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Chapter 16
CONFLICT BETWEEN THE DIVINE AND THE DEMONIACAL TENDENCIES
88. Divine Qualities: The Harbinger of Purushottamyoga
3. Now, what does this Sixteenth Chapter tell us? Just as the glow on the horizon proclaims that the sun is about to rise, the rise of Purushottamyoga in life is preceded by the glow of virtues. This Chapter describes this glow, and also the darkness which this glow dispels. We seek concrete proof to get convinced about anything. How are we to know that service, bhakti and jnana have become part of our life? We must have some test. We toil in the field and measure the result in terms of the yield of the grains. Similarly, the progress of our spiritual quest should also be measured. We should assess our experience, see how far good tendencies have become part of our nature and how many virtues have been imbibed, how far life has been infused with the spirit of service. This is what this Chapter tells us. In this context, the Gita uses the term ‘daivi sampatti’ (divine qualities) and calls the qualities opposed to them ‘asuric’ (demoniacal). The Sixteenth Chapter describes the battle between these two sets of qualities. |
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