Daily Readings from the Works of Swami Venkatesananda

Swamiji's Commentary

      The basic characteristics of the devil’s disciple are detailed in this and the following verses. Krishna does not want to emphasize evil overmuch, and therefore gives briefly the qualities found in the evil ones  Do you not detect a tone of sympathy rather than one of condemnation in this verse? ‘They know not what to do’ is an expression parallel to the famous words of lord Jesus.

      Much of the evil in the world is born of ignorance, for very few people know what to do and what to refrain from. They are ignorant. The light of true knowledge has not been lit in them. I do not suggest that such knowledge will at once lift them into the kingdom of righteousness; but, with the exception of those who deliberately choose to be wicked, the vast majority of people who grope in the darkness of ignorance and whose ignorance confuses them as to their duty, making evil appear as ‘necessary in the circumstances’, will definitely grow spiritually if more and more people take upon themselves the duty of educating their brethren (especially the younger generation) in the art of right conduct. There has been grave and universal neglect in this regard, and hence the problems that face the world multiply daily. Consequently, the world is rolling towards catastrophe after catastrophe.

      Is that not the sole purpose of The Bhagavad Gītā ? To guide man aright in the daily battle of life, to direct him who stands at the cross-roads, to instruct him in right conduct and to reveal truth in his heart? The teaching is pure and the teaching is purifying. Thus, if every one who has understood this message undertakes to educate two more people, we shall all be blessed, and the future would certainly be bright. To ‘educate’ is to ‘bring out’ the truth which is present in the other man. Proselytization destroys the faith, the vital spark in man. To reform is to give a new form to the old evil. Thus, we should educate, not reform or proselytize.