Bhagavad Gita · 16.10 · Yoga through Discerning the Divine and Demoniac Natures·10 of 24
काममाश्रित्य दुष्पूरं दम्भमानमदान्विताः।मोहाद्गृहीत्वासद्ग्राहान्प्रवर्तन्तेऽशुचिव्रताः ॥
kāmam āśhritya duṣhpūraṁ dambha-māna-madānvitāḥ
mohād gṛihītvāsad-grāhān pravartante ’śhuchi-vratāḥ
Sanskrit recitation
When ego turns cruel · 16.6–16.16 · Teaching
Translation
Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance, holding evil ideas due to delusion, they work with impure intentions.
Meaning
These soulless malevolent persons perform cruel and sinful actions. Their minds are saturated with vanity, conceit and arrogance. They entertain in their minds unholy resolves and unreasonable ideas. They harbour insatiable desires in their hearts. Just as a monkey becomes more and more intoxicated if wine if given to it, so also the older they grow the more and more arrogant and lustful do they become. They cause the ruin and death of those around them. They boast of their own actions and treat others with great contempt. They are very much attached to their bodies. They worship their bodies. Their passion is boundless. They are stupid and obstinate and so they have no firm determination.Desire is insatiable like fire. Enjoyment cannot bring about satisfaction of the desires. The more you enjoy, the stronger does the desire become. After an object is enjoyed, there springs up a desire to continue the enjoyment for ever. You take recourse to all sorts of devices to preserve the objects.Although a man is not righteous he pretends to be a man of righteousness. This is hypocrisy. Although a man is not worthy of being honoured, he claims to be so. This is Mana (pride). There is false dignity. Although a man does not possess great things he superimposes them on himself. This is Mada.These Asuras make impure resolves
After Swami Sivananda
When ego turns cruel· 16.6–16.16→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 16.6There are two types of beings in this world: the divine and the demoniacal. The divine has been described at length; hear from Me, O Arjuna, about the demoniacal.
- 16.7The demoniacal do not know what to do and what to refrain from; they have neither purity, nor right conduct, nor truth.
- 16.8They say, "This universe is without truth, without a moral basis, without a God, brought about by mutual union, with lust as its cause; what else?"
- 16.9Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellect and fierce deeds come forth as enemies of the world, intent on its destruction.
16.10Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance, holding evil ideas due to delusion, they work with impure intentions.
- 16.11Giving themselves over to immeasurable cares that end only with death, regarding the gratification of lust as their highest aim, and feeling sure that that is all.
- 16.12Bound by a hundred ties of hope, given over to lust and anger, they strive to obtain hoards of wealth by unlawful means for sensual enjoyment.
- 16.13"I have gained this today; I will fulfill this desire of mine; this is mine, and this wealth will be mine in the future."
- 16.14"I have slain that enemy, and I shall slay others too. I am the Lord; I enjoy, I am perfect, powerful, and happy."
- 16.15"I am wealthy and born into a noble family. Who is my equal? I shall perform sacrifices, give charity, and rejoice," thus deluded by ignorance.
- 16.16Bewildered by many fancies, entangled in the snare of delusion, addicted to the gratification of lust, they fall into a foul hell.
Word-by-word→
- asat
- impermanent
- māna
- arrogance
- dambha
- hypocrisy
- kāmam
- lust
- mohāt
- the illusioned
- grāhān
- things
- āśhritya
- harboring
- pravartante
- they flourish
- duṣhpūram
- insatiable
- gṛihītvā
- being attracted to
- mada-anvitāḥ
- clinging to false tenets
- aśhuchi-vratāḥ
- with impure resolve
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