EIGHT
In the chariot between the two armies frozen in time by the Dark One’s power, Krishna said to Arjuna, “In this world, the Avatara dons the five senses of nature and the sixth, of the mind: the garment of prakriti!
When I take a body and leave it, these come and go like the scent of flowers on the wind. I enjoy the senses, Arjuna, as you do and suffer by them as well. But they do not delude me. The splendor of the sun, the moon and fire are my own.
I nourish the world while I am in it. Then, as the moon, as precious Soma, I bring sap and water to the living world of plant and herb; as the fire of life, I nurture the bodies of animals. All the foods of this earth I consume and make inner and outward breath of them.
I am the heart of every man who lives. I am the source of memory and knowledge and their loss as well. I am the Vedas, the Vedanta and the knower of the Vedas, too.
Arjuna, there are just two beings in this world: the dying and the undying. The one who dies is all these changing lives and the undying one is changeless. But beyond both these the supreme Spirit, the Lord, pervades the three worlds and sustains them.
I am beyond both the dying and the undying beings. I am the supreme person, in the world and in the Veda. Blameless Arjuna, he who knows me becomes truly wise,” said Krishna.
“If you want to understand this war, you must know the two different kinds of men who fight it.
Pure, fearless, wise, generous, self-controlled and sacrificing, knowing the scriptures, austere and honest;
Non-violent, truthful, relinquishing, serene, never finding fault, compassionate to all the living, free from greed, gentle, humble and steady;
Energetic, forgiving, patient, above arrogance and malice: this is the man with the divine nature.
Ostentation, vanity, rage, harshness and ignorance: Arjuna, these are the qualities of the demonic man.
The man with the divine nature finds deliverance and the demoniacal one is bound in darkness.”
Arjuna looked up anxiously at Krishna, who laid a hand on his head. “Don’t be afraid, Pandava, your nature is divine and so is your destiny. But let me tell you about the evil ones. They know nothing of the paths of karma or renunciation. They know nothing of purity, truth, or dharma.
They say the world is unreal, without a basis, without a Creator. These ruthless men of feeble understanding rise as the enemies of the earth to destroy her.
They are full of hypocrisy, vanity and delusion and abandon themselves to insatiable desire. They live in ceaseless lust and foolish cares, which end only when they die. Their single mission is to amass all the wealth they can, by the vilest means.
‘I am the lord, the great one,’ they think. ‘This is mine and the other shall be mine, as well. I am mighty, successful and happy. I am rich and wellborn; who is there like me? I shall sacrifice, I shall be bounteous, I shall always be joyful!’ Yes, so they think, deluded.
Bewildered by a dark jungle of thoughts, entangled helplessly, they fall into hell. Conceited, obstinate, arrogant with wealth and power, they perform hollow yagnas, with much ostentation and no regard to the inner content. Given completely to lust, anger and violence, they hate me in others and in themselves, too.
These ruthless spirits I cast again and again into dark wombs, in the great cycle of deaths and rebirths. And fallen into demon wombs, birth after birth, the malignant ones never rise to me, but devolve to the lowest, bestial state.
Three-fold is the gateway to hell, three-fold the way to the ruin of the soul: lust, greed and anger. The man who is free from these naturally does what is best for his soul and attains perfect bliss, the changeless condition.
But he who discards the scriptures and follows his baser nature’s call, he does not come to perfection or joy, or the highest peace.
Arjuna, in this world, let the scripture be your guide; it is sacred, it comes from me.”
Arjuna asked, “Those who don’t regard the scripture, but sacrifice to God in faith, what place have they? In sattva, rajas or tamas?”
Krishna said, “Each man believes according to his nature and he is what he believes.
Sattvic men worship the Gods, rajasic men worship wealth and power and men of tamas worship the spirits of the dead. They make gods of their ancestors’ ghosts.
Because vanity and lust fill them with egotism, the demonic ones mortify their bodies with violent austerities, which the scriptures do not ordain. These fools weaken their organs of sense and outrage me, who dwell in them.
The sattvic sacrifice is scriptural; it seeks no reward. The rajasic one is all for show and gain and the sacrifice of tamas distributes no food, no hymns are sung and it is faithless.
Worship of the Gods, of rishis and gurus, purity, uprightness, continence and non-violence: these are the tapasya of the body. Sweet words that offend no-one, but are truthful and kind and the charity of the Veda are the tapasya of speech. Serenity of mind, gentleness, integrity of purpose, self-control and silence are the tapasya of mind. Together, these are the three-fold tapasya of sattva.
The rajasic tapasya is done out of pride, seeking fame, for the sake of exhibition. The obstinate penance, performed for the lust of pain, or to hurt someone, is the tamasic tapasya.
The sattvic charity is dutiful, made to the deserving, at an auspicious moment and place and seeks nothing in return. The rajasic gift is always made with a selfish purpose, for some gain. And the tamasic gift is a contemptuous one, made without regard for time and place and neither for the one that receives it.
AUM TAT SAT is the three-fold symbol of Brahman. The brahmanas, the Vedas and the yagnas were ordained, of old, by this.
AUM say the bhaktas of Brahman at sacrifice, penance and charity. TAT they say at sacrifice, penance and charity. SAT means the Absolute, Arjuna, everything that is auspicious, good and true. All penance, sacrifice and charity are called SAT.
But if a man perform any of these without faith in Brahman, it is asat, unreal, of no account here or hereafter.”