Values & ethics – Lessons from Bhagwad Gita

(Chapter 16)

WORK
Chapter 16- Daivāsura Sampad Vibhāg Yog
(Yog through Discerning the Divine and Demoniac
Natures)

• Indian literature is full of stories of battles between

the devas (angels) and asuras (devils), representing the
inner conflict in the human mind between good and
evil. Chapter 16 of Shrimad Bhagwat Geeta, expounds
on the two kinds of human nature—the saintly and the
demoniac. Shri Krishna says that there are two classes of
people are created according to their gunas- the divine
and the devilish. They are endowed with different
qualities. Shri Krishna describes the Divine qualities to
aspire to and Devilish qualities to avoid. There are two
kinds of action, with different results: A person who:
1.Discards , guidance from scriptures does not get worldly
happiness, nor the supreme destination.
2.Live by the rules of the scriptures, will attain the
supreme destination through self–realization.
 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 16,
SUMMARY
• This chapter provides proper means of conduct
for antahkarana-suddhi, for sake of:
• Sculpting a self-knowledge friendly mind. Like any “means
of knowledge” for any understanding, the aspirant needs
some prior qualifications.
• Convincing that the hard path of śreyaḥ (path which aligns
you with scriptural conduct) – is better then the easy path
of preyaḥ (path centered on “feel-good-now”).
• Internalizing one’s existing self-knowledge.
• Pointing out conduct that isn’t beneficial to your wellbeing.
Krishna is pointing out because the mind is complex
instrument, a product of accumulated impressions/habits,
which end up covering the natural program.
• Because of this covering, Krishna uses a 2-fold
barometer called: daivī-sampat and āsurī-sampat. By
contrasting both, our buddhi can quickly identify
contaminations (āsurī-sampat), and restore order.
 The difference between divine and demonic:

• Each person is potentially divine and the goal of human life is to manifest that
divinity in one’s life.
• A person is called divine, when this divinity shines through his/her thoughts,
speech and actions. When that divinity gets blocked and non-divine qualities
manifest, that same person is called a demonic person.
• The qualities which help us manifest this inner divinity are called the divine
qualities. These divine qualities free us from all our limitations and bondages.
On the other hand, the qualities, which block our divinity, create confusion and
ignorance are called the demonic qualities. These demonic qualities, in turn,
lead us toward a miserable life and to our destruction. Such demonic qualities
make us slaves of our weaknesses. In this chapter Shri Krishna clearly defines
divine and demonic qualities.
 What are the divine qualities?
Fearlessness: Once we realize that the universe is a play of Ishvara’s
Prakriti, we automatically develop fearlessness. We are fearless of:
 Death, because we have understood that death applies to the body, not to the self.
 Harm caused to our property and our relationships. If we remove the label of mine
from everything, and recognize that everything is Ishvara’s, fear automatically goes
away.
Steadfastness in the yoga of knowledge:
 True knowledge is knowledge of our own self, the answer to the question “who am
I”.
 Yoga refers to any process that connects us to something higher.
So to stay steadfast is to internalise this knowledge & abide by it.
Charity: Attachment to objects is an obstacle to the spiritual journey.
Charity is a good way to reduce this pride of possessions.
Self-control: Another obstacle in the spiritual journey is the importance we
give to our sense organs. The natural tendency of the sense organs is to
demand objects that are pleasant to them, but probably not beneficial to
our personality as a whole, e.g.The tongue wants unhealthy foods.
Yajnya: We should be aware that we owe our daily existence to our
parents, teachers, our deities, our environment, our ancestors, our fellow
human beings and to nature. The culmination of the spirit of yajnya is the
giving up of our sense of I, our identity, to Ishvara.
Self-contemplation: Studying of the Gita, the Vedas, or any spiritual text,
is an essential quality of the seeker.
 The inspiration should come from within.
 The study should be from a teacher/guru.
 we should perform introspection
Penance: Refers to the fulfilling of one’s duties, without wasting time
and energy at the level of body, mind or intellect. eg give up watching
TV. This releases energy that can be channeled for spiritualism.
Straightforwardness: Do not practice deceit or anger towards
anyone, and stand by your words & actions.
 Non-violence: Do not harm or injure anyone through action or speech.
This will harm our own mind and a hinderance to access Ishvara within.
Truthfulness: Speaking the truth is considered the highest dharma.
But truth should also be communicated kindly & gently.
Absence of anger: We have to learn how to keep an anger in check, &
not to over-react in stressful situations.
Renunciation:
 We need to renounce our sense of I, our individuality.
 To give up the notion that our possessions & senses belong to me.
Tranquillity: This refers to the calming of our mind, body and intellect.
Do not get agitated over likes/dislikes through our senses. Without
calmness, progress on the spiritual path is not possible.
Absence of slander:
 do not find faults in others.
 do not gossip
 do not agitate others.
Compassion towards all beings We acknowledge the unity of our
self, of our “I” with “someone else’s I”. It means that we can put
ourselves in someone else’s shoes and see their point of view &
understand their suffering & be compassionate.
Lack of greed: Not to indulge in objects those are harmful to us. e.g.
sweets, alcohol
Gentleness: Treat everyone with gentleness, with no harsh words.
Modesty: Do not let pride overtake common-sense. Be humble.
Lack of fickleness: Control all our senses, and stay true to ourselves &
others.
Radiance: When we control our sense organs and stop wasting energy
through relentless pursuit of objects, there’s an influx of additional
energy that will radiate out of our body.
Forgiveness: When we learn to forgive someone immediately, we shall
get a calmness. The way to do this is to not expect any joy or sorrow
from anyone or anything.
Fortitude: This is the ability to keep holding on to our goal, even when
we have situations in our life when our mind, body and senses will reach
their breaking point.
Purity
 External cleanliness of our body & surroundings.
 Internal purity, keeping our mind and intellect free of
likes/dislikes/attachments.
Lack of enmity: Do not have any hatred or act of revenge towards
anyone.
Lack of arrogance: Through constant spiritual practice; ego & pride
are reduced. Our individuality will emerge with Ishvara.
 Which are demonic qualities?
Shri Krishna then proceeds to list the attributes of demons or
Asuras. Although depicted as fearsome devils with long teeth, asura
actually means one who places sense objects as his highest
goals. Any ordinary looking human being can be an asura, if he
constantly dwells in sense pleasures.
1.Hypocrisy: Portray them to be smarter, wiser and accomplished
than they really are.
2.Arrogance: Ego & selfishness towards less fortunate.
3.Conceit: Pride over possessions, and insult others who may not
have what we have.
4.Anger: Physical or mental torment will destabilize the mind.
5.Harshness: Physical violence or insulting language is harshness in
action or speech
6.Ignorance: Chasing momentary pleasures in the material world
without regards to actions and consequences. This is the ignorance of
our true nature.
What did Krishna teach?

Shri Krishna summarizes the lengthy list of devilish qualities into

three main ones, “the gateways into hell”, because they lead to the
path of destruction rather than the path of liberation. They are
desire, anger and greed.
1.Desire can be controlled through logic & meditation. You can
question yourself of why you desire a particular object?
2.Anger arises due to unfulfilled desire.
3.We require tremendous control over our mind in order to release
ourselves from the grip of anger.
4.It is therefore better to focus on rooting out unnecessary desires
than to confront anger directly.
5.Greed can be kept in check through charity. Anytime we start
feeling pride over our wealth, we should immediately donate a
portion of our wealth or possessions.
Lessons From Bhagvad Gita For
Students
1. Change is the law of the Universe: While the essence is widely
different, students can learn from this teaching that nothing is
permanent and if they have failed in their endeavor it does not
mean that it would remain so forever. Since change is the law of
the Universe, their failure will also change. This also brings us to
another teaching which says "Work is worship". Work is indeed
worship and student's should not shy away from hard work.
2. Man is made by his belief: This is important for all the students.
In the age of social media, students mostly suffer from self-doubt
and low self- confidence. Belief in their own capabilities is what
sets most of the successful students apart. In student life it is very
important to have belief in self. Students who believe in their own
capabilities often find it easy to climb the ladder to success.
3. Meditation: Bhagvad Gita advocates the benefits of meditation.
Meditation has been proven to have lasting effect on students and
can help immensely with anxiety during exams or other stressful
situations in student life.
4. Dream big: In Bhagvad Gita, Krishna says that we are kept from
our goals not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal. This
essentially means that a person should dream big and should not
MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM
BHAGAVAD GITA
• Dedication Towards Work – A popular verse of Gita advises the
detachment of expectations of desired outcomes from completing
any work. Similarly, an individual must focus in accomplishing the
work not in the outcomes associated with it.
• Selfless Work – Lord Krishna advices Arjuna to fight the battle for
the betterment of the universe. He reminded Arjuna the purpose of
war which is for the betterment of world towards the right way of
living (Dharma), not for his own benefit, not for satisfying his own
greed or desires. Thus, in an organization every individual should
work by subordinating his individual interest under the
organizational interest.
• Work as Identity – As per Bhagavad Gita a human’s identity is not
defined by his caste, color and the family he belongs from but a
human’s identity is defined from his actions and the way he behaves
with others. It is same in context with management an individual’s
identity is his capabilities, his work and his behavior with his
superiors, sub-ordinates and peers.
• Emotional Intelligence – According to Bhagavad Gita, We should
not get overconfident from our small victories and we should not feel
so depressed after every small failures, we should constantly work
towards our purpose. Similarly in management we must continue our
• Acceptability of Change – According to Lord Krishna, a person
who has fear of change distracts himself from the right way of living
(Dharma) and does unethical actions. Alike, a person in
management should not fear change and accept the change.
• Intentions – Lord Krishna says that Intention is the essence to get
the desired goals. Any work with good intention is always
accomplished with desired goals. Equivalently, a manager’s
intention towards the goal should be clear and achievable which
differentiate him from others.
• Stable Mind (a key to success) – In the middle of the battle field,
Lord Krishna says that human life is like a battle within mind and
soul, a human must keep his mind stable, to analyze the situation
and can make effective decision in order to win the situation. In the
same way, a manager should try to keep his mind calm and take
effective decision to overcome every challenges.