DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN THE DIVINE AND DEMONIC ATTRIBUTES

Chapter 16 Shloka 1

श्री भगवानुवाच

अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः।

दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम्।।१।।

The Lord says to Arjuna,

“Now let Me tell you what constitutes divine wealth.”

Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness and faith

in the yoga of knowledge, charity, self control,

acts performed in the spirit of sacrifice,

study of the Scriptures, austerity and simplicity.

DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN THE DIVINE AND DEMONIC ATTRIBUTES

Chapter 16 Shloka 1

श्री भगवानुवाच

अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः।

दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम्।।१।।

The Lord says to Arjuna, “Now let Me tell you what constitutes divine wealth.”

Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness and faith in the yoga of knowledge, charity, self control, acts performed in the spirit of sacrifice, study of the Scriptures, austerity and simplicity.

Listen little one! The Lord is explaining the qualities of one established in divinity.

Abhay (अभय) – Devoid of fear

Fear, anxiety, danger, cowardice – all these constitute bhay. The opposite of these is abhay. Those who are full of divine qualities are devoid of fear.

1. The fear of death does not touch them.

2. They are untouched by the fear of fame or calumny.

3. They are not afraid of suffering damage.

4. They are not touched by loss or gain.

5. They are not anxious on account of their likes or dislikes.

6. Their mind is not affected by the fear of anybody.

7. Their intellect too, is not afraid of anybody.

8. Their actions are not tainted by the fear of any person.

9. Their speech too, is unafraid and frank.

10. The one who is fearless, is unafraid even of himself.

11. He is not afraid of any beliefs or convictions.

12. He is not afraid of his honour being sullied.

13. He is not even afraid of defeat.

He is fearless himself and grants fearlessness of himself to others.

Sattva Sanshuddhi (सत्त्वसंशुद्धि)

a) One who abides in the pure Truth.

b) One who possesses a pure heart.

c) One whose mind-stuff is pure.

d) One who has renounced illusion.

e) One whose conduct is truthful and who is totally devoid of falsehood.

f) One whose mind-stuff is unaffected by both extreme likes and dislikes.

g) One whose mind-stuff is freed from the fetters of beliefs and concepts.

h) One who possesses that purity of mind which is successful in comprehending the Supreme Truth.

– Such a one, who possesses all these attributes, abides in sattva sanshuddhi.

That faith in the Truth, that overcomes all obstacles, can also be understood as sattva sanshuddhi. One who can understand the path of Truth and who believes only that to be the righteous path and treads only that path in his daily life – proving its practical efficacy, is of pure intellect, pristine mind and inheres the attribute of sattva sanshuddhi.

1. It is this attribute that enables the aspirant to understand the essence of Truth and the practical form of Truth.

2. The knowledge of Truth and its practical translation into life – the understanding of both is dependent on the purity of one’s heart.

3. The internal state and its manifestation in life depend on one’s internal purity.

The consequence of the attribute of sattva sanshuddhi is detachment.

1. The detached person is not one who renounces hearth and home.

2. The detached one severs his relationship with his body and mind.

3. One must be detached from one’s likes and dislikes.

4. One must be detached towards both acclaim and calumny.

5. One must be detached towards both joy and sorrow. The detached one is neither influenced by qualities, nor touched by them.

6. However, detachment does not connote indifference to the sorrow, dishonour, problems or pain of another. Silence towards your own sorrow, dishonour, problems or pain connotes detachment.

7. The evasion of duty is not detachment. Rather, one can acquire detachment through strict adherence to duty.

8. The renunciation of love is not detachment. Undying love is an attribute of the detached one.

The Lord is detached, yet He is:

a) An Ocean of compassion.

b) The Essence of love.

c) Replete with love for His devotees.

d) The Endower of fearlessness to all.

e) The Supreme Protector.

f) The Destroyer of all.

g) The Giver of unending joy.

Yet, since He is silence itself, He is ever detached. However, one must understand clearly, whom this detachment is directed towards.

The Truth can be known only when the individual places his goal firmly before himself. To merely state “My goal is to attain the Lord” is not enough. The aspirant must also ponder upon the following questions:

1. Who is the Lord?

2. What are the qualities of the Lord?

3. Which are the qualities I must inculcate to enable me to know Him?

4. Which are the qualifying attributes of the Lord by which one can identify Him?

5. Do I wish to belong to the Lord or do I want to make Him mine?

Do you wish to return to the Lord this body which is His in reality? Or do you seek to establish your body instead? What are the impediments in the path of the attainment of your goal?

The ability to instantly come to a conclusion regarding all these matters and at once proceed forward is indicative of one’s internal purity – the extent of one’s sattva sanshuddhi. The ability to discern the real meaning of knowledge and its practical and scientific application in life is sattva sanshuddhi.

The qualities of the Supreme, His manifest form in life, how the world treats such a One; when one attains complete knowledge regarding these matters, one attains the state of sattva sanshuddhi.

Little one, sattva sanshuddhi means:

1. Internal purity.

2. The power to discern the true from the untrue with an uninhibited intellect.

3. The ability to see one’s inner self clearly.

4. The capacity to truthfully witness one’s internal state and the state of one’s mind.

Gyan Yoga Vyavasthiti (ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थिति)

1. An unshakeable trust and faith in knowledge is gyan yoga.

2. An unwavering reverence for knowledge indicates gyan yoga.

3. Identification with knowledge connotes gyan yoga. To translate that knowledge into daily life and become that is gyan yoga.

4. When one’s life is the eloquent image of that knowledge, then one is firmly based in gyan yoga.

5. The complete unity of one’s ‘I’, that is comprised of one’s body, mind and intellect unit, with knowledge is gyan yoga.

6. When every deed is an eloquent exposition of knowledge, a deep foundation in gyan yoga is evident.

7. When every word that leaves your lips is indicative of knowledge of the Truth, you are firmly entrenched in gyan yoga.

8. When your very life becomes a beacon light of Adhyatam, it indicates your deep abidance in gyan yoga.

a) Yoga takes one towards experience.

b) Yoga connotes the basic unity of the individual with knowledge.

c) Knowledge remains mere ignorance without yoga or perfect identification.

In fact, knowledge remains lifeless in the absence of yoga.

Daan (दान)

The Lord is describing the qualities of divinity. Let us therefore understand daan from that point of view.

1. The sadhak gives of his body-self at the altar of knowledge.

2. Giving of one’s life for the accomplishment of yoga is divine daan.

3. To give of this body, which is the Lord’s, for His works is daan.

4. The method whereby one can employ perfect knowledge in one’s life is daan.

5. The manifest form of the successful accomplishment of yoga is daan.

6. Selfless deeds constitute daan.

7. Selfless knowledge is the means to attain perfection in daan.

One must remember that the Lord is discussing this knowledge of the Truth from the point of view of the Supreme. For the one who wishes to be established in the Truth, daan is his goal and it is also the means towards that goal.

1. The aim is to give of this live body to the Lord.

2. The path towards that aim is the continual endeavour to give of oneself thus.

Daan is the process whereby the aspirant places his mind at the Lord’s feet, gives of his body to the Supreme and endeavours to enliven That Supreme One within himself.

a) Such daan is the foundation of worship.

b) Love for the Supreme is proved by the performance of daan in one’s life.

c) Daan proves one’s love for yoga.

d) To gift one’s body-self along with all its useful qualities and along with one’s wealth etc. to the Lord is daan.

If you gift your body to the Lord
You will truly take His Name!
Then all shall indeed belong to Him
Be it calumny or fame.

How do meetings and partings then matter
When all to the Master belongs?
What matters if one meets friend or foe
Or to which home or world one belongs?

Then it matters not if you are cast away
Or if the other turns away from you
You remain ever secure and untouched
Even if the other tramples over you!

This name and form are no longer yours
You have gifted them to the Lord
If you have truly given all to Him
All that transpires, is received by God!

If you truly believed this fact, your very life would be coloured in His divine hues.

Look little one, understand a basic characteristic of daan. If you have truly taken the Lord’s Name, your life will become an embodiment of selfless deeds and selfless knowledge. This is also the mark of love for divinity.

Now understand the connotation of Dam from the point of view of the attributes of divinity.

Dam (दम) – Self control

1. Dam is when the mind gives up its materialistic pursuits and reposes at the feet of the Lord.

2. The path of yoga which constitutes the cessation of the tendencies of the mind is dam.

3. The complete annihilation of negative tendencies is dam.

4. Contact with sense objects lasts as long as life prevails. Dam is attained when objects no longer influence the mind.

5. When the mind no longer veils the intellect, dam occurs.

6. The cessation of materialistic predomination is dam.

7. A mind devoid of extreme likes and dislikes is the outcome of dam.

8. When one is no longer agitated with the onslaught of acclaim or insult, it is a result of dam.

9. The cessation of inimical feelings and an attitude of impartiality towards both enemy and friend alike is a consequence of dam.

10. To be devoid of hopes and expectations and rid of desire is a characteristic of dam.

If your daan is sincere, this body will no longer be yours. If this body is not yours, you cannot even claim possession of this mind. Thus control of the sense organs is inevitable. When the mind is immersed in the divine Beloved, attachment with the sense objects ceases.

Yagya

1. The body is gifted to the Lord and daan occurs.

2. The mind is gifted to the Lord and dam occurs.

3. The intellect is laid at the Lord’s feet and yagya occurs.

Understand this carefully:

a) To translate theoretical knowledge into practice is yagya.

b) The renunciation of the idea of doership is yagya.

c) The renunciation of the idea of partaking and enjoyership is yagya.

d) Yagya is the endeavour to inculcate the qualities of the Supreme in one’s life.

e) Yagya causes the annihilation of the ego from the body and the mind of the aspirant.

f) To give the offering of one’s concepts and attachment into the sacrificial fire is yagya.

g) The renunciation of attachment to one’s likes and dislikes is yagya.

The fire of yagya

1. This is the fire of knowledge of the Self.

2. This is the fire of love for the Supreme.

3. This is the fire of desire for the Supreme Truth.

The sanctified offering into such a fire

1. The aspirant offers his own self.

2. He offers his mind.

3. He offers his ego.

4. He offers his body-self.

5. He offers his attachment.

6. He gives of his moha.

The one who engages himself in yagya:

a) is one who performs selfless deeds;

b) is one who engages in devotional worship;

c) is one who is replete with selfless knowledge.

All those deeds of excellence performed for others after forgetting one’s ego self are called yagya.

1. Yagya is the endeavour to apply knowledge of the Truth in one’s life.

2. Yagya enables theoretical knowledge to be transformed into practice.

3. Yagya is the manifestation of the qualities of divinity.

4. Yagya leads to experience of the Truth.

Little one! To forgive, to love, to have compassion, to establish the other, to perform one’s duty in complete self forgetfulness, all these are aspects of yagya. True knowledge emerges after such yagya. Ultimately the ‘I’ of one who engages in yagya is gradually transformed into the entity that experiences the Truth – the anubhavi.

Swadhyay (स्वाध्याय) – Self study

a) That aspirant who engages in study on his own.

b) That aspirant who thinks and reasons for himself.

c) That aspirant who practices personal concentration and contemplation.

d) That aspirant who endeavours to fix his mind in meditation.

e) He who attempts to study himself and know himself.

f) He who makes every effort to know the Lord.

g) He who endeavours to discern the essence and the manifestation of the qualities of the Supreme.

h) He who deliberates on the method whereby these qualities of the Supreme can be imbibed in life.

i)  He who reflects on the goal of sadhana or spiritual discipline and the method to attain that goal and who studies the method to overcome all the obstacles on the path.

– Such an aspirant can be said to be engaged in swadhyay.

Little one, understand once again that swadhyay is practised only for the attainment of the Supreme.

Man studies the Scriptures, meditates on them and then endeavours to imbibe all that they have explained in his practical living. He seeks to know himself; what are the obstacles that are likely to hinder his path? Why do they exist? How must they be tackled? He seeks to know the answer to all these questions. All this constitutes swadhyay.

Study, contemplation, meditation – all these are part of swadhyay.

Tapas (तप) – Forbearance

1. Tapas is endurance.

2. Tapas is to accept happily all that one encounters.

3. When the aspirant practises the qualities of Truth, his life is coloured in the hues of yagya.

a) Remember, it is your aim to be selfless – others do not share that aim.

b) It is the spiritual aspirant who engages in the practice of divine qualities – others do not wish to do the same.

c) The spiritual aspirant seeks the annihilation of the ego – not so the ordinary man.

d) The spiritual aspirant seeks to transcend the body – this is not the aim of other people.

e) It is only the spiritual aspirant who desires to attain equanimity in the face of fame and calumny, not others.

1. Who knows what you may encounter in this world whilst practising the inculcation of divine qualities?

2. You will have to experience several difficulties in the performance of your duties.

3. Many a time you may have to embrace your enemy.

4. Many a time you may have to practice sincerity with the insincere. Only then can your sincerity be proved.

In the bargain,

a) who knows how many people will doubt you?

b) how many will malign you and tarnish your reputation?

c) how many will reject you?

d) how many will torment you?

If you are humble, you will encounter opposition and people’s arrogance will increase. The more tasks you perform for others, the more they will exploit your goodness.

To endure such attitudes is tapas.

If you set forth to meet the Lord,
His Name will be your eternal support.
If your aspiration is sincere and true,
His name will become an armour for you.

Tapas does not ensue from forced deeds
It is strengthened by attachment to Truth
Your armour will be reinforced
As much as your yearning for Truth.

Neither insult, nor rejection nor tyranny
No violation touches the tapasvi’s core;
He is inviolate from worldly assaults
Tapas can all inflictions endure!

There is no greater tapas than adherence to Truth
Truth brings great travails in its train,
But he whose attachment to the Truth is strong
Remains unruffled by worldly pain.

Aarjav (आर्जव) – Simplicity

a) Simplicity of body, mind and intellect.

b) A nature which is unpretentious and untainted by deceit.

c) Straightforwardness of speech.

d) Humility.

e) A simple heart.

f) Generosity and magnanimity of mind.

g) Uprightness and honesty in business.

Little one, the one who is ever forgetful of self and who is humble and forthright, the one who makes constant efforts to procure another’s happiness, can be said to possess this quality. Such a one, possessing the qualities of simplicity of heart and magnanimity, will inevitably engage himself in selfless deeds.

All this comprises the wealth of divine qualities.