________________
114
BHAGAVADGITA.
am I celebrated in the world and in the Vedas as the best of beings. He who, undeluded, thus knows me the best of beings, worships me every way., O descendant of Bharata I knowing everything. Thus, O sinless one! have I proclaimed this most mysterious science. He who knows this, has done all he need do, and he becomes possessed of discernment.
Chapter XVI. Freedom from fear, purity of heart, perseverance in (pursuit of) knowledge and abstraction of mind, gifts?, self-restraint, and sacrifice, study of the Vedas, penance, straightforwardness, harmlessness, truth , freedom from anger, renunciation, tranquillity, freedom from the habit of backbiting“, compassion for (all) beings, freedom from avarice, gentleness, modesty, absence of vain activity, noblemindedness, forgiveness, courage, purity, freedom from a desire to injure others, absence of vanity, (these), O descendant of Bharata I are his who is born to godlike endowments. Ostentatiousness, pride, vanityø, anger, and also harshness and ignorance (are) his, O son of Prithà ! who is born to demoniaco endowments. Godlike endowments are deemed to be (means) for
Cl. p. 129 infra. Here Sankara paraphrases it by thinking me to be the soul of everything.' • Cf. Sutta Nipata, p. 49.
· See next chapter. • Sutta Nipata, pp. 15, 101.
• Ostentatiousness=making a show of piety; pride=scil. of wealth and learning; vanity=esteeming oneself too highly; barshness=mercilessness.
• Cf. K'handogya-upanishad, p. 585, and Max Müller's Hibbert Lectures, p. 322.
Digitized by Google
