In the last verse of the last chapter, Lord Krsna has laid down the topic of this chapter by saying that the teaching will remain secret when one doesn’t have enough qualifications which are called daivī-sampat - spiritual wealth here. The wealth in the form of disposition where sattva guna is predominant, which usually devatā being endowed with, thus it is called daivī-sampat. On the other hand, the opposite disposition is called āsurī-sampat. Daivī-sampat is meant to help us gain freedom from samsāra, whereas the āsurī-sampat binds us to samsāra.
Certain values which presented here constitute the mind of a person with spiritual disposition. The qualities of āsurī and rāksasī disposition are also told in order for us to avoid them. Rāksasī is from whom one should protect oneself. His value structure makes his behaviour damaging the wellbeing of others. And āsurī is one who finds enjoyment only in sense objects including power, name, recognition, etc, and would compromise the means for the end.
These qualities are called values since we need to value them in order to nurture them and break the old habits that are rooted in our old understanding. The purpose of the sixteenth chapter is to help us do this.
śrībhagavān uvāca abhayaṁ sattvasaṁśuddhirjñānayogavyavasthitiḥ | dānaṁ damaśca yajñaśca svādhyāyastapa ārjavam ||16.1||
ahiṁsā satyamakrodhastyāgaḥ śāntirapaiśunam | dayā bhūteṣvaloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīracāpalam ||16.2||
tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucamadroho nātimānitā | bhavanti sampadaṁ daivīmabhijātasya bhārata ||16.3||
Śrī Bhagavān said:
Bhārata (Arjuna)! Freedom from fear, purity of mind, steadiness in contemplation, charity, judicious restraint (of sense organs), performing rituals, recitation of one’s own branch of the Veda, religious discipline (austerity), alignment of thought, word, and deed…
…absence of hurting, truthfulness, resolution of anger, renunciation, resolution of the mind, absence of calumny, compassion for living being, absence of ardent longing, softness, modesty, absence of physical agitation…
…brilliance, composure, fortitude, cleanliness, no thought of hurting, and no exaggerated self opinion - all these are there for the one who is born to the wealth of devas.
abhayaṁ - fearlessness. This is not the absolute abhaya of the wise person which is freedom from the sense of duality. Here we are looking into an attribute of the mind with reference to the source of fear, and the primary one is death. The fear of death is particular thought that is always backed by some relevant emotion, because the love for survival is instinctive. This very natural love “to be” is inbuilt in the creation. No living being wants to die. Cognitive appreciation here of the fact that “I”, ātmā, am not subject to death, can neutralise the thought, which precedes the emotion of fear. The body is definitely going to die because what is put together has natural tendency to fall apart. But I am not the body. The more we understand this, the better we can appreciate being alive today and not wasting our time. It doesn’t mean one lives a life without planning. Even a plan for the future is only today’s plan, tomorrow we may change it if the changing circumstance require that, but for today we have a plan. Even if one can live like this, there is no anxiety for him.
There is also a lot of fear centred on loss - loss of life, loss of name, loss of power, loss of hair, loss of relationship, etc. A way of approaching this fear is to look into what would happen if one loses something. If one’s fear is in loss of wealth, just look at how much one can eat in a meal, from there one could understand that one doesn’t really need that much to have a proper life.
sattvasaṁśuddhi - purity of mind. If all values are properly understood, there will certainly be antah-kārana-śuddhi. But here it is mentioned separately as a value, means clean thinking which are free from deceit, cheating, and falsehood in our interactions with people. Even the intention of maintaining a relationship with thinking that I might need help some days is included.
jñānayogavyavasthitiḥ - steadiness in contemplation. Jñāna here is self-knowledge as received from śastra. Knowing the true nature of oneself, and that understanding has to be free from any obstruction it may have. This is taken care of by contemplation on what we have understood which is called jñāna-yoga here. One needs to stay with the knowledge until the time comes when one owns up one’s nature, then one doesn’t need to deliberately stay with the knowledge because it is one’s self. Till then, there is a seeming attempt to stay.
dānaṁ - giving according to one’s capacity, a proper distribution. In giving, it is important not to place oneself in a position of having to receive later. Giving must be responsible; it should not exceed one’s capacity. Charity must also be given to a worthy recipient, and the one who gives must have a proper attitude. In giving, both the giver and the given should feel blessed. Giving here doesn’t mean only in the form of money, but giving also can be in the form of time, care or knowledge.
dama - control at the level of the sense organs and organs of action. One acts deliberately and is not led away by one’s fancies. It is alertness with reference to the mind.
yajña - performing daily rituals, consist of Vedic ritual and daily prayer. The main idea is doing activities which bring connection to Īśvara. That is karma-yoga. If one can see every action is yajña itself, one doesn’t need to confine action as certain ritual.