Texts 1-3
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Fearlessness; purifice-tion of one's existence; cultivation of spiritual knowledge; charity; self-control; performance of sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity; simplicity; nonviolence; truthfulness; freedom from anger; renuncia-tion; tranquillity; aversion to faultfinding; compassion for all living entities; freedom from covetousness; gentleness; modesty; steady determination; vigor; forgiveness; fortitude; cleanliness; and free-dom from envy and from the passion for honor-these transcenden-tal qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.
Text 4
Pride, arrogance, conceit, anger, harshness and ignorance-these qualities belong to those of demoniac nature, O son of Prtha.
Text 5
The transcendental qualities are conducive to liberation, whereas the demoniac qualities make for bondage. Do not worry, O son of Pandu, for you are born with the divine qualities.
Text 6
O son of Prtha, in this world there are two kinds of created beings. One is called divine and the other demoniac. I have already explained to you at length the divine qualities. Now hear from Me of the demoniac.
Text 7
Those who are demoniac do not know what is to be done and what is not to be done. Neither cleanliness nor proper behavior nor truth is found in them.
Text 8
They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, on God in control. They say it is produced of sex desire and has no cause other than lust.
Text 9
Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to them-selves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible works meant to destroy the world.
Text 10
Taking shelter of insatiable lust and absorbed in the conceit of pride and false prestige, the demoniac, thus illusioned, are alwayssworn to unclean work, attracted by the impermanent.
Texts 11-12
They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus until the end of life their anxiety is immeasurable. Bound by a network of hundreds of thousands of desires and absorbed in lust and anger, they secure money by illegal means for sense gratification.
Texts 13-15
The demoniac person thinks; "So much wealth do I have today, and I will gain more according to my schemes. So much is mine now, and it will increase in the future, more and more. He is my enemy. and I have killed him, and my other enemies will also be killed. I am the lord of everything. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful and happy. I am the richest man. surrounded by aristocratic relatives. There is none so powerful and happy as I am. I shall perform sacrifices, I shall give some charity, and thus I shall rejoice. "In this way, such persons are deluded by ignorance.
Text 16
Thus perplexed by various anxieties and bound by a network of illusions, they become too strongly attached to sense enjoyment and fall down into hell.
Text 17
Self-complacent and always impudent, deluded by wealth and false prestige, they sometimes proudly perform sacrifices in name only, without following any rules or regulations.
Text 18
Bewildered by false ego, strength, pride, lust and anger, the de-mons become envious of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is situated in their own bodies and in the bodies of others, and blaspheme against the real religion.
Text 19
Those who are envious and mischievous, who are the lowest among men, I perpetually cast into the ocean of material existence, into various demoniac species of life.
Text 20
Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac life, O son of kunti, such persons can never approach Me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.
Text 21
There are three gates leading to this hell-lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.
Text 22
The man who has escaped these three gates of hell, O son of kunti, performs acts conducive to self-realization and thus gradually attains the supreme destination.
Text 23
He who discards scriptural injunctions and according to his own whims attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme destination.
Text 24
One Should therefore understand what is duty and what is not duty by the regulations of the scriptures, Knowing such rules and regulations. one should act so that he may gradually be elevated.