The Bhagavad Gita

Chapter Sixteen

YOGA OF THE DIVISION BETWEEN DIVINE AND DEMONIC NATURE

DAIVASURA SAMPAD VIBHAGA YOGA

By

Dr. R. J. Kalpana Ph.D

Visvaayudha December 2025

vasudevasutaḿ devaḿ kaḿsa-cāṇūra-mardanam

devakī-paramānandaḿ kṛṣṇaḿ vande jagadgurum

I bow down to Sri Krishna, who is the Master of the Universe, beloved son of Vasudeva, who vanquished Kamsa and Chanura, who brings immense joy to his mother, Devaki.

Pranams from Dr. R J Kalpana, Welcome to the study of The Bhagavad Gita.

In the first five chapters of the Gita we saw how life should be lived and its purpose fulfilled. From the Sixth to the Eleventh chapter, bhakti was viewed from various angles. In the Twelfth chapter, we compared Saguna and Nirguna bhakti and had a look at the noble attributes of the bhaktha. In chapters Thirteen to Fifteen, Jnana was discussed and we learnt that the Self should be separated from the body, the three gunas should be conquered for that purpose and in the end, we should see the Divine everywhere.

Just as the early morning glow proclaims the sun is about to rise, so too does the rise of Purushottamayoga in life is preceded by the glow of virtues. In  this Chapter, we will study the glow and the darkness which this glow dispels.

We have incorporated jnana, karma, bhakti marga in our lives but how do we measure the progress of our spiritual quest. We should assess our life experiences, see how far the good tendencies have become part of our nature and how many virtues have we inculcated.

Forces of the light and darkness have always been pitted against each other, just as forces of the divine and demonic qualities. It has been a tradition to describe this struggle. There is fight between Indra and Vritra in the Vedas, between devas and asuras in the Puranas, between Rama and Ravana in the Ramayana.

When virtues and vices are pitted against each other, each army requires a commander. It is very interesting that the commander for the army of virtues is Abhaya – fearlessness. Do you know what was the first samskara that was formed? In the act of creation, that instance when the individual soul separated from the Divine soul, the first samskara that was formed was one of fear!

Hence, the first virtue that Krishna speaks about in the very first word of the very first sloka of this chapter is Abhaya.

śrī-bhagavān uvāca

abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir

jñāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ

dānaṁ damaś ca yajñaś ca

svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam

This is no accident that the first word is fearlessness. No virtue can develop without fearlessness. So fearlessness leads from the front and humility steps up from the rear. Twenty-six virtues have been listed here but without humility, they will turn victory into defeat. Purity of mind, constant remembrance of the Divine, compassion, control of the senses. In fact, all the virtues are contained in truth and non-violence. But fearlessness and humility belong to a different category. Fearlessness makes advancement possible and humility ensures safety.

Against this army of virtues, the army of vices is pitted. About hypocrisy and ignorance, the less said the better. Hypocrisy is ingrained in us for the whole edifice of life as it were stands on this foundation. Ignorance has become a convenient excuse for us to cover our lapses. Shri Krishna is telling us to look at our ignorance and that ignorance too is unforgivable.

Wealth, pride, delusion all stem from ignorance of the Self and the journey of the soul. Desire, greed, anger bring about the downfall of the soul and therefore, one should shun all these. Work towards developing the individual self towards perfection and in that development, be the cause of inspiration for the multitude.

Accept the scientific way of self-restraint and shun the ways of the senses. The Divine Lord descends on the earth for the protection of dharma not for the protection of numbers. As long as there is one man devoted to dharma, one man who shuns sin and is committed to truth, there is no cause for worry. Will you be that man or woman or child? People without dharma are as good as dead.

Taking all this into consideration, live in the world with self-restraint and avoid excesses. Increase your moral fortitude for a life lived without principles is a life wasted. How many cycles of birth and rebirth would you want to go through?

Be detached like the lotus leaf, weave a web of protection around you by constant Divine thought and do your duty without any thought of reward or gain. Shri Krishna advised us to shun the demonic qualities and cultivate divine qualities. Let us make efforts in this direction in this new year.

yogeśaṁ(m) saccidānandaṁ(v̐), vāsudevaṁ(v̐) vrajapriyam,

dharmasaṁsthāpakaṁ(v̐) vīraṁ(ṅ), kṛṣṇaṁ(v̐) vande jagadgurum

I bow to the Master of Yoga, who is the beloved son of Vasudeva, the brave warrior who established Dharma, the spiritual guru of the world.

                                             OM ŚRĪKṚṢṆĀRPAṆAMASTU

Note: The talks can be accessed on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/@kalpanarj