This verse concludes the chapter. In these twenty verses (iti), I have thus spoken completely the most secret teaching. In this chapter, the classes of matter and consciousness have been revealed by He who makes all things happen, and the supreme position of Kṛṣṇa has been explained. Thus the commentaries on the fifteenth chapter of the Gītā have been completed for the pleasure of the devotees’ hearts, by the mercy of the ācāryas.

In the sixteenth chapter, the deva and demon qualities as well as the results of these two conditions will be described.

Remembering that the fruits of the aśvattha tree of saṁsāra had not been described in the last chapter after mentioning them, the Lord in this chapter describes the fruits of the tree which are of two varieties: those which cause liberation and those which cause bondage. First, he describes those giving liberation in three verses. Abhayam means freedom from the fear of “How will I live, being alone in the forest without wife and children?” Sattva-saṁsuddhiḥ means purity of consciousness. Jṣāna-yoga vyavasthitaḥ means being completely familiar with the methods of attaining jṣāna, for example lack of pride, mentioned in chapter thirteen. Dāna means to distribute food or other items of one’s enjoyment to others Dama means controlling the external senses. Yajṣa means worship of the Lord. Svadhyāya means studying or reciting the Vedas. The other items after this are clear. Tyāga means to give up possessiveness of wife, children and other things. Aloluptam means absence of greed. These twenty six items belong to the person born at a moment indicating sattvic nature.

This knowledge is not revealed to the unqualified persons. With that in mind, the Lord speaks. Thus (iti), I have briefly spoken to you, the supreme devotee, this scripture composed of three verses defining the Supreme Person. O sinless one (anagha), you should not reveal this to the unqualified (who are not pure like you). Understanding this, a person has full knowledge of the scriptures (buddhimān) and will achieve direct realization (kṛtākṛtyaḥ). Thus knowledge about the Supreme Person is praised. From the fifteenth chapter one learns that the person who is different from the conditioned and liberated souls, and who supports and is superior to both of them, is the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa. Chapter 16 Bg 16.1, Bg 16.2, Bg 16.3, Bg 16.1-3 ī[q>aGavaNauvac ) A>aYa& SatvSa&īuiṬjaRNaYaaeGaVYaviSQaiTa" ) daNa& dMaê Yajê SvaDYaaYaSTaPa AaJaRvMa( )) 1 )) Aih&Saa SaTYaMa§-aeDaSTYaaGa" XaaiNTarPaEīuNaMa( )

TaeJa" +aMaa Da*iTa" XaaEcMad]aehae NaaiTaMaaiNaTaa ) >aviNTa SaMPad& dEvqMai>aJaaTaSYa >aarTa )) 3 )) śrī-bhagavān uvāca abhayaṁ sattva-saṁśuddhir jṣāna-yoga-vyavasthitiḥ dānaṁ damaś ca yajṣaś ca svādhyāyas tapa ārjavam ahiṁsā satyam akrodhas tyāgaḥ śāntir apaiśunam dayā bhūteṣv aloluptvaṁ mārdavaṁ hrīr acāpalam tejaḥ kṣamā dhṛtiḥ śaucam adroho nāti-mānitā bhavanti sampadaṁ daivīm abhijātasya bhārata śrī-bhagavān uvāca—the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; abhayam—fearlessness; sattva-saṁśuddhiḥ—purification of one's existence; jṣāna—in knowledge; yoga—of linking up; vyavasthitiḥ—the situation; dānam—charity; damaḥ—controlling the mind; ca—and; yajṣaḥ—performance of sacrifice; ca—and; svādhyāyaḥ—study of Vedic literature; tapaḥ—austerity; ārjavam—simplicity; ahiṁsā—nonviolence; satyam—truthfulness; akrodhaḥ—freedom from anger; tyāgaḥ—renunciation; śāntiḥ—tranquillity; apaiśunam—aversion to faultfinding; dayā—mercy; bhūteṣu—towards all living entities; aloluptvam—freedom from greed; mārdavam—gentleness; hrīḥ—modesty; acāpalam—determination; tejaḥ—vigor; kṣamā—forgiveness; dhṛtiḥ—fortitude; śaucam—cleanliness; adrohaḥ—freedom from envy; na—not; ati-mānitā—expectation of honor; bhavanti—are; sampadam—the qualities; daivīm—the transcendental nature; abhijātasya—of one who is born of; bhārata—O son of Bharata.

In the sixteenth chapter Kṛṣṇa speaks about the natures of the saintly and demonic persons, teaching that the first type is excellent and the second is despicable. Describing how the roots of the aśvattha tree spread out, the Lord explained that the fortunate and unfortunate impressions caused by previous karmas were the secondary roots of the tree of saṁsāra. In the ninth chapter, the Lord narrated that the natures of living entities was either daiva, asura, or rākśasa (goodness, passion and ignorance.) The daiva nature, having sattva attitude and pious impressions, causing performance of duties according to the Vedas, is suitable for liberation. That is the daivī sampat mentioned in this chapter, the excellent fruit of the aśvattha tree. The natures of asuras and rākṣasas, in the modes of passion and ignorance, which are causes of all evil, following the inclination for attachment and repulsion, filled with sinful impressions, causes these people to fall to hell. This is the asura sampat, the undesirable fruit of the tree. This is the purpose of the sixteenth chapter explains this. The Lord speaks of the daivī sampada in three verses. In those verses the Lord successively describes the duties of the four āśramas and varṇas. First He speaks of the sannyāsīs. The sannyāsī is fearless (abhayam), free from the fear of how he will survive alone without any work. He has purity of mind (sattva saṁśuddiḥ) by performance of duties of his āśrama and varṇa. He is fully knowledgeable of the methods (yoga) of attaining jṣāna (jṣāna yoga vyavasthitiḥ), such as hearing. There three are his characteristics. Next he describes the householders. The householder offers food and other items owned by himself, earned by proper methods, to qualified persons (dāna). He controls the external senses according to the rules (damaḥ). He engages in the performance of prescribed sacrifices (yajṣa.) These three are the householder’s characteristics. Next the Lord describes the brahmacārī. He is engaged in study (svādhyāyaḥ), called brahma yajṣa. He is fixed in studying the Vedas, which are a group of sounds not created by men, which brings about realization of the Lord endowed with energies. This is the one quality of the brahmacārī. Next He speaks of the vānaprastha. Tapa here refers to the three types of austerity, which will be mentioned in the eighteenth chapter. This is the one quality of the vānaprastha. The qualities of the brāhmaṇa are described. Ārjava means straightforward, meaning that he reveals to faithful listeners the meaning of important topics as he has understood them. Ahiṁsa means not to stop the life span of another living entity. Satya means making accurate statements concerning things one has seen without meaningless content. Akrodha is the control of anger which appears when an evil person criticizes oneself. Tyaga means not saying bad words when others insult. Śānti means control of the mind. Apaiśuna means not using bad words against another person in his absence. Dayā means intolerance of the suffering of other living entities. Alolupa means absence of greed. The absence of “a” with the word, making aloluptva instead of the ordinary form alolupatva is for metrical reasons. Mārdava or gentleness means intolerance of separation from association of saintly persons. Hrī ṁeans bashfulness to do unlawful acts. Acāpala means absence of useless actions. These are the twelve characteristics of the brāhmaṇa. Next the Lord describes the kṣatriya qualities. Teja means not being conquered by lesser persons. Kṣamā means not showing anger to those lesser persons who treat one with contempt, though he is capable of such anger. Dhṛti means giving effort to support the fatigued senses, so that they remain energetic. These are the three qualities of the kṣatriya. The qualities of the vaiśya are described next. Śauca means to be free of untruthfulness, deceit and other bad qualities in going about his mercantile affairs. Adroha means not to take up weapons to do violence to others. These are his two qualities. The Lord describes the qualities of the śūdra. Na atimānitā means to be devoid of thinking oneself worthy of worship and being humble before the three higher castes whom he regards as worthy of worship. This is one quality. The total comes to twenty-six qualities. These are understood to be the principle qualities of the āśrama and varṇas. Those qualities which are not mentioned here should also be included. The list is not exhaustive. These qualities appear in a person born (jātasya) with auspicious impressions (daivīm sampadam) manifested through pious acts which show their fruits at the time of accepting a body. puṇyaḥ puṇyena karmaṇā bhavati pāpaḥ pāpena: he becomes pure by pure karmas, bad by bad karmas. (Bṛhad Āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 4.4.5) This sampat or wealth is possessed by the devas,, those who respect the Lord. Because from this position a person has the possibility of attaining jṣāna and bhakti, it is the excellent fruit of the tree of saṁsāra.

Srila Prabhupada can enter this 'most confidential part' unto the more exoteric parts that Krsna is saying. This is the actual conclusion, this is the actual confidential part: that one should surrender to Krsna in all respects and then he will become wise. This is the most confidential message of the sastras. One can only understand this if he is sinless. This is the yoga of the Supreme Person. Breaking the attachment therefore becoming 'one' with Krsna in desire, understanding that Krsna is the all‑powerful One who is maintaining us ‑ then serve Him and surrender to Him in all respects. This is the conclusion of all the sastras. THUS ENDS THE STUDY OF CHAPTER FIFTEEN.