Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-17, Sraddha-traya-vibhaga-yogam : Introduction-3.

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Swami Chinmayananda

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Tuesday, July 27, 2021. 6:34. PM.
Srimad Bhagavad-Gita
Chapter-17. Sraddha-traya-vibhaga-yogam :1.3.
1. Introduction-3.
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Introduction-3.

In the preceding chapter the Supreme Lord Krishna spoke of the difference between those endowed with the divine nature and those possessing the demoniac nature. 

He described the qualities of each and emphasised that the divine endowments should be cultivated and embellished while the demoniac nature should be rejected and avoided by all means.

This confirms the reality that to become qualified for spiritual knowledge an aspirant must be exclusively situated in sattva guna or the mode of goodness which empowers one to perform only actions that are in harmony with the Vedic scriptures. 

urthermore Lord Krishna established the fact that the absolute authority of the Vedic scriptures is the exclusive reference to understand what is proper and what is improper, what is acceptable and what is unacceptable and no other source is warranted. 

One should accept the impeccable authority of the Vedic scriptures wholeheartedly and act in accordance with the Vedic ordinances and injunctions which bestow the highest benefit for all creation while avoiding the prohibitions as they lead only to degradation and sin. Acting contradictory to any aspect of the Vedic scriptures are activities of raja guna the mode of passion while indifference to them is tama guna the mode of ignorance. 

Both of these modes definitely insures that one will incarnate into lower and lower species of life such as dogs, pigs and reptiles. 

Those who spitefully disregard the Vedic scriptures and insidiously disrespect the authorised promulgators of the Vedic scriptures are certainly of the demoniac nature and as such they degenerate into the most degraded existences.

Lord Krishna begins the seventeenth chapter explaining the three types of faith found in those possessing characteristics of each guna regarding the types of food one eats, the type of rituals one performs, the kind of austerities one undertakes etc. 

Any action executed with faith that is dominated by evil intentions resides in tama guna and is characterised by demoniac conceptions and activities hence enslavement and bondage in material existence. 

But there are some who out of ignorance, lack of exposure or unawareness do not adhere to the ordinances and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures. 

Yet they also avoid indulgence in prohibited activities due to desiring respect in society. 

What will be the position of such a one? 

Occasionally they will sincerely perform some ritual or follow some austerity with faith and even though they are not engaging in sinful prohibitions because they ignore the ordinances and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures they still possess demoniacal characteristics. 

So the query is how are they categorized?

Although they are indifferent to the Vedic scriptures such beings worship lesser gods and are following inferior conceptions. 

Some adhere to such conceptions due to fear of going to hell, some due to tradition, still others due to acceptance in society. 

They have no interest in the Vedic scriptures and have never even considered the meaning of existence having no desire to understand why they were born and in knowing the purpose of life. 

If they have heard about the Vedic scriptures they regard them as not applying to them or consider them to be below the level of their own scriptures which they have never adequately studied or comprehended. 

The irrefutable evidence is that there is extremely limited information about the atma or immortal soul in any of the religious conceptions on Earth except in the Vedic scriptures and any credible reference to the atma can only be taken from the Vedic scriptures as the source. 

The most important ingredient of human existence is immortality of the soul and it is completely missing in the consciousness of humanity except in the Vedic culture where it is fully comprehended. 

The word sraddhaya-anvitah means faithfully. 

Such faith arises from traditional belief in god and religious scriptures. One who is ignorant of the Vedic scriptures is different from one who is opposed to the Vedic scriptures. 

So what is the truth regarding those who are not opposed to the Vedic scriptures but only indifferent due to following their own traditions and what is there position? 

This is the question Lord Krishna will begin to fully explain in the next slokam. 

To be continued  ...

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