Chapter
16: Daivasura Sampad Vibhagayoga (24 verses) The Yoga of the Division
between the Divine and the Demonic.
1- Spiritual disposition. (1-4)
I. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga ; alms-giving, self-restraint and worship, study of one's own (scriptures), austerity, uprightness ;
2. Harmlessness, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, serenity, absence of calumny, compassion to creatures, uncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness;
3. Energy, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride; these belong to one born for a divine lot, O Bharata.
Fearlessness Shri Krishna says, "The best among the qualities of this divine endowment is fearlessness. He who is not allowing ego to develop while he is working or at rest is not afraid of this world. When nonduality pervades the mind he realises that the whole universe is filled with Brahman and he abandons even mentioning fear. Spirit of non-duality destroys fear.
Purity After one gives up the tendency towards desires and doubts and casting of the burden of Raja and Tama attributes the intellect is attracted towards contemplation about the Self. The intellect does not waver at all even when enticed by sense objects. Intellect becomes dedicated having developed a liking for the form of the Self.
Steadiness Concentrating and involving oneself completely in one of the two paths, i.e. the path of Knowledge and the path of yoga, whichever is suitable for attaining Self while abandoning other tendencies of the mind and ridding one's mind of all doubts is the third quality called steadiness in Knowledge and Yoga.
Charity Practising charity by helping a distressed person in every possible way and in all sincerity, even if he were an enemy, giving whatever one can and not sending him away empty handed is a quality which shows the path to real Knowledge.
Self-restraint A yogi separates the organs from the sense objects. Also he does not permit the breath of sense objects from the sense organs to touch the mind. For this purpose he binds the organs in the chains of discipline and controls them. By lighting the fires of detachment in the organs he expels the tendencies for sense objects hidden in the corners of the mind. He observes ceaselessly routines stricter that those of breath control.
Yajna or sacrifice, from a brahmin to a woman should, according to the rightful code of conduct appropriate to him or her, in the manner prescribed in the Shastras. For example, a brahmin observing the six rituals and a shudra making obeisance to him, both lead to a like sacrifice from each of them. Thus, everyone should perform the sacrifice as per his entitlement but let it not be contaminated by the poison of the desire of fruits. And let one not think out of ego that "Oh! I have performed the sacrifice.", for the code set by the Vedas must in any case be obeyed.
Personal study of Vedas God is the subject of discussion in the Vedas which one should constantly study in order to understand Him. For attaining Self, brahmins should contemplate over the writings about the Brahman in the Vedas. Others should frequently sing the songs praising God or utter His name.
Austerity To give away one's all possessions is to put them to best use and that is real austerity. Straining one's body, organs and life force for experiencing the Self is called austerity. All other types of austerities which people talk about must be critically examined. Austerity keeps alive in a person the sense of discrimination which separates "I am the living soul" feeling from the "I am the body" feeling. While contemplating on the Self, the intellect turns inwards. Just as when one wakes up both sleep and dreams vanish, similarly that which makes a person turn to contemplating about the Self is the real nature of austerity.
Uprightness Just as life may be of diverse type but all have similar lifeforce, similarly to show gentleness to all is called uprightness. Non-injury To behave by words and actions and feelings with the intention of making the world happy is the indication of non-injury.
Truthfulness Truthfulness is pointed but soft and bright but comfortable. Just as one cannot find a medicine that can cure a disease but does also not taste bitter, similarly a simile cannot be found for truthfulness. Water sprinkled on the eyes does not hurt the eyeballs but the same water is capable of breaking stones.
Absence of wrath The state of mind in which a person does not get angry even by words which normally would make even a boy angry is called absence of wrath.
Relinquishment Freeing themselves of the "I am the body" attitude, intelligent people give up worldly affairs. This is called relinquishment.
Tranquillity After knowing the knowable (i.e. experiencing the Brahman), the state in which both the knower and the knowledge dissolve is called tranquillity.
Non-calumny When one sees somebody drowning, he does not bother whether that person is a brahmin or a untouchable but thinks that saving him is his first duty. Such a person, instead of bothering about the failings of another, tries to overcome that by his own good qualities and does not taunt him about them. Not taunting people for their failings by comparing them with perfect persons is the indication of non-calumny and there is no doubt that this is one of the resting stages in the path to liberation.
Compassion Compassion is that which does not let one distinguish between high and low while helping to remove the miseries of the unfortunate. When he sees the sorrows of others he thinks nothing of sacrificing everything he possesses in order to mitigate them. If he encounters a destitute, he does not go a step further without satisfying him. His life is spent in helping the miserable. Such a person is compassion personified and I am indebted to him from birth. (16:155-162).
Lack of greed The state of mind when one is averse to enjoying the pleasures of this world or the world beyond even if they are available to him at his mere wish, and what more, when one has no desire of any kind for sense-pleasures is the indication of lack of greed.
Gentleness A tender loving behaviour towards all creatures and a life devoted to welfare of the world is the indication of gentleness.
Humility When a person feels ashamed of being imprisoned in this body of three and a half hand-span length, of being born and dying again and again, of remaining in the uterus immersed in blood and urine to be cast as a human being, is the sign of humility. Only persons without blemish feel so ashamed, but others take pleasure in it.
Absence of fickleness When life-force is controlled the organs of action become slow. Similarly, just as sun-rays do not come out after sunset, the sense-organs become dim after the mind is controlled. Thus all the ten organs become inactive by the control of mind and the life force.
Spiritual vigour When the determination to follow the path of Knowledge for attaining God is very strong then there is no dearth of strength. The individual, anxious to realise his master the Soul, follows the difficult path towards the formless Brahman treating the sense objects like poison. In this path he is not hindered by the ritualistic rules nor is he attracted by the great Siddhis.
Forgiveness Now, forgiveness is the quality by which one, though superior among those who are tolerant, is not proud about being so.
Fortitude Even when flooded with calamities, one holds courage and faces them as Rishi Agastya did. He tolerates all distresses of spiritual, divine and earthly origin. The quality which keeps a person from getting distressed in mind by maintaining one's courage is called fortitude.
Cleanliness Cleanliness is like the purity of Ganges water filled in a clean gold pot. Because doing actions without desire of fruits and maintaining discretion in the mind is the indication of cleanliness from inside and outside.
Absence of envy And just as Ganges water removes the bather's sins and troubles and at the same time also supports the trees on the bank while flowing to meet the ocean, similarly such a person liberates those who are bound to this world and removes the difficulties of the afflicted. In fact, he gains his goal by helping others be happy. Not only that the idea of hurting anybody for his own success never touches his mind.
Lack of pride And just as Ganges felt shy when Shiva bore her on his head, similarly feeling shy after one gets recognition is the quality called lack of pride. These are the twenty-six qualities of divine endowment and are the gift of the great emperor of Liberation. How much can I describe it to you? It has to be experienced by itself. (Dnyaneshwari; 16:68-212, transl. M.R. Yardi)
Results of the two dispositions. (4)
4. Ostentation, arrogance and self-conceit, anger as also insolence, and ignorance, belong to one who is born, O Partha, for a demoniac lot.
The materialists. (5-7) The materialist's view of the world. (8)
8. They say, "the universe is unreal, without a basis, without a Lord, born of mutual union, brought about by lust; what else ?
Men's life as guided by materialism. (9-12)
9. Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellect, of fierce deeds, rise as the enemies of the world for its destruction. Ruined souls: having lost all chances of going to the higher worlds. Their intellect is small, as it concerns itself only with sense-objects. Of fierce deeds: intent on injuring others.
Signs in Afflicted Persons: His mind is dark about thoughts that one should be inclined towards meritorious actions or averse to sinful actions. People afflicted with demonical endowment do not understand what is action and what is non-action and they do not even dream about what is purity. They do not bother about prescribed actions, do not follow the path of their elders and do not even know the language of proper behaviour. Their behaviour is uninhibited and they are always averse to truth. They may not have done anything, but by nature they are evil. (Dnyaneshwari; 15: 281-552, transl. M.R. Yardi)
The materialist's aspirations. (13-16) The materialist’s sacrificial rites. (17) The materialist's neglect of Divine Commandments. (18) The materialist's fall. (19)
3- Salvation (20-24)
The three Gates of Hell to be avoided. (20-22)
21. Triple is this, the gate to hell, destructive of the self : LUST, WRATH, and greed. Therefore, these three, one should abandon.
Let the Law guide thy life. (23-24)
23. He who, neglecting the scriptural ordinance, acts under the impulse of desire, attains not perfection, nor happiness, nor the Supreme Goal.
True Discrimination distinguishes between good, evil, and mixed natures. It knows that all human beings are inherently perfectible, and that the imperfections exist only in the lower acquired nature; that while this acquired nature exhibits itself in actions, its root lies in tendencies fostered by limited and erroneous conceptions. The effort is therefore not expended in classifications of comparative good and evil, nor is there any condemnation of any being because of the state in which he is found to be; the causes that have led up to each state are shown, the right basis for thought and action is given, the landmarks upon the “small old path” that leads far beyond comparative good and evil are pointed out, and the pilgrim patiently helped, on every step of the way. (Crosbie, Essays on the Gita, 207)
No comments:
Post a Comment