asatyamapratishtham te jagadaahuraneeshvaram |
aparasparasambhootam kimanyatkaamahaitukam || 8 ||
They say that this world is unreal, without a basis, without a god. It is born of mutual union, desire is its only cause, what else.
asatyam : unreal
apratishtham : without basis
te : they
jagat : world
aahuhu : say
aneeshvaram : without a god
aparasparasambhootam : born of mutual union
kim : what
anyat : else
kaamahaitukam : desire is the only cause
Any philosophy, any world view has to answer some fundamental questions - who am I, what is the nature of this world, where did it come from, is there a god, and what is the relationship between the I, the world and god. In the fifteenth chapter, Shri Krishna described his worldview by answering all these questions. Here, he proceeds to describe the materialistic worldview, the worldview of the asuras, those with devilish qualities.
At its core, the materialistic viewpoint views everything as comprised of the five elements, or in today’s times, atoms and molecules. So then, the answer to the questions, who am I, and what is the cause of this world, is the same. I am nothing but a combination of the five elements, and the world is also nothing but a combination of the five elements. Both are caused by the union of elements, either through chemical or biological reactions that happen due to forces of attraction, forces of desire.
Now, if the world is comprised of nothing but inert matter, one will concluded that there is no truth to it, no basis to it, nothing higher to it. A divide starts to arise between the I and the world. If the world is an inert, unreal entity, why should I treat it with care? Anything, including lying, cheating and murder, is then justified. Materialists go one step further and assert that there is no governing principle in this world, no god. So I can get away with whatever I want, because there is no law.
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