(figure 2)
Shows the journey that every soul must undertake before reaching the summit that leads to liberation.
picture and scripture are From the Bagavad Gita
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has said:
Fearlessness, purification of existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, sense of love, performance of sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity, simplicity, non-violence, truthfulness, non-anger, renunciation, thoughtfulness, aversion to criticism, compassion for all living beings, non-greed, gentleness, shyness, determination, vigor, perseverance, fortitude, cleanliness, and non-lust and passion for honors—these are the transcendental qualities, born of the atmosphere of goodness, O son of Bharata.
PURPORT
At the beginning of the fifteenth chapter, the banyan tree of this material world has been explained. The additional roots that come out of it have been compared to the activities of living beings, some auspicious, some inauspicious. In the ninth chapter the devas, or divines, and the asuras, the impious, or demons, have also been explained. Now, according to the Vedic traditions, activities in the mode of goodness are considered conducive to progress on the path to liberation, and such activities are known as duino-prakrti, transcendental in nature. Those who are situated in the transcendental nature progress on the path to liberation.
Those who are acting in the modes of passion and ignorance, on the other hand, there is no possibility of liberation. Either they will have to remain in this material world as human beings, or they will descend among the species of animals or other, even lower forms of life. In this Sixteenth Chapter the Lord explains the transcendental nature and its attendant qualities, as well as the demoniac nature and its qualities. He also explains the advantages and disadvantages of these qualities.
4. Those who are born with demoniac qualities exhibit pride, arrogance, false prestige, anger, harshness and ignorance, O son of Prthā.
PURPORT
In this verse, the royal road to hell is described. The demoniac want to make a show of religion and advancement in spiritual science, although they do not follow the principles. They are always arrogant, proud of possessing some type of education or wealth. Desiring to be worshiped by others, they demand respect, although they do not command respect. Over trifles they grow very angry, and they speak harshly, not gently. They do not know what should be done and what should not be done. They do everything whimsically, according to their own desire, and they do not recognize any authority. These demoniac qualities are taken by them from the beginning of their bodies in the wombs of their mothers, and as they grow they manifest all these inauspicious qualities.
5. The transcendental assets lead to liberation, whereas the demoniac assets are meant for bondage. But do not worry, O son of Pandu, for you are born with transcendental qualities.
6. O son of Prthā, 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 I shall describe the demoniac.
7. Those who are of demoniac quality do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. They are unclean, they do not know how to behave, nor is there any truth in them.
The Divine and Demoniac Natures
8. They say that this world is unreal, that there is no foundation and that there is no God in control. It is produced of sex desire and has no other cause than lust.
PURPORT
The demoniac conclude that the creation of the world is a phan- tasmagoria. There is no cause or effect, no controller, no purpose: everything is unreal.
As the will-o’-the-wisp is caused by certain atmospheric changes, so this cosmic manifestation is due to chance material actions and reactions. That is their conclusion. They do not think that the world was created by God for a certain purpose. They have their own theory: that the world has come about in its own way and that there is no reason to believe that there could be a God behind it. For them there is no difference between spirit and matter, and they do not accept the Supreme Spirit. Everything is matter only, and the whole cosmos is supposed to be a mass of ignorance. According to them, everything is void, and whatever manifestation exists is due to our ignorance in perception. They take it for granted that all manifestation of diversity is a display of ignorance. Just as in a dream we may create so many things which actually have no existence, so when we are awakened we shall see that everything is simply a dream. But factually, although the demons say that life is a dream, they are very expert in enjoying this dream. And so instead of getting knowledge, they become more and more implicated in their dreamland.
9. Following such conclusions, the demoniac, lost to themselves and without intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.
It is with pleasure that I receive these “pearls” that are embedded in this text. Every human being is always in search of well-being in whatever form. Education and re-education are necessary to successfully complete this objective which I think is necessary. We often forget or are unaware that the force and power are within us. Unfortunately, the vagaries of life often lead us to look outside of ourselves and thus allow ourselves to be drawn body and soul into dark spheres that engulf us further in an invisible prison rather than freeing us. Let us be guided by these beautiful words of this text and inevitably the true spiritual path will widen before you. Thank you my friend for this text which I think will inspire anyone wishing to improve spiritually
I have just replied to a friend to whom I was explaining the Meaning of Guru, and I am delighted to see that what I told her can serve as a response to your comment: as follows:
“We are all lights that do not know how and when to shine. We are caught in the labyrinth of negative power and darkness surrounds us on all sides, that is why a Guru comes into the world to save those who begin to understand that this is not their normal nature and are ready to come out.
The Master himself does not choose his disciples, he only finds those who are marked by the Lord who alone knows who are fully ready to return home after wanderings.
This is what this text brings out which you have understood very clearly. Detachment and surrender to a power that is always available in the world to show them the way back home.”