Bhagavad-gita As It Is - Macmillan 1972 Edition -- Prabhupada Books (111 page)

yajante nāma-yajñais te

dambhenāvidhi-pūrvakam

SYNONYMS

ātma-sambhāvitāḥ-
self-complacent;
stabdhāḥ-
impudent;
dhana-māna-
wealth and false prestige;
mada-anvitāḥ-
absorbed in pride;
yajante-
perform sacrifices;
nāma-
in name only;
yajñaiḥ-
with such a sacrifice;
te-
they;
dambhena-
out of pride;
avidhi-pūrvakam-
without following any rules and regulations.

TRANSLATION

Self-complacent and always impudent, deluded by wealth and false prestige, they sometimes perform sacrifices in name only without following any rules or regulations.

PURPORT

Thinking themselves all in all, not caring for any authority or scripture, the demoniac sometimes perform so-called religious or sacrificial rites. And since they do not believe in authority, they are very impudent. This is due to illusion caused by accumulating some wealth and false prestige. Sometimes such demons take up the role of preacher, mislead the people, and become known as religious reformers or as incarnations of God. They make a show of performing sacrifices, or they worship the demigods, or manufacture their own God. Common men advertise them as God and worship them, and by the foolish they are considered advanced in the principles of religion, or in the principles of spiritual knowledge. They take the dress of the renounced order of life and engage in all nonsense in that dress. Actually there are so many restrictions for one who has renounced this world. The demons, however, do not care for such restrictions. They think that whatever path one can create is one's own path; there is no such thing as a standard path one has to follow. The word
avidhi-pūrvakam,
meaning disregard for the rules and regulations, is especially stressed here. These things are always due to ignorance and illusion.

Bg 16.18

TEXT 18

TEXT

ahaṅkāraṁ balaṁ darpaṁ

kāmaṁ krodhaṁ ca saṁśritāḥ

mām ātma-para-deheṣu

pradviṣanto 'bhyasūyakāḥ

SYNONYMS

ahaṅkāram-
false ego;
balam-
strength;
darpam-
pride;
kāmam-
lust;
krodham-
anger;
ca-
also;
saṁśritāḥ-
having taken shelter of;
mām-
Me;
ātma
-one's own;
para-deheṣu-
in other bodies;
pradviṣantaḥ-
blasphemes;
abhyasūyakāḥ-
envious.

TRANSLATION

Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, the demon becomes envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in his own body and in the bodies of others, and blasphemes against the real religion.

PURPORT

A demoniac person, being always against God's supremacy, does not like to believe in the scriptures. He is envious of both the scriptures and of the existence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is caused by his so-called prestige and his accumulation of wealth and strength. He does not know that the present life is a preparation for the next life. Not knowing this, he is actually envious of his own self, as well as of others. He commits violence on other bodies and on his own. He does not care for the supreme control of the Personality of Godhead because he has no knowledge. Being envious of the scriptures and the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he puts forward false arguments against the existence of God and refutes the scriptural authority. He thinks himself independant and powerful in every action. He thinks that since no one can equal him in strength, power, or in wealth, he can act in any way and no one can stop him. If he has an enemy who might check the advancement of his sensual activities, he makes plans to cut him down by his own power.

Bg 16.19

TEXT 19

TEXT

tān ahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān

saṁsāreṣu narādhamān

kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān

āsurīṣv eva yoniṣu

SYNONYMS

tān
-those;
aham
-I;
dviṣataḥ-
envious;
krūrān-
mischievous;
saṁsāreṣu
-into the ocean of material existence;
narādhamān
-the lowest of mankind;
kṣipāmi-
put;
ajasram-
innumerable;
aśubhān-
inauspicious;
āsurīṣu
-demoniac;
eva-
certainly;
yoniṣu
-in the wombs.

TRANSLATION

Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, are cast by Me into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.

PURPORT

In this verse it is clearly indicated that the placing of a particular individual soul in a particular body is the prerogative of the supreme will. The demoniac person may not agree to accept the supremacy of the Lord, and it is a fact that he may act according to his own whims, but his next birth will depend upon the decision of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and not on himself. In the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
Third Canto, it is stated that an individual soul, after his death, is put into the womb of a mother where he gets a particular type of body under the supervision of superior power. Therefore in the material existence we find so many species of life-animals, insects, men, and so on. All are arranged by the superior power. They are not accidental. As for the demoniac, it is clearly said here that they are perpetually put into the wombs of demons, and thus they continue to be envious, the lowest of mankind. Such demoniac species of life are held to be always full of lust, always violent and hateful and always unclean. They are just like so many beasts in a jungle.

Bg 16.20

TEXT 20

TEXT

āsurīṁ yonim āpannā

mūḍhā janmani janmani

mām aprāpyaiva kaunteya

tato yānty adhamāṁ gatim

SYNONYMS

āsurīm-
demoniac;
yonim-
species;
āpannāḥ-
gaining;
mūḍhāḥ-
the foolish;
janmani janmani-
in birth after birth;
mām-
unto Me;
aprāpya-
without achieving;
eva-
certainly;
kaunteya
-O son of Kuntī;
tataḥ-
thereafter;
yānti-
goes;
adhamām-
condemned;
gatim-
destination.

TRANSLATION

Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.

PURPORT

It is known that God is all-merciful, but here we find that God is never merciful to the demoniac. It is clearly stated that the demoniac people, life after life, are put into the wombs of similar demons, and, not achieving the mercy of the Supreme Lord, they go down and down, so that at last they achieve bodies like those of cats, dogs and hogs. It is clearly stated that such demons have practically no chance of receiving the mercy of God at any stage of later life. In the
Vedas
also it is stated that such persons gradually sink to become dogs and hogs. It may be then argued in this connection that God should not be advertised as all-merciful if He is not merciful to such demons. In answer to this question, in the
Vedānta-sūtra
we find that the Supreme Lord has no hatred for anyone. The placing of the
asuras,
the demons, in the lowest status of life is simply another feature of His mercy. Sometimes the
asuras
are killed by the Supreme Lord, but this killing is also good for them, for in Vedic literature we find that anyone who is killed by the Supreme Lord becomes liberated. There are instances in history of many
asuras-
Rāvaṇa, Kaṁsa, Hiraṇyakaśipu-to whom the Lord appeared in various incarnations just to kill. Therefore God's mercy is shown to the
asuras
if they are fortunate enough to be killed by Him.

Bg 16.21

TEXT 21

TEXT

tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ

dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ

kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas

tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet

SYNONYMS

tri-vidham-
three kinds of;
narakasya-
hellish;
idam-
this;
dvāram-
gate;
nāśanam-
destructive;
ātmanaḥ-
of the self;
kāmaḥ-
lust;
krodhaḥ-
anger;
tathā-
as well as;
lobhaḥ-
greed;
tasmāt-
therefore;
etat-
these;
trayam-
three;
tyajet-
must give up.

TRANSLATION

There are three gates leading to this hell-lust, anger, and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.

PURPORT

The beginning of demoniac life is described herein. One tries to satisfy his lust, and when he cannot, anger and greed arise. A sane man who does not want to glide down to the species of demoniac life must try to give up these three enemies which can kill the self to such an extent that there will be no possibility of liberation from this material entanglement.

Bg 16.22

TEXT 22

TEXT

etair vimuktaḥ kaunteya

tamo-dvārais tribhir naraḥ

ācaraty ātmanaḥ śreyas

tato yāti parāṁ gatim

SYNONYMS

etaiḥ-
by these;
vimuktaḥ-
being liberated;
kaunteya
-O son of Kuntī;
tamaḥ-dvāraiḥ-
the gates of ignorance;
tribhiḥ-
three kinds of;
naraḥ-
a person;
ācarati-
performs ;
ātmanaḥ-
self;
śreyaḥ-
benediction;
tataḥ-
thereafter;
yāti-
goes;
parām-
supreme;
gatim-
destination.

TRANSLATION

The man who has escaped these three gates of hell, O son of Kuntī, performs acts conducive to self-realization and thus gradually attains the supreme destination.

PURPORT

One should be very careful of these three enemies to human life: lust, anger, and greed. The more a person is freed from lust, anger and greed, the more his existence becomes pure. Then he can follow the rules and regulations enjoined in the Vedic literature. By following the regulative principles of human life, one gradually raises himself to the platform of spiritual realization. If one is so fortunate, by such practice, to rise to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then success is guaranteed for him. In the Vedic literature, the ways of action and reaction are prescribed to enable one to come to the stage of purification. The whole method is based on giving up lust, greed and anger. By cultivating knowledge of this process, one can be elevated to the highest position of self-realization; this self-realization is perfected in devotional service. In that devotional service, the liberation of the conditioned soul is guaranteed. Therefore, according to the Vedic system, there are instituted the four orders of life and the four statuses of life, called the caste system and the spiritual order system. There are different rules and regulations for different castes or divisions of society, and if a person is able to follow them, he will be automatically raised to the highest platform of spiritual realization. Then he can have liberation without a doubt.

Bg 16.23

TEXT 23

TEXT

yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya

vartate kāma-kārataḥ

na sa siddhim avāpnoti

na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim

SYNONYMS

yaḥ-
anyone;
śāstra-vidhim-
the regulations of the scriptures;
utsṛjya-
giving up;
vartate-
remains;
kāma-kārataḥ-
acting whimsically in lust;
na-
never;
saḥ-
he;
siddhim-
perfection;
avāpnoti-
achieves;
na-
never;
sukham-
happiness;
na
-never;
parām
-the supreme;
gatim
-perfectional stage.

TRANSLATION

But he who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.

PURPORT

As described before, the
śāstra-vidhim,
or the direction of the
śāstra,
is given to the different castes and orders of human society. Everyone is expected to follow these rules and regulations. If one does not follow them and acts whimsically according to his lust, greed and desire, then he never will be perfect in his life. In other words, a man may theoretically know all these things, but if he does not apply them in his own life, then he is to be known as the lowest of mankind. In the human form of life, a living entity is expected to be sane and to follow the regulations given for elevating his life to the highest platform, but if he does not follow them, then he degrades himself. But even if he follows the rules and regulations and moral principles and ultimately does not come to the stage of understanding the Supreme Lord, then all his knowledge becomes spoiled. Therefore one should gradually raise himself to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and devotional service; it is then and there that he can attain the highest perfectional stage, not otherwise.

The word
kāma-cārataḥ
is very significant. A person who knowingly violates the rules acts in lust. He knows that this is forbidden, still he acts. This is called acting whimsically. He knows that this should be done, but still he does not do it; therefore he is called whimsical. Such persons are destined to be condemned by the Supreme Lord. Such persons cannot have the perfection which is meant for the human life. The human life is especially meant for purifying one's existence, and one who does not follow the rules and regulations cannot purify himself, nor can he attain the real stage of happiness.