Overcome the sources of trouble in this world

Divine Life Society Publication: The Positivity and Negativity of Experience by Swami Krishnananda

In the Sixteenth Chapter, we have the definition of the twofold forces acting in different ways, centripetal and centrifugal, the daiva and the asura sampat. The asura sampat, which is the devilish form it takes when it becomes uncontrollable, is psychologically engendered by certain operations in us, to which a reference is being made towards the end of the chapter.

Trividhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ, kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet (Gita 16.21): The road to hell is threefold. The undivine nature can take you to the lowest perdition; and its seed is sown in our own hearts. Life and death are both operating in our own selves in a mysterious way, right from the time of our birth from the womb of the mother.

Desire, anger and greed are the sources of trouble in this world: kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas. Intense longing for a thing is kama: "It is impossible to exist without it. I want it, and I want it in any way." This kind of unquenchable thirst or longing for things is kama. And if any obstruction comes in the way of the fulfilment of your desire, you are angry at the source of that obstruction. You want to see the end of it. This is krodha. Therefore, kama and krodha are dual factors operating as a single force of longing. One is longing per se, as it is in itself; the other is the longing itself acting in a different way against that which is derogatory to the fulfilment of the longing.

It appears that gods, demons and men went to Prajapati, the Creator. "Give us some instruction." Prajapati, the great Creator, answered: "Da," to the gods, demons and also to human being. What is it that they understood?

Three people understood the one sound da in three different ways. The gods understood “da” to mean damyata, "be self-controlled", because the celestials in heaven are supposed to be engrossed in the pleasures of life. The senses become highly rarefied in heaven. We cannot properly enjoy things in this world because physicality hampers cognition of things to a large extent. The weight of this body and the weight of the object obstruct a real satisfaction taking place in us, whereas in heaven there is no physicality; therefore, there is lightness, buoyancy of spirit, and enjoyment is more intense. Hence, inclination to rejoicing is more in heaven than even on this Earth. So the gods understood, "Yes, he is telling us not to be too engrossed in the joys of the senses – damyata. We understood. You are telling us that we must be self-controlled. We should not enjoy through the senses."

"Do you understand?" Prajapati asked the demons. "Yes. We understand." Demons are always angry. They are ferocious. They kill. They destroy. Their only work is destruction. They do not want anybody else to exist. "What do you understand?" "Dayadhvam: be compassionate. This is what you are telling us. We are very cruel. We understand that you are telling us we must be compassionate." Da means damyata in the case of gods: be self-controlled; but da means dayadhvam, "Be compassionate," in the case of the demons.

What about human beings? "What did you understand?" "We understood 'Datta: give in charity'." Human beings are greedy, they want to possess, and go on accumulating land, property, gold and silver. So human beings understood da to mean give in charity: "Don't be greedy. Give! Give in charity." Be self-controlled, be compassionate, be charitable in nature. These three instructions Prajapati gave to the threefold manifestations of these three gunas: passion, anger and greed. These are the road to hell.

Excerpts from:

Overcome the sources of trouble in this world   - The Positivity and Negativity of Experience by Swami Krishnananda

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