Monday, April 1, 2013

Bhagavad Gita Verse 6, Chapter 16

dvau bhootasargau lokesmindaiva aasura eva cha |
daivo vishtarashaha prokta aasuram paartha me shrunu || 6 ||

 
In this world, two types of beings have been created, the divine and the devilish. The divine has been described elaborately. The devilish, O Paartha, listen from me now.
 
dvau : two
bhootasargau : beings have been created
loke : in world
asmin : this
daivaha : divine
aasuraha : devilish
eva : also
cha : and
daivaha : divine
vishtarashaha : elaborately
proktaha : described
aasuram : devilish
paartha : O Paartha
me : from me
shrunu : listen now
 
Although Shri Krishna had reassured Arjuna in the previous shloka, he knew that all individuals had a mix of divine and devilish qualities in them, including Arjuna. It was not either or. The devilish qualities within Arjuna had erupted at the start of the war in the first chapter, so there was certainly room for improvement. Knowing this, Shri Krishna proceeded to describe the devilish qualities in detail in this chapter.
 
From our perspective, we are always struggling between progressing on the spiritual journey versus conforming to the prevalent way of life - materialism. While there is nothing inherently wrong with enjoying whatever life has to offer, society urges us sometimes to get carried away with the pursuit of materialism, without pointing out the downside of doing so. It is instructive to see how little has changed between the materialistic worldview of Shri Krishna’s time and the present day.
 
So, from the next shloka to the end of this chapter, Shri Krishna paints a detailed picture of the materialistic world view that many of us have taken for granted. He describes the way they think and feel, their attitude towards people and objects, and the consequences of their materialistic viewpoint.

No comments: