desires is the most important thing and are sure that nothing else exists.Krishna
16.12Tied up by hundreds of hopes and wants, and ruled by lust and anger, they try to pile up money by dishonest means so they can spend it on pleasures.Krishna
16.13Krishna describes how such a person thinks: "I got this today, and I'll get that next. This money is already mine, and more will be mine later."Krishna
16.14The proud person keeps thinking: "I beat this enemy, and I'll beat others too. I am the boss. I enjoy everything. I am perfect, strong and happy."Krishna
16.15They also think: "I am rich and from a good family. Who is as great as me? I'll do religious rituals, give to charity, and enjoy myself." Krishna says this is how ignorance fools them.Krishna
16.16Confused by many restless thoughts, trapped in a net of illusion, and hooked on pleasure, such people fall into a terrible hell.Krishna
16.17Proud of themselves, stubborn, and drunk on their wealth, they perform religious rituals only in name, to show off, and not in the way scripture teaches.Krishna
16.18Full of selfishness, love of power, rudeness, lust and anger, these hateful people hate God, who lives inside other people and inside themselves.Krishna
16.19Krishna says that these hateful, cruel and wicked people are sent again and again to be born into families and lives with a demonic nature.Krishna
16.20Born into demonic lives again and again, and staying confused each time, they never reach Krishna, Arjuna (called Kaunteya, son of Kunti). Instead they sink lower and lower.Krishna
16.21Krishna says hell has three doors that destroy a person: lust, anger and greed. So everyone should give up these three.Krishna
16.22A person who has escaped these three doors of darkness, Arjuna, does what is truly good for himself and reaches the highest goal.Krishna
16.23Whoever ignores the teachings of scripture and just does whatever desire tells them will not find perfection, happiness or the highest goal.Krishna
16.24So, Krishna tells Arjuna, let scripture be your guide for what to do and what not to do. Learn what it teaches, and then act in the world.Krishna