Chapter 16 Shloka 11

चिन्तामपरिमेयां च प्रलयान्तामुपाश्रिता:।

कामोपभोगपरमा एतावदिति निश्चिता:।।११।।

Those who are sustained by endless apprehensions

which last till death, and believe that the

supreme goal and joy of life lies only in

partaking of sensuous pleasures, such believers

are replete with a wealth of demonic qualities.

Chapter 16 Shloka 11

चिन्तामपरिमेयां च प्रलयान्तामुपाश्रिता:।

कामोपभोगपरमा एतावदिति निश्चिता:।।११।।

The Lord says:

Those who are sustained by endless apprehensions which last till death, and believe that the supreme goal and joy of life lies only in partaking of sensuous pleasures, such believers are replete with a wealth of demonic qualities.

If enjoyment of objects is one’s main consideration then one’s life shall always remain unsatiated.

1. Neither do likes and dislikes end, nor desires attain fulfilment.

2. It is not only difficult, but well nigh impossible to attain satiation through sense gratification.

3. It is as foolish to seek satiation through sense gratification as it is to endeavour to quell a fire with kerosene!

Desire is related to the things one likes. If half this creation is encompassed in this category, how can you ever be satiated? If you must attain what you desire each time, what will be the ultimate result? That is why satiation is impossible in one lifetime. The attainment of the desired object or the sampling of sense objects cannot bring fulfilment to the individual.

On the other hand:

1. The desire for attaining and accumulating objects is never completely fulfilled.

2. One always remains worried about the means to obtain desire fulfilment.

3. Once procured, that desired object requires protection and becomes the cause of constant anxiety.

4. The desire for recognition also causes tension and worry.

5. Then comes the worry of retaining that recognition and fame.

6. When one’s concepts and beliefs are in peril, one is troubled.

7. One is afraid lest one’s near and dear ones leave one.

8. The enemy must not win – this worry gnaws at one’s heart.

9. One’s friends must not be alienated – this worry also causes distress.

10. The worry about what one’s associates may do troubles one.

All these worries afflict the individual – worry of the world, of the home, of oneself, of the other, of one’s job and one’s business.

Those who possess demonic traits press these worries to their heart. This worry afflicts them even when they are engaged in the practice of spiritual pursuits. The spiritual practicant worries when he witnesses the distance between him and the Lord’s Name. ‘I have not achieved this – why have I not achieved it? When shall I attain it?’ All these are a cause of worry.

Worry is caused:

a) due to the ego;

b) when one wants to achieve something;

c) by the desire for self-establishment;

d) due to one’s desire to attain what one likes;

e) in one who seeks a change;

f) in one who retains the pride of doership.

Worry and attachment are offsprings of an ignorant mind and intellect. The normal nature of the mind is to reflect – not to worry.

Reflection – Worry

Extreme attachment to the fruits of action, victory and defeat, egoistic identification with success and failure, the desire of the ‘I’ for complete dominance, all these give rise to worry. Reflection thus takes the form of anxiety.

A thought process devoid of ‘I’, of moha, ego and attachment constitutes reflection. The thought process which contains all these factors constitutes worry.

So long as one seeks even a single iota for the ‘I’, one is bound to worry. A true sadhak is devoid of worry. Such a spiritual aspirant endeavours to give his body, mind and intellect to the Lord. He seeks nothing for himself – he merely gives of himself to the world. Such a one does not have to consciously engage in dutiful deeds – his very life is duty itself. His every deed is the fulfilment of duties.

When one has thus given one’s body to the Lord, the flow of one’s life becomes akin to that of the Lord. Such a one is free of worry; because the giver has no cause for worry – it is the receiver who worries about the cessation of his source of bounties!

1. A true sadhak gives to all.

2. One who believes in the Lord is completely devoid of worry.

3. When the body is to be given to the Lord, then how is one concerned about what it receives or does not receive?

4. If the body belongs to the Lord, it is the Lord who receives everything.

Good or bad – all is bestowed by Him. Recognition and insult – all proceed from Him and to Him. Whatsoever happens, happens to the body – nothing in fact happens to the human being.

The spiritual aspirant is then rendered free of worry. However, if one considers the enjoyment of physical objects to be:

a) one’s supreme aim, then worry will be inevitable;

b) of the greatest importance, worry will persist;

c) the only attainable goal, worry will be one’s constant companion.

He who believes that life is only for enjoyment of sense objects, that person will be ignorant, blind, ever anxious and flush with demonic qualities.

Little one, you have asked for a clarification about sense objects – so listen! This entire world is a sense object for one or another.

1. The gross world is an object for the sense faculties.

2. Knowledge is an object for the intellect.

3. All that can be perceived is an object of sense.

The individual partakes of sense objects, he also enjoys knowledge. If knowledge is able to annihilate one’s impurities and make one an Atmavaan, then that knowledge is a veritable Ganga. That knowledge is purifying. Yet, knowledge is also an object of the intellect. It is only the Atma which is not an object for anyone to perceive or behold. Knowledge can destroy ignorance. Only sense objects can destroy other sense objects. True knowledge is that which destroys ignorance and then annihilates even itself. What remains thereafter, is the Atma.