Chapter 16 entitled Daiva Asura Sampad Vibhaga Yoga describes the two types of people, the divine & the demonic, in detail. Their characteristics are given. The man with divine nature aspire for freedom from the bondage of life, while the demonic gets deeply bonded to this world. Lust, wrath & greed are the three gates to hell. Follow the guidelines of Scriptures & do your duty to escape hell.

1. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALA
Presentation adapted from
The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi, Orient
Paperbacks,2011
T K G Namboodhiri

2. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 16
DAIVA ASURA SAMPAD
VIBHAGA YOGA

3. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
CHAPTER 16 - Introduction
In this Chapter Lord Krishna talks
about the two orders of created
beings in the world- the divine & the
devilish. Their characteristic
behaviours are described. The divine
heritage makes for freedom & the
devilish for bondage. The Lord
assures Arjuna that he belongs to the
divine order.
T K G Namboodhiri

4. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.1 to 16.3
Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in Jnana &
yoga- knowledge & action- beneficence, self-restraint,
sacrifice, spiritual study, austerity & uprightness.
Non-violence, truth, slowness to wrath, the spirit of
dedication, serenity, aversion to slander, tenderness to
all that lives, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty,
freedom from levity.
Spiritedness, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, freedom from
ill will & arrogance– these are to be found in one born
with the divine heritage, O Bharata.
Lord Krishna starts this chapter with an
enlistment of the 26 qualities exhibited by one
born with a divine heritage & thus qualified to
attain spiritual perfection.
T K G Namboodhiri

5. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.4 to 16.6
Pretentiousness, arrogance, self-conceit, wrath,
coarseness, ignorance– these are to be found in one with
the devilish heritage.
The divine heritage makes for freedom; the devilish for
bondage. Grieve not O Partha; thou art born with a divine
heritage.
There are two orders of created beings in the world--- the
divine & the devilish; the divine order has been described
in detail, hear from Me now of the devilish, O Partha.
Lord Krishna now indicates the characteristic of the
devilish. He says that the divine heritage leads to Moksha
or liberation, while the devilish tendencies lead to more
bondage.
There are two orders of created beings in this world- the
divine & the devilish. The divine order has been
described; now hear from Me of the devilish.
T K G Namboodhiri

6. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.7 & 16.8
Men of the devil do not know what they may do & what
they may not; neither purity, nor right conduct, nor truth
is to be found in them.
“Without truth, without basis, without God is the
universe” , they say; “born of the union of the sexes,
prompted by naught but lust”.
With these verses, Sri Krishna starts describing the people
of devilish heritage. Those who lack purity & truthfulness, &
whose conduct is not moral are diseased men & women.
There can be no disease unless there is mental evil or bodily
error. Outwardly they may be clean & their conduct may be
moral; but, without truthfulness, it is all as hollow as a
drum. Persons of demonic nature say that the entire cosmic
manifestation is unreal, with no foundation, without a
supreme controller, without cause, & is produced from
cohabitation born only of lust.
T K G Namboodhiri

7. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.9 & 16.10
Holding this view, these deprived souls, of feeble
understanding & fierce deeds, come forth as
enemies of the world to destroy it.
Given to insatiable lust, possessed by
pretentiousness, arrogance & conceit, they seize
wicked purpose in their delusion, & go about
pledged to unclean deeds.
The devilish consider the gratification of senses as
the highest goal of life. They commit dreadful deeds
& roam around as enemies of the world & destroy it
as much as possible. Pretentious, arrogant & full of
conceit, they take up wicked & unclean deeds.
T K G Namboodhiri

8. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.11 & 16.12
Given to boundless cares that end only with their
death, making indulgence or lust their sole goal,
convinced that that is all.
Caught in myriad snares of hope, slave to lust &
wrath, they seek unlawfully to amass wealth for the
satisfaction of their appetites.
Taking satisfaction of lust as the whole purpose of
life, these devilish people move around with
unending desires, till death takes them away. Driven
by lust & anger they try to accumulate wealth by all
illicit means for gratifying their senses.
T K G Namboodhiri

9. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.13 to 16.15
This have I gained today; this aspiration shall I now
attain; this wealth is mine; this likewise shall be mine
hereafter.
This enemy I have already slain, others also I shall slay;
lord of all am I; enjoyment is mine, perfection is mine,
strength is mine, happiness is mine.
“wealthy am I, & high born. What other is like unto me? I
shall perform a sacrifice! I shall give alms! I shall be
merry!” . Thus think they by ignorance deluded.
Living in this way, deluded by ignorance, the demonic
gamble away their body. We are all full of demonic
feelings & suffer because of that. We must strive to the
best of our ability to raise ourselves to a higher level.
T K G Namboodhiri

10. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.16 & 16.17
And tossed about by diverse fancies, caught in
the net of delusion, stuck deep in the
indulgence of appetites into foul hell they fall.
Wise in their own conceit, stubborn, full of
intoxication of pelf & pride, they offer nominal
sacrifices for show, contrary to the rule.
Enveloped in a network of illusions & engrossed
in gratification of senses, they slide into
abominable hell. Sometimes they perform
yajnas but this is only a pretext; their real aim
is to serve their self interests
T K G Namboodhiri

11. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.18 to 16.20
Given to pride, force, arrogance, lust & wrath
they are deriders indeed, scorning Me in their
own & in other’s bodies.
These cruel scorners, lowest of mankind & vile,
I hurl down again, into devilish wombs.
Doomed to devilish wombs, these deluded ones,
far from ever coming to Me, sink lower & lower
in birth after birth.
Thus the demonic descend deeper & deeper
into lower & lower species of degraded life.
T K G Namboodhiri

12. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.21 & 16.22
Threefold is this gate of hell, leading man to
perdition--- Lust, Wrath and Greed; these three,
therefore, should be shunned.
The man who escapes these three gates of
Darkness, O Kaunteya, works out his welfare
and thence reaches the highest state.
There are three gates leading to the hell– lust,
anger & greed. One who keeps himself free
from these does not devote himself to the
pursuit of worldly happiness, but follows the
path of spiritual welfare.
T K G Namboodhiri

13. THE BHAGAVD GITA
ACCORDING TO
GANDHI
Verses 16.23 & 16.24
He who forsakes the rule of Shastra & does but the
bidding of his selfish desires, gain neither perfection, nor
happiness, nor the highest state.
Therefore let Shastra be thy authority for determining
what ought to be done & what not ought to be done;
ascertain thou the rule of the Shastra & do thy task here
(accordingly).
Ending his discourse on divine & demonic impulses, Sri Krishna
tells Arjuna that in his internal struggles between divine &
demonic impulses, he should be guided always by the Shastras.
Shastra means not some books, but shishtachara- example of
our holy & fearless forefathers-. In the absence of a Guru, we
should be humble by worship of a personal God. If you are
humble, you will be saved. If you are humble & sincere, the
veils before your eyes will be lifted one after another.
End of Chapter 16.
T K G Namboodhiri