Yatharth Geeta -Swami Adgadanand 811

Yatharth Geeta -Swami Adgadanand Ji

CHAPTER 17 The Yog of Threefold Faith At the beginning of the chapter Arjun wishes to be instructed by the Lord on the nature of the faith of men who set upon the task of worship in violation of scriptural injunction. Who among us does not know the many who persist in adoring ghosts and spirits? What is the nature of their faith? Is it moral, impulsive, or steeped in ignorance and therefore evil? Krishn’s answer to the question is that since faith is inherent in man, he cannot but believe in something here or there. So he is shaped by his leaning and faith. Determined respectively by properties of sattwa, rajas and tamas, faith is of three kinds. While men with righteous faith adore gods and men of illusion are devotees of yaksh (source of renown and valour) and demons (personification of wealth and brutish conduct), the ignorant venerate ghosts and spirits. By their various forms of worship that are lacking in spiritual approval, all such devotees not only impair the elements that they embody but also their finer resolutions and the God that dwell within them. These adulators of supernatural spirits, yaksh, demons, and diverse gods should indeed be looked upon as disposed to evil rather than as true worshippers.