Lord Krishna said, The qualities of people with a pious nature are fearlessness; purity of heart; development of spiritual knowledge; charity and generosity; self-control; sacrifice; study of the Vedas; austerity and simplicity; non-violence; honesty; freedom from anger; detachment from the mundane; tranquillity; disinclination to find fault with others; compassion; freedom from greed, envy, malice and the passion for honour; gentleness and modesty; steadfastness; forgiveness and patience and cleanliness.
The impious qualities are pride, vanity, anger, arrogance, cruelty and ignorance.
The pious qualities are the cause of liberation, whereas the impious qualities are the cause of bondage. You need not worry Arjuna, because you possess the pious qualities.
In this world the living beings are of two natures – the pious and the impious. I have elaborately described the pious qualities, now hear from me about the impious.
The impious cannot distinguish between right and wrong action. Purity, truth or correct behaviour cannot be found in them. They say this world has no law and order, no basis and no God in control. They say male and female union creates this world and that life has no cause other than lust.
Holding such a perspective, the impious, who are decadent and have no intelligence, engage in cruel and harmful actions that will destroy the world. The impious surrender to insatiable desires, pride and arrogance, and so they adopt false ideas and engage in misconduct and wrongdoing.
They think the goal of human life is the enjoyment of sensual pleasure and so they remain burdened with endless anxieties until death. Bound by a web of hundreds of desires and overcome by lust and anger, they try to amass wealth by any means, in order to satisfy their desires.
The impious person says, ‘Today I have so much wealth, and tomorrow I will gain more. This wealth is all mine, and I will get even more in the future. I have destroyed one of my enemies, and I will destroy others. I am successful, powerful and happy. I am rich and aristocratic. Who can compare with me? I shall perform sacrifices, give some charity, and enjoy myself.’
These people are deceived by ignorance. Confounded by anxiety, strongly attached to sensual enjoyment and caught in a web of illusion they descend into a hellish existence.
They are conceited, impudent and intoxicated by their wealth and false prestige. Ignoring the scriptural rules and regulations, they hypocritically perform sacrifices in name only.
Bewildered by egotism, pride, power, lust, and anger, they abuse me: the Supreme Self present in their own body and in the bodies of others.
I cast those who are envious, resentful, cruel and decadent into the ocean of material existence in various impious species of life. Repeatedly being born into the impious species, these people cannot approach me and they descend to the most degraded planes of existence.
Lust, anger and greed are the three gates which lead to hell. You must abandon them because they destroy self-realisation. Those who avoid these three gates endeavour for the welfare of the soul and thus reach the supreme destination.
Those who act according to their own desires without regard for the scriptural regulations cannot achieve perfection, happiness, or the ultimate goal.
The scriptures are the authority for determining right and wrong action. Knowing the scriptural rules and regulations regarding your duty in this world, you should act accordingly.
