Chapter 16 Shloka 4

दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च।

अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ संपदमासुरीम्।।४।।

The Lord says:

O Partha! Hypocrisy, arrogance and pride,

wrath, harshness and ignorance

are the qualities of the demonic legacy.

Chapter 16 Shloka 4

दम्भो दर्पोऽभिमानश्च क्रोधः पारुष्यमेव च।

अज्ञानं चाभिजातस्य पार्थ संपदमासुरीम्।।४।।

The Lord says:

O Partha! Hypocrisy, arrogance and pride, wrath, harshness and ignorance are the qualities of the demonic legacy.

Dambh (दम्भ) – Hypocrisy

This is a demonic trait.

1. To conceal a negative quality and project it as a positive trait is dambh.

2. To camouflage reality and display a false image is dambh.

3. Vanity is dambh.

4. A virtuous appearance and a glowing countenance cloaking the greed within is dambh.

5. The guise of a saintly devotee veiling a mind full of craving and yearning is dambh.

6. One who has an evil mind, yet who manages to deceive others with his external appearance, possesses the attribute of dambh.

7. The external appearance of such a pretender is generally one of arrogance.

8. On account of dambh a person exhibits a degree of stiffness and haughtiness in ratio with his internal inferiority.

Such people betray the trust of others because the very attribute which they projected to attain that trust was actually non-existent in them. Such people are continually making every endeavour, using all means at their disposal, to:

a) conceal their negative tendencies;

b) hide their innate inferiority;

c) find methods to portray their superiority.

They are extremely proficient in the art of concealing reality and projecting the false as true.

1. Such ignoramuses are ever trying to give knowledge to others.

2. Those who bear malice towards others make a pretence of serving them.

3. The insincere try to rob others by making a display of sincerity!

4. Enemies make a pretence of friendship to achieve their selfish ends.

5. They seek to annihilate the other and establish themselves, but show just the opposite.

6. They seek to gratify their own desires by hiding the truth.

This is the constant effort of their conscious, subconscious and unconscious mind.

Darp (दर्प) – Arrogance

1. A false sense of pride.

2. Arrogant conceit.

3. The person dictates terms to others as a consequence of this trait.

4. He intimidates others as a result of darp.

5. Darp also implies impudence and stubbornness.

6. Disrespectfulness is darp.

7. To belittle others is darp.

8. To consider all others to be inferior is darp.

9. Obstinacy is darp.

10. Stubborn intransigence is darp.

As a consequence of this attribute:

a) An individual resorts to anger.

b) He develops an aggressive nature.

c) He is easily provoked.

d) He does not speak from the level of the intellect.

e) He, in fact, never listens to the other.

f) He believes that he is the only intelligent being.

All these traits accompany the attribute of darp.

1. This attribute is the cause of the individual’s repeated defeat in various aspects of life.

2. Through this attribute the individual troubles and torments others.

3. This trait prevents the individual from completing even his good plans and schemes.

4. Those who possess this trait do not even consider the other to be a human being!

5. They are indeed blind.

6. Darp is contemptuous of others.

7. Darp considers others to be inferior.

8. Darp seeks recognition and acclaim.

9. Darp is purely selfish.

Abhimaan (अभिमान) – Pride

1. The one who has pride considers only himself to be noble and good.

2. He believes that only the knowledge he possesses is superior.

3. He considers only his own schemes to be worthy of merit.

4. He is ever immersed in self praise.

5. He believes that he is most worthy of being worshipped.

6. He wishes to be the leader of all.

7. He seeks a kingdom but is unwilling to fulfil the obligations of a ruler.

8. He does not wish to fulfil his duty but demands his rights.

So blind is he that:

a) He considers recognition and acclaim to be his right.

b) He believes he has rights over all noble qualities.

c) He believes that he has rights over the qualities of sages and saints.

d) He believes he has rights over all leadership qualities.

He does not possess the requisite qualities, but fancies that he has claims on them. He demands credit from others for these imaginary qualities. Thus he maltreats even spiritual luminaries – the sages and saints – and considers his own intellect to be the most superior of all.

Remember we are now talking of demonic assets.

A demon is one who:

a) steals another’s good name;

b) uses others for self-establishment;

c) seeks to obliterate the other from the face of the earth;

d) endeavours to use the Lord Himself as his servant;

e) seeks to subjugate the whole world in order to establish the ‘I’;

f) drinks the blood of the other’s reputation.

Dambh, darp, abhimaan are the foundation of a demonic attitude. Ingratitude is its essence. Such people consider themselves to be divine and demand the worship of others. They can see nothing apart from their own superiority.

Krodha (क्रोध) – Wrath

This quality has been discussed in some detail in the second shloka of this chapter. It would suffice to mention here that:

1. Krodha is the formidable weapon of the Asuras or demons. It is the weapon of the blind, just as the intellect is the weapon of the knowledgeable man of wisdom.

2. The demonic cannot tolerate an impartial intellect since such an intellect will never abet the demonic tendency.

3. Krodha is not only momentary. It can continue for long periods of one’s life.

4. Krodha does not merely imply a temporary explosion. The attitude of krodha is capable of calculated thought and detailed planning to harm the other.

Remember, this is the trait of a demon – no less!

a) Such a one can even smile whilst in a temper.

b) He can even remain silent yet seethe inside.

c) He may run away on account of anger.

d) In his anger he can even subjugate himself to achieve his purpose.

Krodha can thus play all kinds of tricks! Ultimately the one afflicted by this aberration will attack and bite the other.

Parushya (पारुष्य) – Harshness

This too is a demonic trait. Parushya connotes:

1. Harsh speech which can scorch the other.

2. To indulge in defamatory talk in order to insult the other.

3. Acting in a manner which ensures the downfall of another.

4. Cruelty, insolent deeds and words.

5. Negative talk and harmful words.

6. Criticism, carping – both these constitute parushya.

Parushya is the attribute of one who endeavours to establish himself on the graves of others. What else can he do? He seeks self-establishment at any cost; and after attaining it, he annihilates the very person who was instrumental in establishing him.

Agyan (अज्ञान) – Ignorance

1. Just consider, how can knowledge exist where hypocrisy, arrogance and pride are the ruling powers?

2. Where anger and every type of impurity are the means towards the attainment of one’s goal, of what avail is knowledge?

3. Nothing apart from ignorance can exist where the mind is the ruler of the kingdom.

4. Where only the ‘I’ exists, which believes that all others are there only for the service of the ‘I’, there only blindness can exist.

Ignorance is the basic cause of such reasoning.

Agyan or ignorance is that which:

a) is not gyan or knowledge;

b) is not the truth;

c) is sheer falsehood;

d) does not allow one to perceive reality;

e) renders unclear even what was clear;

f) does not allow one to perceive with clarity;

g) makes one blind even when in the presence of light;

h) blinds even those with eyes;

i)  does not allow one to perceive the truth that is right before one, even though one may desire to see that truth;

j)  cloaks the Truth and projects the untrue as the Truth;

k) conceals falsehood and reproduces it as the Truth.

The Lord says, “O Arjuna! These are the attributes of one who possesses demonic assets.”

Kamla, listen carefully and try to understand. Ignorance does not dwindle even if the Lord Himself is standing before you. As long as the desire to establish the ‘I’ persists, so long as you desire body establishment, you will misinterpret the true connotations of knowledge. The consequence will inevitably be ignorance – abysmal darkness. It is only an unmitigated desire for the qualities of divinity which can eradicate such darkness. Otherwise acquiring all knowledge only increases the conceit of a person. The eradication of ignorance is possible only when one seeks to give of oneself to the Lord, or else one’s pride will continue to swell despite the fact that one may have all the requisite knowledge.

First of all, pride of the intellect afflicts us. When your eye perceives, you say “I have seen! I have understood! I know!” Thus ego abounds. Pride in the intellect which is subservient to the body-self is aggravated. Thereafter ignorance grows.

Little one, those who possess demonic traits cannot tolerate Truth. How can their ‘I’ endure its exposure? How can the ‘I’ ever endure its own impairment?

Little one, understand the ‘I’ once more.

Turn back to shloka 2 of this chapter and acquaint yourself with the essence of ‘I’ described there; then proceed to read ahead. (‘I’ has also been discussed clearly in Chp.4, shloka 3; Chp.5, shloka 14; Chp.12, shloka 12; Chp.16, shloka 2; Chp.16, shloka 4.)

O little lover of the Truth!

1. This epitome of maya, this manifest ghost, this ‘I’ which possesses demonic tendencies is the root of all problems.

2. There is no falsehood equal to the falseness of the ‘I’.

3. It is the ‘I’ which augments untruth.

4. It is the ‘I’ which is the root of all lies.

5. The ‘I’ cannot appreciate the Truth because the appearance of Truth causes its dissipation.

6. ‘I’ cannot appreciate knowledge.

7. ‘I’ can never appreciate the intellect.

8. Then how can the mortal who is born of this illusory ‘I’ and who spends his life augmenting it ever tolerate the luminosity of Truth? The secret of the ‘I’ will be out the moment the light of knowledge dawns.

9. This illusory ‘I’, being completely baseless, continually sidles upto the mind and tries to ingratiate it. The mind is blind and it is only where blindness reigns that the demonic ‘I’ can remain alive.

10. This ‘I’ is most sly, shrewd and clever, though this demon is actually nothing more substantial than a shadow.

11. This ghost-like ‘I’ knows your every weakness. Being an ‘insider’ in this home of your body-self, it very slyly and imperceptibly prevents your intellect from comprehending knowledge. It keeps knowledge cloaked in a sheath of ignorance and changes the true connotations of knowledge to suit its purpose.

12. This ‘I’ allows the individual to indulge in intellectual gymnastics, but disallows him from understanding the practical connotations of knowledge. This is but natural since it does not want to be annihilated! It matters not to the ‘I’ if the spiritual aspirant merely speaks of the Essence of Truth. However, if that aspirant begins to apply that knowledge in life, the demonic ‘I’ has no other recourse but to rebel.

13. Understand carefully little one, it is not easy to fight this ‘I’. This is the same entity which has distanced you from your true Self. It has taken full advantage of your mind and has very cleverly swept away the intellect right from under your eyes! And you did not even know!

This is the very same ‘I’ which has converted you from a god-like being into an animal. And you are unable to believe that you are indeed an animal! It prevents you from realising that you no longer have humane qualities but have acquired devilish traits! The more this ‘I’ renders you devoid of intellect, the more it fills you with the pride of intellect.

1. Little one, just as this demonic ‘I’ has looted you, it now seeks to sit hidden within you and ambush others in a similar manner.

2. It has gained such a clean and spectacular victory over you, that now it seeks to spread its dominance over others as well.

3. Little one, this demon of the ‘I’ has taken birth in other bodies as well and is rendering them hollow from within. Those bodies have also become cemeteries similar to your body-self. Having totally consumed their own flesh and blood, these demons have now turned on others, to feed on them. They start to oppress others as the ‘I’ seeks dominance over others and endeavours to steal their freedom.

4. Little one, this demonic ‘I’ thinks itself to be extremely clever and shrewd. And rightly so! After all, its victory has been no mean feat! How quietly it gained control over you and with what agility it suppressed your intellect! How artlessly it won over your mind and also succeeded in tying a bandage over your eyes! It is but natural that it takes such great pride in itself!

5. This ‘I’, which can be likened to Kansa, the demon king, annihilates the babes of virtuous tendencies at their very birth. It allows only those tendencies to live, of whose support it can be sure.

6. Today the ‘I’ abiding in these myriad bodies does not allow anyone to act against it.

7. Today the ‘I’ abiding thus in these myriad bodies has taken on a terrifying, universal aspect. No longer can it tolerate the presence of an Atmavaan. Thus is this era aptly known as the Kaliyuga. Now consider the following, my little love:

­­–  First of all your own ‘I’ within you is your foremost foe.

­­–  The world in the form of the universal ‘I’ has similarly become the enemy of virtue and saintliness.

­­–  Even the so called ‘keepers and controllers of dharma’ these days are prey to the same disease of ‘I’. Therefore even though they may be able to speak of an Atmavaan, they cannot actually know such a One.

­­–  They feel that they have recognised the intrinsic essence of Truth, but in actual fact, they are unable to even cognise the manifest form! They too, are burdened by the pride of the ‘I’. They too, continually strive for the establishment of the ‘I’.

­­–  It is only someone with the stature of a Valmiki who could proclaim Ram to be the Lord Himself. It is only a Vyaas who could proclaim Krishna to be a Perfect Soul. It is only such souls who can understand and perceive the manifest form of the Atma essence.

Now consider what stature of intellect must be required to erase this ‘I’. What sort of dedication is required for this onerous task? What depth of inner silence is required for the eradication of the ‘I’?

Little one, pursue your sadhana, your spiritual practice quietly, discreetly. One should always cloak one’s endeavours. Cajole and entice the mind, take it along cheerfully and smilingly. Your daily life should never betray to others the fact that you are out to annihilate the ‘I’.

Never mind the outside world, your own ‘I’ constantly abets the already recalcitrant mind to eliminate you from the path. Therefore be extremely vigilant and beware! Try to persuade your mind towards the Truth with the appropriate knowledge. Take no step which would give the ‘I’ a chance to feast on the victuals of pride. Only by leading an ordinary, simple life can you attain the Essence of your Self and become established in its practical form.