Chapter 40

“The Holy One said, ‘Fearlessness, purity of heart, perseverance in (thepursuit of) knowledge and Yoga meditation, gifts, self-restraint,sacrifice, study of the Vedas, ascetic penances, uprightness,[288]abstention from injury, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation,tranquillity, freedom from reporting other’s faults, compassion for allcreatures, absence of covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence ofrestlessness, vigour, forgiveness, firmness, cleanliness, absence ofquarrelsomeness, freedom from vanity,–these become his, O Bharata, whois born to godlike possessions. Hypocrisy, pride, conceit, wrath,rudeness and ignorance, are, O son of Pritha, his who is born to demoniacpossessions. God-like possessions are deemed to be for deliverance; thedemoniac for bondage. Grieve not, O son of Pandu, for thou art born togod-like possessions. (There are) two kinds of created beings in thisworld, viz., the god-like and the demoniac. The god-like have beendescribed at length. Hear now, from me, O son of Pritha, about thedemoniac. Persons of demoniac nature know not inclination ordisinclination. Neither purity, nor good conduct, nor truth exist inthem.[289] They say that the universe is void of truth, of guidingprinciple, (and) of ruler; produced by the union of one another (male andfemale) from lust, and nothing else. Depending on this view, these men oflost selves, little intelligence, and fierce deeds, these enemies (of theworld), are born for the destruction of the universe.[290] Cherishingdesires that are insatiable, and endued with hypocrisy, conceit andfolly, they adopt false notions through delusion and engage in unholypractices. Cherishing boundless thoughts limited by death (alone), andregarding the enjoyment of (their ) desires as the highest end, they arepersuaded that that is all. Fettered by the hundred nooses of hope,addicted to lust and wrath, they covet to obtain this wealthto-day,–This I will obtain later,–This wealth I have,–This (wealth)will be mine in addition,–This foe hath been slain by me,–I will slayeven others,–I am lord,–I am the enjoyer,–I am successful, powerful,happy,–I am rich and of noble birth,–Who else is there that is likeme?–I will sacrifice,–I will make gifts,–I will be merry,–thusdeluded by ignorance,–tossed about by numerous thoughts, enveloped inthe meshes of delusion, attached to the enjoyment of objects of desire,they sink into foul hell. Self-conceited, stubborn, filled with the prideand intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices that are nominallyso, with hypocrisy and against the (prescribed) ordinance. Wedded tovanity, power, pride, lust and wrath, these revilers hate Me in their ownbodies and those of others. These haters (of Me), cruel, the vilest amongmen, and unholy, I hurl continually down into demoniac wombs. Coming intodemoniac wombs, deluded birth after birth, they, O son of Kunti, withoutattaining to Me go down to the vilest state. Three-fold is the way tohell, ruinous to the self, viz., lust, wrath, likewise avarice.Therefore, these three, one should renounce. Freed from these three gatesof darkness, a man, O son of Kunti, works out his own welfare, and thenrepairs to his highest goal. He who, abandoning the ordinances of thescriptures, acts only under the impulses of desire, never attains toperfection, nor happiness, nor the highest goal. Therefore, thescriptures should be thy authority in determining what should be done andwhat should not be done. It behoveth thee to do work here, havingascertained what hath been declared by the ordinances of the scriptures.'”