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ahiṁsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam I dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīracāpalam II 16.2

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tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucam adroho nātimānitā I bhavanti saṁpadaṁ daivīm abhijātasya bhārata II 16.3

16.1,2,3 Bhagavān says: Fearlessness, purification of the being, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity and being centered on the being, performance of sacrifices, and accumulation of knowledge, austerity, simplicity, non-violence, truthfulness, freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquility, aversion to fault finding, compassion for all living entities, freedom from covetousness, gentleness, modesty, studied determination, vigor, more forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy, and from the passion of honor, these transcendental qualities, O Son of Bhārata (Arjuna), belong to divine men, endowed with divine nature.

dambho darpo'bhimānaś ca krodhaḥ pāruṣyameva ca I ajñānaṁ cābhijātasya pārtha sampadamāsurīm II 16.4

16.4 Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness or cruelty, and ignorance—these qualities belong to those born with demonic nature, O Pārtha (Arjuna).

daivī sampadvimokṣāya nibandhayāsuri matā I mā śucāḥ sampadaṁ daivīm abhijātosi pāṇḍava II 16.5

16.5 The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demonic qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, Pāṇḍava (Arjuna), you are born with Divine qualities.

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dvau bhūtasargau loke'smin daiva āsura eva ca I

daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu II 16.6

16.6 Pārtha, in this world there are two kinds of created beings, one is divine and the other, demonic. I have explained at length to you the Divine qualities, now understand the demonic qualities also, so that you will understand and live your life blissfully and happily.

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pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca janā na vidurāsurāḥ I na śaucaṁ nāpi cācāro na satyaṁ teṣu vidyate II 16.7 16.7 Persons with demonic nature do not know what is bondage and what is liberation; not what is cleanliness; truthful behavior is not in them.

asatyamapratiṣṭhaṁ te jagad āhura nīśvaram I aparaspara-saṁbhūtaṁ kim anyat kāmahaitukam II 16.8

16.8 People with such qualities think there is no ultimate energy or intelligence that is running this planet earth, that is running the universe, and that this whole creation is produced out of lust and desire, and is unreal.

etāṁ dṛṣṭimavaṣṭabhya naṣṭātmāno'lpabuddhayaḥ I

prabhavanty ugra-karmāṇaḥ kṣayāya jagato'hitāḥ II 16.9

16.9 Following this material view of creation, these degraded souls with small intellect, lost in themselves and committing cruel deeds are engaged in the destruction of the world.

kāmamāśritya duṣpūraṁ dambhamānamadānvitāḥ I mohādgṛhītvā 'sadgrāhān pravartante'śucivratāḥ II 16.10

16.10 Filled with insatiable desires, hypocrisy, pride, and arrogance; holding wrong views due to delusion, they act with impure motives and for impermanent objectives.

cintāmaparimeyāṁ ca pralayāntāmupāśritāḥ I kāmopabhogaparamā etāvaditi niścitāḥ II 16.11

āśāpāśaśatairbaddhāḥ kāmakrodhaparāyaṇāḥ I īhante kāmabhogārtham anyāyenā'rthasañcayān II 16.12

16.11,12 Obsessed with endless anxiety lasting until death, considering sense gratification their highest aim, and convinced that sense pleasure is everything; bound by hundreds of ties of desire and enslaved and filled with anger, they strive to obtain wealth by unlawful means to fulfill sensual pleasures.

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idamadya mayā labdham imaṁ prāpsye manoratham I idamastīdamapi me bhaviṣyati punardhanam II 16.13

16.13 They think: This has been gained by me today; I shall fulfill this desire; I have this much wealth and will have more wealth in the future;

asau mayā hataḥ śatrur haniṣye cāparānapi I īśvaro'hamahaṁ bhogī siddho'haṁ balavānsukhī II 16.14

āḍhyo'bhijanavānasmi ko'nyo'sti sadṛśo mayā I yakṣye dāsyāmi modiṣya ity ajñānavimohitāh II 16.15

16.14, 15 That enemy has been slain by me, and I shall slay others also. I am the Lord. I am the enjoyer. I am successful, powerful, and happy; I am rich and born in a noble family. Who is equal to me? I shall perform sacrifice, I shall give charity, and I shall rejoice. Thus deluded by ignorance.

aneka-citta-vibhrāntā mohajālasamāvṛtāḥ I prasaktāḥ kāmabhogeṣu patanti narake'śucau II 16. 16

16.16 Thus confused by various anxieties and caught in a net of illusions, one becomes too deeply attached to sensory pleasures and falls into hell.

ātmasaṁbhāvitāḥ stabdhā dhana-māna-madānvitāḥ I yajante nāma-yajñais te dambhenā'vidhipūrvakam II 16.17

16.17 Self-complacent and always conceited, deluded by wealth and false pride, they perform superficial sacrifices in name only, without following the vedic rules or regulations.

ahaṁkāraṁ balaṁ darpaṁ kāmaṁ krodhaṁ ca saṁśritāḥ I mām-ātma-paradeheṣu pradviṣanto'bhyasūyakāḥ II 16.18

16.18 The demonic person, consumed by ego, power, pride, lust and anger, becomes envious of the supreme personality of godhead, who is situated in his own body and in the bodies of others, and blasphemes against Him.

tānahaṁ dviṣataḥ krūrān saṁsāreṣu narādhamān I kṣipāmy ajasram aśubhān āsurīṣveva yoniṣu II 16.19

16.19 Those who are envious (of Him) and cruel, who are the lowest among men, I repeatedly cast into the ocean of material existence, into various lowly, demonic forms of life.

āsurīṁ yonimapannā mūḍhā janmani janmani I māmaprāpyaiva kaunteya tato yāntyadhamāṁ gatim II 16.20

16.20 These foolish beings attain repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life. Without ever achieving Me, O Kaunteya, they sink into the most abominable existence.

trividhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśanamātmanaḥ I

kāmaḥ krodhastathā lobhas tasmādetattrayaṁ tyajet II 16.21

16.21 There are three gates leading to this hell: lust, anger and greed. As they lead to the degradation of the soul, these three are to be abandoned.

etairvimuktaḥ kaunteya tamodvāraistribhirnaraḥ I ācaratyātmanaḥ śreyas tato yāti parāṁ gatim II 16.22

16.22 Those who have escaped these three gates of hell, O Kaunteya, behave in a manner beneficial to the (evolution of the) soul, and thus (gradually) attain the supreme destination.

yaḥ śāstravidhimutsṛjya vartate kāmakārataḥ I na sa siddhimavāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim II 16.23

16.23 But he who discards scriptural injunctions and acts according to his base impulses attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.

tasmācchāstraṁ pramāṇaṁ te kāryākāryavyavasthitau I jñātvā śāstravidhānoktaṁ karma kartumihārhasi II 16.24

16.24 By the regulations of the scriptures, one should understand what is duty and what is not duty. After being versed in scriptural injunctions, one should act accordingly.

iti śrīmad bhagavadgītāsūpaniṣatsu brahmavidyāyām yogaśāstre śrīkṛṣṇārjuna saṁvāde daivāsurasaṁpad vibhāgayogo nāma

ṣoḍaśo'dhyāyaḥ II

In the Upaniṣad of Śrimad Bhagavad Gītā, the scripture of yoga dealing with Brahmavidyā Yogaśāstra, the science of Brahman, in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇārjuna saṁvād, dialogue between Śrī Kṛṣṇa-Arjuna, this is sixteenth chapter named, Daivāsura Saṁpad Vibhāga Yogaḥ**,**

''The Yoga of Divine And Demonic Nature.'

Daivāsura Sampad Vibhāga Yogaḥ, or Yoga of Divine and demonic nature, is the traditional name of this chapter. Kṛṣṇa reveals even deeper truths of completion with root patterns, taking us to much deeper layer, the Cosmic layer of the body-mind system.

Kṛṣṇa speaks on the qualities of Divine, daiva and demonic, asura. It is just a simple decision. When you choose the word 'you', you become Divine, and when you choose the word 'me', you become a demon. That's all.

The root thought patterns or bio-memories, stored in the causal layer, make us take decisions unconsciously. However, at the deeper level, in the cosmic layer, we decide consciously: you or me, divine or demon, daiva or asura.

The decision about 'You' or 'me' is made in the Cosmic layer. When we make the decision of 'You,' we radiate divine qualities. When we make the decision of 'me,' we radiate demonic qualities. If we decide with the attitude of 'you,' the whole becomes Divine; if we decide with the attitude of 'me,' the whole becomes demonic.

When we decide based on 'me', it is passion; when we decide based on 'You', it is compassion. To be a demon or Divine, we decide. When we are blissful, we have said, 'No' to 'me'; we are relaxed in the 'You' idea.

Listen. The word 'me' means ego; the word 'You' means the whole of Existence. When our identity evaporates, whatever is left is Existence; it is Divine, daivic. We create the demon by bringing in the idea of 'me'. The moment the 'me' idea is removed, whatever there is, is Divine.

As long as we feel that our body-mind is our boundary, we are separate from theUniverse and we continuously fight with Existence, with Nature, with the Whole. Understand, the part can never succeed when it fights with the Whole. Whatever we think, speak or do based on the idea 'me', leads to more incompletions, more suffering.

Whether we act demonic or Divine, the inner space in all of us is Divine. The inner space is pure, uncontaminated. Whether we are tuned inwards to that purity or tuned outwards to gratification is our free will. A Rāvaṇa had the choice of being a Rāma, a Duryodhana had the choice of being an Arjuna. Through their own free will, they did not exercise that choice.

Here, Kṛṣṇa beautifully explains the demonic and Divine natures. Only Kṛṣṇa speaks, Arjuna is practically silent; in the space of pure listening, Upaniṣad. All questions have disappeared and only small doubts are left, which are a means to enrich others.

Qualifications Of Divinity (16.1-3)

Kṛṣṇa lists a number of qualities that take us to a higher plane of Consciousness; qualities that make us Divine.

Kṛṣṇa tells us to be without fear and greed, and anger. He says to be truthful, simple, meek, gentle, non-violent, and without expectations and to renounce. These are qualities of the Divine that you express when you are focused not on your own self but on others. These qualities arise from heart, not from mind.

You are Demon If...(16.4-16.7)

What is demonic nature? Kṛṣṇa says that all actions done out of arrogance, pride, ego, for name and fame, for power, are demonic in nature. Whatever we do, whether we study the scriptures, do charity or social service, or perform pūjā (prayer), rituals or meditation, if they are done to strengthen the 'I' and 'mine', they always lead to suffering.

Focusing on the 'I' is instinctive. It is a call for survival based on our conditioning and insecurities. The instinct to survive is what is called 'I', and the instinct to possess is what is referred to as 'mine'. The person who understands that both are illusions is a complete person.

As long as you act, speak and think centered on 'me, me, me', you will be a demon; you will work out of the instinct for survival and possession. When you work based on the space of 'You, you, you,' you will radiate a new energy, the energy of enriching.

Try this simple experiment: Try living for others' sake out of

gratitude for just one week. Live with the new root-cognition of 'You'. I am not asking you to give away your property or any such thing.

Please catch this principle of root cognition. Basically, what you strongly believe as you is root cognition. We live all our life with this 'āsuri sampat,' what Kṛṣṇa calls demonic nature, the inauthentic attitude of 'me, me, me'. Give a chance to be centered on the root cognition of 'You'. Now, for just one week, put that 'You' into your being. You will not know from where the bliss suddenly comes! You will feel that your whole being is relaxed. When you don't give attention to 'me', you will never be 'in tension'.

Understand, completing with the root cognition is completing with self-doubt. When you replace your root cognition of 'me' with 'You', a deep inner healing, a deep completion happens in you.

Work based on this single statement: instead of deciding based on the default root cognition of 'me, me, me', decide based on the new root cognition of 'You, You, You'. You will become a hollow bamboo, a flute in the hands of the Divine. Whatever happens through you will be Divine; you will imbibe the Divine nature.

Kṛṣṇa further explains how to imbibe Divine nature. Here, He gives the straight, subtle technique to replace the 'I' with 'You'; to experience the consciousness of 'You', the consciousness of Whole, daivika saṁpat or divine nature of your being.

First, you need to find out if your thinking is acting as Divine inside you or as a demon inside you. Sometimes, many of you are possessed by a ghost. What is that ghost? 'me, me, me'.

Next, enrich others from the space of 'You', which will naturally make you express these divine qualities in life. Enriching will be just your lifestyle. You will understand that enriching the 'You' enriches the 'I' back. Experientially you will understand that 'you' is one with others, others are one with 'you'. Automatically you will become blissful, free from anger and full of dhārmic (righteous) qualities.

Many stories illustrate how the 'I' drives the Divine away, and the 'you' attracts the Divine. One small shift in our inner space, can take care of the cognitive shift. How we are centered and where our inner space is focused is what makes our life demonic or divine.

Are you Divine or Demonic?

Now, after hearing about 'You' and 'me', Arjuna has a fear, 'Bhagavān, am I living with Divine or demonic nature?' He is not expressing that feeling, but his face reveals his fear. Kṛṣṇa explains that living with transcendental qualities, that is the right space of 'you', one achieves liberation or Enlightenment, nivṛitti. By living with the space of 'I' we create more bondage. The demonic qualities make for bondage, meaning pravṛitti.

Kṛṣṇa assures Arjuna, not to worry, for he is born with Divine qualities, mā śucaḥ sampadaṁ daivīm abhijāto asi pāṇḍava (16.5).

Let me assure you, if this fear arises in you, you are Divine. The person who is ready to look within, the person who is afraid if he is living rightly or wrongly, always lives rightly. Only the person who is arrogant is demonic. If we have ever contemplated whether we were living with 'You' or 'I', if the doubt, fear or guilt arose in you, then we are born with Divine nature. Like Arjuna, we too are born with divine qualities. So, you don't need to worry about it. Naturally, then Lord Kṛṣṇa tells us that we are born with Divine nature.

Now, all we need to know is how to live and experience our Divinity. When we live with the root cognition of 'You, You, You', we completely forget ourselves; we disappear into Existence. We are in bliss.

Technique to Experience Divinity

Let me share an important technique that Lord Kṛṣṇa speaks.

For three days, create a space and think, feel that you are somebody else. It may seem funny! For instance, if you are a doctor, for three days think you are a sports person or a divine being such as Śiva; try with whoever you feel connected. Clearly visualize yourself as that divine being. The moment you change the idea, the root cognition about yourself, a tremendous freedom happens to you.

You will see a new consciousness rising in you. If you throw away

the 'me', that alone liberates you, and if you start working on 'You', you experience tremendous bliss. This is the straight path to peace and bliss.

Caring for enriching others, focusing on the 'you' instead of 'I,' automatically takes you to the path of the Divine. Remember one thing: God is closest when we are blissful; when we are in misery we are farthest from God. The dilemma is that most of us remember God when we are in misery and that is the moment when we are farthest away also!

When we are in a blissful moment, when we feel blessed by Existence, that is when we are closest to God. Let that moment be of gratitude and meditation. In that moment, remember God existentially, not verbally. Let your whole being feel the vibration and become overwhelmed with the beyond. Don't lose that moment. It is precious.

Everybody is born ready for Divinity. If we miss it, it is totally our responsibility. We miss it because we never look within. We miss it because we are lazy and we give up on our ourselves. We miss it because we are not aware of the great blessing that Life is.

How To Save Our Planet? (16.8-9)

The energy that is within us, the energy that drives us is the same energy that drives this Universe. This energy is intelligence, the highest intelligence.

Kṛṣṇa says that when we are unable to recognize this energy, we are demonic. Instead we believe we make things happen with our greed, lust and desires. We believe we run this world with our small intellect that we consider intelligence. People who think the world is pure chemistry become demons.

Only when we understand that this Universe is intelligence, and that it responds to our thoughts and actions, will we live in the space of completion, and start really Living Advaita. God exists and the Cosmic intelligence runs this whole Universe.

People with demonic qualities say the world is produced out of sexual desire and lust. Please be clear that lust cannot be the reason. Intelligence, the Divine energy is the cause and effect of this whole Universe. When we think it is lust or that we are responsible, we live with the idea of 'me, me, me'.

This cognition of selfishness leads only to destruction of everything, kṣayāya jagato 'hitaḥ (16.9)—the environment, the world and all living beings. One part of this world, perhaps less than one-sixth of the world's population, the so-called developed world, consumes more than half of the natural resources of this world.

When we are in a state of low intelligence, alpabuddhi; we become demons. Low intelligence leads to cruel deeds, prabhavanty ugra karmāṇaḥ (16.9). When we have no awareness of who we are, we do not care about anyone else.

All this can be changed. All that is needed is the cognitive shift from the demon to the Divine, from 'I' to 'You'. The environment we live in, the oxygen we breathe, the water we drink, the soil that gives the food we eat, all this is energy. We call this pañca bhūta in Saṁskṛit, the five elemental energies that sustain us. When these are destroyed by our low intelligence, out of our selfishness, the world around us collapses.

How To Save Ourselves (16.10-16.16)

Kṛṣṇa now shows how a person with demonic nature can destroy himself. Out of pride, arrogance and hypocrisy, such a person moves in a path directed by purely selfish and material objectives, that produce suffering.

When we focus on matter, we tend to lose sight of the energy inherent in matter. When we focus on the form, we cannot see the formless that enables the form. Only if man blossoms in his Consciousness, he is God.

Existence is waiting to shower us with all that we need. We are caught in the web of our sensory fantasies and run after what others own; we let our senses lead us.

Once we move from the 'me' focused demonic state into the 'you' based Divine state, we no longer need to worry about creating wealth, developing a power base, establishing relationships or whatever else we have focused on all our lives. Existence takes care of all this. Existence takes care of us. If instead, we are focused on our own self, 'me,' be sure, we are moving towards hell, as Kṛṣṇa says.

Cast Into Suffering (16.17-16.20)

Kṛṣṇa has said in other verses that He will receive anyone with compassion and liberate them. Here He says He will cast them aside into suffering. How do we reconcile these two positions?

Both positions are true! After all, every word that an Enlightened Master utters is true. It is our understanding that needs to evolve.

Kṛṣṇa is compassion Incarnate. Anyone who surrenders to Him is liberated. That is the absolute truth. When we surrender to Kṛṣṇa, our surrender must be total. There can be nothing between Him and us. Then, He surely liberates us.

Here, He talks about people who feel no need to surrender to Him. They are so full of ego, that they feel He is their competitor. He says He will cast them into the material world. Even Kṛṣṇa cannot change it, because He has given us the power to decide whether we want to be 'me' or 'You' focused: asuri, demonic or daivik, Divine.

The feeling of 'you' and the absence of 'me' dissolve the idea of 'I' as identity. This 'you' is the foundation of surrender. The courage to move from 'me' to 'You' is the courage to trust, love and surrender. When that happens, there is nothing else but Him. We become Kṛṣṇa. When we are one with the Universe, one with Kṛṣṇa, we have reached eternal bliss, Nityānanda.

Of Gold And Women (16.21-16.24)

Kṛṣṇa ends the chapter with these words: Shed anger, greed and lust and we will be saved. These qualities bind us to 'me' and 'mine'. As long as we are bound by anger, lust and greed, kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas, what He calls the three gateways to hell, tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ (16.21), we are in suffering. When we shed these, we are liberated. When these three combine, they create moha, or delusion.

At one level these emotions are desires. Desires are energy. Each de-

sire is the seed of suffering. That is why Kṛṣṇa calls it a gateway to hell. But how do we get rid of these desires?

What Kṛṣṇa asks us to do is to complete these negative emotions and transform them into positive energies. These are gateways to hell so long as we use them from the root cognition of 'me.' When we do completion and transform these emotions into energy, creating the space of 'you', these same emotions become gateways to heaven, gateway to bliss.

Divine Space of You-Me

God loves us! He has not given up on us; He cares. The deeper this idea enters your heart, the better, because when you feel more loved by God, you will be able to have love for God, love for others. That's how we are able to love: if we are loved, we can love.

When you are a witness, the 'me' and 'mine' drop. What remains is identification with your energy. In that state, you are one with all. You are in the space of Living Advaita, oneness—living the truth that everything is 'you' and 'you' are everything. Because 'you' is 'me', 'me' is 'you', 'you' 'me' becomes 'you-me'. It is 'you-me' that becomes the center, no longer 'me'. You become Divine, daivic.

Let us pray to the ultimate energy, Parabrahma Kṛṣṇa, the Divine Consciousness, to bless us all with 'daiva saṁpat' and establish us in eternal bliss, nityānanda.