The Song celestial Part 8

For in this world Being is twofold: the Divided, one; The Undivided, one. All things that live Are "the Divided." That which sits apart, "The Undivided."

Higher still is He, The Highest, holding all, whose Name is LORD, The Eternal, Sovereign, First! Who fills all worlds, Sustaining them. And--dwelling thus beyond Divided Being and Undivided--I Am called of men and Vedas, Life Supreme, The PURUSHOTTAMA.

Who knows Me thus, With mind unclouded, knoweth all, dear Prince!

And with his whole soul ever wors.h.i.+ppeth Me.

Now is the sacred, secret Mystery Declared to thee! Who comprehendeth this Hath wisdom! He is quit of works in bliss!

HERE ENDS CHAPTER XV. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA Ent.i.tled "Purushottamapraptiyog,"

Or "The Book of Religion by attaining the Supreme."

CHAPTER XVI

Krishna.

Fearlessness, singleness of soul, the will Always to strive for wisdom; opened hand And governed appet.i.tes; and piety, And love of lonely study; humbleness, Uprightness, heed to injure nought which lives, Truthfulness, slowness unto wrath, a mind That lightly letteth go what others prize; And equanimity, and charity Which spieth no man's faults; and tenderness Towards all that suffer; a contented heart, Fluttered by no desires; a bearing mild, Modest, and grave, with manhood n.o.bly mixed, With patience, fort.i.tude, and purity; An unrevengeful spirit, never given To rate itself too high;--such be the signs, O Indian Prince! of him whose feet are set On that fair path which leads to heavenly birth!

Deceitfulness, and arrogance, and pride, Quickness to anger, harsh and evil speech, And ignorance, to its own darkness blind,-- These be the signs, My Prince! of him whose birth Is fated for the regions of the vile.[FN#32]

The Heavenly Birth brings to deliverance, So should'st thou know! The birth with Asuras Brings into bondage. Be thou joyous, Prince!

Whose lot is set apart for heavenly Birth.

Two stamps there are marked on all living men, Divine and Undivine; I spake to thee By what marks thou shouldst know the Heavenly Man, Hear from me now of the Unheavenly!

They comprehend not, the Unheavenly, How Souls go forth from Me; nor how they come Back unto Me: nor is there Truth in these, Nor purity, nor rule of Life. "This world Hath not a Law, nor Order, nor a Lord,"

So say they: "nor hath risen up by Cause Following on Cause, in perfect purposing, But is none other than a House of l.u.s.t."

And, this thing thinking, all those ruined ones-- Of little wit, dark-minded--give themselves To evil deeds, the curses of their kind.

Surrendered to desires insatiable, Full of deceitfulness, folly, and pride, In blindness cleaving to their errors, caught Into the sinful course, they trust this lie As it were true--this lie which leads to death-- Finding in Pleasure all the good which is, And crying "Here it finisheth!"

Ensnared In nooses of a hundred idle hopes, Slaves to their pa.s.sion and their wrath, they buy Wealth with base deeds, to glut hot appet.i.tes; "Thus much, to-day," they say, "we gained! thereby Such and such wish of heart shall have its fill; And this is ours! and th' other shall be ours!

To-day we slew a foe, and we will slay Our other enemy to-morrow! Look!

Are we not lords? Make we not goodly cheer?

Is not our fortune famous, brave, and great?

Rich are we, proudly born! What other men Live like to us? Kill, then, for sacrifice!

Cast largesse, and be merry!" So they speak Darkened by ignorance; and so they fall-- Tossed to and fro with projects, tricked, and bound In net of black delusion, lost in l.u.s.ts-- Down to foul Naraka. Conceited, fond, Stubborn and proud, dead-drunken with the wine Of wealth, and reckless, all their offerings Have but a show of reverence, being not made In piety of ancient faith. Thus vowed To self-hood, force, insolence, feasting, wrath, These My blasphemers, in the forms they wear And in the forms they breed, my foemen are, Hateful and hating; cruel, evil, vile, Lowest and least of men, whom I cast down Again, and yet again, at end of lives, Into some devilish womb, whence--birth by birth-- The devilish wombs re-sp.a.w.n them, all beguiled; And, till they find and wors.h.i.+p Me, sweet Prince!

Tread they that Nether Road.

The Doors of h.e.l.l Are threefold, whereby men to ruin pa.s.s,-- The door of l.u.s.t, the door of Wrath, the door Of Avarice. Let a man shun those three!

He who shall turn aside from entering All those three gates of Narak, wendeth straight To find his peace, and comes to Swarga's gate.

. . . . . . . . . . . .[FN#33]

HERE ENDETH CHAPTER XVI. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, Ent.i.tled "Daivasarasaupadwibhagayog,"

Or "The Book of the Separateness of the Divine and Undivine."

CHAPTER XVII

Arjuna.

If men forsake the holy ordinance, Heedless of Shastras, yet keep faith at heart And wors.h.i.+p, what shall be the state of those, Great Krishna! Sattwan, Rajas, Tamas? Say!

Krishna.

Threefold the faith is of mankind and springs From those three qualities,--becoming "true,"

Or "pa.s.sion-stained," or "dark," as thou shalt hear!

The faith of each believer, Indian Prince!

Conforms itself to what he truly is.

Where thou shalt see a wors.h.i.+pper, that one To what he wors.h.i.+ps lives a.s.similate, [Such as the shrine, so is the votary,]

The "soothfast" souls adore true G.o.ds; the souls Obeying Rajas wors.h.i.+p Rakshasas[FN#34]

Or Yakshas; and the men of Darkness pray To Pretas and to Bhutas.[FN#35] Yea, and those Who practise bitter penance, not enjoined By rightful rule--penance which hath its root In self-sufficient, proud hypocrisies-- Those men, pa.s.sion-beset, violent, wild, Torturing--the witless ones--My elements Shut in fair company within their flesh, (Nay, Me myself, present within the fles.h.!.+) Know them to devils devoted, not to Heaven!

For like as foods are threefold for mankind In nouris.h.i.+ng, so is there threefold way Of wors.h.i.+p, abstinence, and almsgiving!

Hear this of Me! there is a food which brings Force, substance, strength, and health, and joy to live, Being well-seasoned, cordial, comforting, The "Soothfast" meat. And there be foods which bring Aches and unrests, and burning blood, and grief, Being too biting, heating, salt, and sharp, And therefore craved by too strong appet.i.te.

And there is foul food--kept from over-night,[FN#36]

Savourless, filthy, which the foul will eat, A feast of rottenness, meet for the lips Of such as love the "Darkness."

Thus with rites;-- A sacrifice not for rewardment made, Offered in rightful wise, when he who vows Sayeth, with heart devout, "This I should do!"

Is "Soothfast" rite. But sacrifice for gain, Offered for good repute, be sure that this, O Best of Bharatas! is Rajas-rite, With stamp of "pa.s.sion." And a sacrifice Offered against the laws, with no due dole Of food-giving, with no accompaniment Of hallowed hymn, nor largesse to the priests, In faithless celebration, call it vile, The deed of "Darkness!"--lost!

Wors.h.i.+p of G.o.ds Meriting wors.h.i.+p; lowly reverence Of Twice-borns, Teachers, Elders; Purity, Rect.i.tude, and the Brahmacharya's vow, And not to injure any helpless thing,-- These make a true religiousness of Act.

Words causing no man woe, words ever true, Gentle and pleasing words, and those ye say In murmured reading of a Sacred Writ,-- These make the true religiousness of Speech.

Serenity of soul, benignity, Sway of the silent Spirit, constant stress To sanctify the Nature,--these things make Good rite, and true religiousness of Mind.

Such threefold faith, in highest piety Kept, with no hope of gain, by hearts devote, Is perfect work of Sattwan, true belief.

Religion shown in act of proud display To win good entertainment, wors.h.i.+p, fame, Such--say I--is of Rajas, rash and vain.

Religion followed by a witless will To torture self, or come at power to hurt Another,--'tis of Tamas, dark and ill.

The gift lovingly given, when one shall say "Now must I gladly give!" when he who takes Can render nothing back; made in due place, Due time, and to a meet recipient, Is gift of Sattwan, fair and profitable.

The gift selfishly given, where to receive Is hoped again, or when some end is sought, Or where the gift is proffered with a grudge, This is of Rajas, stained with impulse, ill.

The gift churlishly flung, at evil time, In wrongful place, to base recipient, Made in disdain or harsh unkindliness, Is gift of Tamas, dark; it doth not bless![FN#37]

HERE ENDETH CHAPTER XVII. OF THE BHAGAVAD-GITA, Ent.i.tled "Sraddhatrayavibhagayog,"

Or "The Book of Religion by the Threefold Kinds of Faith."

CHAPTER XVIII

Arjuna.

Fain would I better know, Thou Glorious One!

The very truth--Heart's Lord!--of Sannyas, Abstention; and enunciation, Lord!

Tyaga; and what separates these twain!

Krishna.

The poets rightly teach that Sannyas Is the foregoing of all acts which spring Out of desire; and their wisest say Tyaga is renouncing fruit of acts.

There be among the saints some who have held All action sinful, and to be renounced; And some who answer, "Nay! the goodly acts-- As wors.h.i.+p, penance, alms--must be performed!"