The Demons of Earth


16.1 

Lord Krishna said: 

O Arjuna, listen as I relate to you the virtues of one endowed with divine nature. He is compassionate, fearless, vigorous, forgiving, bold, straightforward, resolute. He is gentle, modest, truthful, generous, honest and intelligent. He is free of anger, violence, vanity, malice, cruelty, greed, hatred and pride. He does not covet or envy. He does not criticize or judge.


16.2

He spends his time in spiritual effort — practicing yoga, studying scriptures, pursuing knowledge and wisdom. He is in control of his senses, is unattached to the fruits of his actions, and lives in a spirit of sacrifice. He is self-reliant, self-sufficient, self-possessed. 

He is a man of his word.


16.3

He values simplicity, austerity, charity, renunciation. He lives a clean life, and is pure in heart and mind. He is ever content and enjoys a life of tranquility.


16.4

Those who are possessed of a demonic nature display the following characteristics: pomposity, pride, anger, rudeness, arrogance, conceit, harshness, ostentation, hypocrisy, dishonesty, haughtiness, irascibility, coarseness, insolence, self-importance, cruelty, and above all, ignorance.


16.5

The divine virtues lead one to Liberation. The demonic qualities condemn one to a destiny of bondage. Do not worry, Arjuna, you were born with divine virtues.


16.6

These then are the two types of beings in the world, the divine and the demonic. I have explained to you at great length about divine nature. Now let me tell you about the demonic.


16.7

Persons of demonic nature do not know what should be done, or what should not be done. They live unclean lives of falseness, and no truth can be found in them.


16.8

They say the universe is an accident with no divine foundation or higher power in control. They believe that beings come to be through sex alone, and they glorify desire and lust.


16.9

Holding fast to this belief, these lost souls of small minds and cruel intentions, become enemies of the world, and by their deeds threaten to destroy it.


16.10

Driven by insatiable desire and lust, filled with arrogance and conceit, possessed of insane purpose, puffed with pride and false prestige, reeking of lies and hypocrisy, they worship the impermanent and are compelled to unclean works.


16.11

They believe that sense gratification and the accumulation of wealth are the highest purposes of life. There is no end to their anxiety, and it plagues them unto death.


16.12

Caught in a web of a thousand desires, slaves to anger and lust, they strive for wealth by any means necessary, and hoard it for sensual pleasure.


16.13

The demonic person thinks, “I have gained much wealth today, and tomorrow my schemes will gain me more. It is all mine and it will stay all mine in the future — as I gain even more! All my desires shall be fulfilled!


16.14

“I have killed one enemy today and I will kill the others, too. I am like a god. I am powerful, successful, triumphant!


16.15

“I am wealthy beyond measure. I have relatives in high places. Where is my equal? Today I shall perform a few sacrifices, and perhaps give a small amount to charity. I will rejoice and be exalted!” Thinking like this, the demonic mire themselves ever deeper into darkness and delusion.


16.16

Possessed by these thoughts, ensnared in a network of illusions, they become addicted to lust and fall into a foul hell.


16.17

Conceited, haughty, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform token sacrifices without regard to ritual or the spirit of the scriptures.


16.18

Bloated by ego, drunk on power, prisoners of pride, anger and lust, they denigrate Me in their bodies, and in their treatment of the bodies of others.


16.19

These cruel and hateful demons, these vilest of men, I cast again and again into inauspicious lower wombs.


16.20

After repeated births into demonic lives, men such as these fall below My reach and can never approach Me. They sink lower and lower into unimaginable abomination.


16.21

There are three gates to Hell, named Lust, Anger and Greed. A sane man banishes these qualities from his life. They lead to damnation of the soul.


16.22

O Son of Kunte, the man who frees himself from these three gates to darkness is moving in the direction of Self-Realization, and with persistence, he will attain it.


16.23

But the man who disregards spiritual wisdom and lives a life of impulse and desire, will obtain neither perfection nor happiness in life, and he will not reach the Supreme.


16.24

Therefore let timeless wisdom be your authority when deciding what to do and what not to do. First understand the ancient spiritual teachings, then let your actions proceed from there.