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(continued from Part 8)
-------------------------------------------------------

Let us now turn to the expression
"Asuram-bhAvam-AsritAh" in the Gita. It is useful to
study it as if it were composed of 3 elements:

(1) "asura"
(2) "asura-bhAva"
(3) "Asuram-bhavam-asritAh"

(1) In the "pUrAnA-s" of our ancient tradition, we
come across many archetypes of the "asura" -- e.g.
Hiranyakasipu, the pre-eminent one amongst all
"God-antagonists" or "bhagavath-dvEshi-s". 

What distinguishes the "asura" is that not only does
he deny the idea and reality of the Almighty (Ultimate
Cause, "para-tattva"), he is also openly antagonistic
to Him. This makes the "asurA" both Ignorant and
foolish: Firstly, he states God does not exist --
which is an admission of personal ignorance (as the
Taittiriyam reveals above) and not revealed truth. And
secondly, for some absurd, irrational reason, he goes
on to then despise that God he says does not exist!
Now, why hate something if it does not exist? Why
should the non-existent arouse any feelings of
hostility or otherwise? The answer is: Foolishness
(another form of "mUdamata"!).

(2) "bhAva" means "nature", "character" or "likeness".
He who is not an archetypical "asura", but who is by
nature almost one i.e. he has strong likeness to an
"asura"... such a man is said to have "asura bhAva". 

Such men do not generally deny the existence of an
Almighty but are terribly antagonistic to Him. In the
"purANa" once again, we find many revealing portraits
of "asura-bhAvam" as might be found amongst the men of
this world too. 

DuryOdhana, for instance, was not an "asura" but a
"manushya" (Man) in the mould of an "asura". The
"asura-bhava" in him did not really come in the
way of his tacitly accepting Krishna's presence as God
incarnate. But, on the other hand, it made DuryOdhana
deeply and violently hostile towards God.

The man of "asura-bhava", while not outright denying
God's existence, nevertheless openly defies God's
purpose. DuryOdhana's overbearing selfishness knew no
bounds. He wanted to achieve his worldly ends at any
cost -- and would not let God Almighty even get in the
way!

Such unmitigated hostility to God ("asura-bhAva")
arises because of Ignorance again. As long as Man
cannot realize that God's purpose and Man's own ends
in life are not at variance; but that, in fact, Man's
principal goal in life -- "purushArtha", is the
Vedantic word for it -- is verily to realize God's
purpose... And as long as Man remains blind to such
knowledge, Ignorance combining with all-consuming
human selfishness -- as in DuryOdhana's case -- will
always render the man of 'asura-bhAva' at deep odds
with the reality of God. 

(3) Finally, "asritah". This means "he who aids or
abets"; it also means "a sympathizer" or "one who
encourages" God-antagonism. The man who is a
"sympathizer" of "asura-bhAva" thus becomes
"asura-bhAvam-Asritah" i.e. "he who -- directly or
indirectly, willingly or otherwise, for good reason or
bad -- abets or encourages anti-godliness",
"bhagavath-dvEsha". 

This man neither denies God's reality (like a true
"asura"); nor does he openly defy God's purpose (like
a man of "asura-bhAva"). But this man indeed does far
worse! He sympathizes, aids, abets, endorses and
vigorously promotes "asura-bhAva". He therefore ends
up perpetrating not only Ignorance
(i.e."agnyAna"/"avidya") but foolishness and
unrestrained human selfishness too in all others
around him -- the same foolishness which earlier we
saw the Gita describe as "mUda-mata", and the same
vileness of human selfishness as found in a
"narAdhama".

In the Mahabharata, the best example of the
"Asuram-bhAvam-asritAh" is found in the character of
King DhritarAshtra. 

He was no "asura". Nor was he a man of "asura-bhAva".
DhritarAshtra and Krishna were never open antagonists.
But alas, DhritarAshtra remained until the very end, a
hapless but active "Asuram-bhAvam-asrita"! As King of
Hastinapur, he aided, abettedd and sympathized with
all kinds of "mudAmata-s", "naradhAma-s" and
"mayaya-apahruta-gnyAni-s" in his royal court...
Karnan, DussAsanan, Dronar et al! And above all,
DhritarAshtra kept encouraging his son, the Prince of
"asura-bhAva", DuryOdhanan, all through his reign of
misdeeds and "dhvEsha"... 

Indeed, DhritarAshtra was the King of Ignorance, the
Emperor amongst "asuram-bhAvam-asrtita-s"! That is the
reason why, in recognition of his great
Ignorance("agnyAna"), the Mahabharatha thought it most
fit to
portray DhritarAshtra's character as an "andham-Atma"
-- a monumentally blinded soul -- symbolizing the
Blindness of Dark Nescience into which Man ever risks
sinking in life...

The blind, ignorant souls of the 4th (or the
"dhritarAshtra") type are verily "born to bring ruin
to the world", says the Gita in a later chapter
(XVI.9). They are 'lost souls" --- "nashta-AtmAna:".
Writing in his "gita-bhAshya", Sri RamanujAchArya also
said:

"...jagatha: kshyAya prabhavanti".

A blinded soul like DhritarAshtra -- the Mahabharata's
metaphor for supreme Ignorance -- brings epic ruin
upon himself and the ruination of everyone and
everything around him as well... 

*********
(to be concluded)

Regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan 


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