Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, Verse 5 (BG 16.5) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

After hearing such extensive lists of divine and demonic qualities, any sincere seeker naturally wishes to know which treasury of virtues they possess. Most practitioners tend to be acutely aware of their shortcomings, and consequently lack complete confidence in their own abundance of divine qualities. Perceiving perhaps such despondency in Arjuna's countenance, Lord Sri Krishna immediately offers him solace, saying: "O Pandava, grieve not. You are born endowed with divine qualities." If a student, pursuing study with genuine interest and perseverance, reaches this chapter of the Gita, this itself is evidence that they are blessed with divine wealth. The purpose here in describing the beauty of virtue and the ugliness of vice is not to consign the righteous eternally to heaven and the wicked eternally to infernal torment. Rather, the subject matter rests upon a scientific foundation. The cultivation of moral virtues is a wise means of reviving humanity's weakened powers and exhausted inspirations. By living these qualities in one's life, a person becomes liberated from the bonds of self-imposed limitations. Divine wealth is the instrument of liberation. Conversely, the vicious tendencies pursued by sinful persons bind humanity in delusion and suffering, depriving them of the development of their inner nature. Demonic wealth is the cause of bondage. "Grieve not." Sometimes seekers become excessively emotional and fall into despair. Their tendency then turns toward self-criticism. Consequently, they succumb to melancholy and depression—a form of mental affliction. Such a person never discovers within themselves the strengthening joy, self-confidence, and firm resolve necessary for self-examination and self-healing. A life of virtue naturally cures certain such maladies. In the Hindu understanding, a sinful person is neither mentally leprous nor a sign of the Almighty's failure. The Vedantists do not regard the asura or demon as an eternal challenge to God. Goodness tinged with weakness and ignorance is called evil, and evil freed from these defects becomes good. A mirror covered with dust cannot reflect the object before it—yet this is not due to the mirror's incapacity, but to the dust covering it, which is essentially distinct from the mirror itself. When the mirror is cleansed, the reflection of the object shines forth clearly. Similarly, even in the heart of a wicked person dwells the luminous light of the atman, the true Self. Yet, alas, that light remains obscured by that person's own false beliefs and false values. Now, with the intention of studying the asuras in particular, Lord Sri Krishna speaks: