daivee sampadvimokshaaya nibandhaayaasuri mataa |
maa shuchaha sampadam daiveemabhijaatosi paandava || 5 ||
Divine qualities are considered conducive to liberation, devilish qualities to bondage. Do not grieve, O Paandava. You have obtained divine qualities.
daivee : divine
sampat : qualities
vimokshaaya : to liberation
nibandhaaya : to bondage
aasuri : devilish
mataa : considered
maa : do not
shuchaha : grieve
sampadam : qualities
daiveem : divine
abhijaataha : obtained
asi : you have
paandava : O Paandava
The aim of any spiritual text including the Gita is to lead the seeker onto the path of liberation. Shri Krishna now connects this chapter with the aim of the Gita. He says that we can increase the chances of our success in the spiritual path if we cultivate the divine qualities listed in this chapter, while toning down our devilish qualities. In today’s day and age, it is easy to misunderstand some of these devilish qualities as essential for our survival, that without these qualities we will not get ahead in life. but it is not so.
For instance, take the quality of krodha or anger. Whenever we are in a state of anger, our intellect, our power of reasoning shuts down, as described in the second chapter. Our emotional mind takes over, and makes us perform actions that may harm us in the long run. Therefore, each time we get angry, we weaken our intellect, which is the one faculty that differentiates us from animals, and can take us closer to liberation. Akrodha, the divine quality of keeping our anger in check, prevents this from happening. We have to also keep in mind that we have to conduct self analysis and not apply this teaching to judge some other person.
Shri Krishna also anticipates a question arising in Arjuna’s mind. Arjuna would have thought, am I in the divine qualities camp or in the other one. To this end, Shri Krishna consoles Arjuna. He asserts that Arjuna was always endowed with divine qualities, and that those qualities will most definitely lead him towards liberation. He addresses him as Paandava, to remind him that he comes from a lineage that has always demonstrated these divine qualities.
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