1The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, cleanness of life, steadfastness in the Yoga of wisdom, almsgiving, self-restraint and sacrifice and study of the Scriptures, austerity and straightforwardness,
The four castes were emanated by Me ... know Me to be the author of them. 4:13
16:1-24
1The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, cleanness of life, steadfastness in the Yoga of wisdom, almsgiving, self-restraint and sacrifice and study of the Scriptures, austerity and straightforwardness,
Krishna said,
2Harmlessness, truth, absence of wrath, renunciation, peacefulness, absence of crookedness, compassion to living beings, uncovetousness, mildness, modesty, absence of fickleness,
3Vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of envy and pride—these are his who is born with the divine properties, O Bhârata.
Some people are born with with divine properties. [1]
4Hypocrisy, arrogance and conceit, wrath and also harshness and unwisdom are his who is born, O Pârtha, with demoniacal properties.
And some are born with demoniac properties.
5The divine properties are deemed to be for liberation, the demoniacal for bondage. Grieve not, thou art born with divine properties, O Pândava.
6Twofold is the animal creation in this world, the divine and the demoniacal: the divine hath been described at length: hear from Me, O Pârtha, the demoniacal.
There are two types of animals in this world: the divine and the demonical.
7Demoniacal men know neither right energy nor right abstinence; nor purity, nor even propriety, nor truth is in them.
Demonical men say, "The universe is without a God."
8"The universe is without truth, without basis," they say, "without a God; brought about by mutual union, and caused by lust and nothing else."
9Holding this view, these ruined selves of small understanding, of fierce deeds, come forth as enemies for the destruction of the world.
These ruined souls of low understanding and fierce deeds are enemies who seek to destroy the world.
10Surrendering themselves to insatiable desires, possessed with vanity, conceit and arrogance, holding evil ideas through delusion, they engage in action with impure resolves.
They have insatiable desires, and are filled with vanity, conceit, and arrogance, with evil and delusional ideas.
11Giving themselves over to unmeasured thought whose end is death, regarding the gratification of desires as the highest, feeling sure that this is all,
They only seek to gratify their desires, and their thoughts end in death.
12Held in bondage by a hundred ties of expectation, given over to lust and anger, they strive to obtain by unlawful means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyments.
They are consumed by lust and anger.
13"This to-day by me hath been won, that purpose I shall gain; this wealth is mine already, and also this shall be mine in future.
14"I have slain this enemy, and others also I shall slay. I am the Lord, I am the enjoyer, I am perfect, powerful, happy;
15"I am wealthy, well-born; what other is there that is like unto me? I will sacrifice, I will give alms, I will rejoice." Thus deluded by unwisdom,
16Bewildered by numerous thoughts, enmeshed in the web of delusion, addicted to the gratification of desire, they fall downwards into a foul hell.
They fall downwards into a foul hell.
17Self-glorifying, stubborn, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform lip-sacrifices for ostentation, contrary to scriptural ordinance.
Proud, stubborn, self-glorifying, and intoxicated with wealth, they show off their sacrifices, contrary to the laws of scripture.
18Given over to egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malicious ones hate Me in the bodies of others and in their own.
Through egoism, power, insolence, lust, and wrath, they hate me [Krishna] in bodies of others and their own.
19These haters, evil, pitiless, vilest among men in the world, I ever throw down into demoniacal wombs.
When these vile, evil, haters die, I cast them into demonical wombs, where they are deluded after birth, and sink into the lowest depths of hell.
20Cast into demoniacal wombs, deluded birth after birth, attaining not to Me, O Kaunteya, they sink into the lowest depths.
21Triple is the gate of this hell, destructive of the self—lust, wrath, and greed; therefore let man renounce these three.
The three gates of hell are lust, wrath, and greed. Denounce all three.
22A man liberated from these three gates of darkness, O son of Kunti, accomplisheth his own welfare, and thus reacheth the highest goal.
A man liberated from these three gates will live well and reach the highest goal.
23He who, having cast aside the ordinances of the Scriptures, followeth the promptings of desire, attaineth not to perfection, nor happiness, nor the highest goal.
24Therefore let the Scriptures be thy authority, in determining what ought to be done, or what ought not to be done. Knowing what hath been declared by the ordinances of the Scriptures, thou oughtest to work in this world.
Let the scriptures determine what you should or should do.
