Shrimad Bhagavad Gita · 24 verses
Chapter 16: Divine and Demonic Natures
Divine qualities such as fearlessness, generosity, truthfulness and compassion, and demonic ones such as arrogance, anger and harshness. Desire, anger and greed are the three gates to ruin.
All verses, with meaning
16.1Divine qualities (1)Krishna says: Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadiness in knowledge and yoga, charity, se…16.2Divine qualities (2)non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, peace, not speaking ill of o…16.3The divine wealthvigour, forgiveness, patience, purity, bearing no ill will, and freedom from vanity — O Ar…16.4Demonic qualitiesHypocrisy, arrogance, pride, anger, harshness and ignorance — O Partha, these belong to on…16.5Liberation or bondageDivine qualities lead to liberation, and demonic ones to bondage. Do not worry, O Arjuna —…16.6Two kinds of beingsThere are two kinds of beings in this world — the divine and the demonic. I have described…16.7Confusion of the demonicPeople of demonic nature do not know what to do and what to avoid. There is no purity, no …16.8Denial of GodThey say the world has no truth, no foundation and no God; that it arose only from the uni…16.9A danger to the worldHolding this view, these lost souls of small understanding and cruel deeds rise up as enem…16.10Endless desiresClinging to desires that can never be satisfied, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, h…16.11Pleasure as the only goalCaught in countless worries that last until death, treating enjoyment as life's highest go…16.12Wealth by unjust meansBound by hundreds of ropes of hope, ruled by lust and anger, they try to pile up wealth by…16.13Mine, and moreThey think: 'Today I gained this; now I will fulfil that desire. This wealth is mine, and …16.14Words of ego'I have destroyed that enemy, and I will destroy others too. I am the master, I am the enj…16.15Pride of ignorance'I am rich and of high birth; who is equal to me? I will perform rituals, give charity and…16.16The net of delusionConfused by many thoughts, trapped in the net of delusion and addicted to pleasures, they …16.17Rituals for showSelf-important and stubborn, drunk on wealth and pride, they perform rituals in name only,…16.18Hating the God withinRelying on ego, force, arrogance, lust and anger, these envious people hate Me, who dwells…16.19Demonic birthsThese cruel and hateful people, the lowest among humans, I cast again and again into demon…16.20Sinking lowerO Arjuna, born in demonic wombs life after life, these deluded ones never reach Me and sin…16.21Three gates to hellLust, anger and greed — these are the three gates to hell that destroy the self. Therefore…16.22Freed from the threeO Arjuna, one who is free from these three gates of darkness does what is truly good for t…16.23Acting on whimOne who sets aside the guidance of scripture and acts on whim gains neither perfection, no…16.24Scripture as guideSo let scripture be your guide in deciding what to do and what not to do. Knowing what it …