Shloka 53
श्रेयो-धर्मकर्मविचारः
Inquiry into Śreyas, Dharma, and Karma
ये तु च्युता: सिद्धलोकात् क्रमेण तेषां गति यान्ति तथा<<नुपूर्व्या जीवा: परे तद्धलतुल्यरूपा: स्वं स्वं विधि यान्ति विपर्ययेण
ye tu cyutāḥ siddhalokāt krameṇa teṣāṃ gatiṃ yānti tathānupūrvyāḥ | jīvāḥ pare taddhalatulyarūpāḥ svaṃ svaṃ vidhiṃ yānti viparyayeṇa ||
Bhishma berkata: Mereka yang jatuh dari alam para Siddha turun menurut urutan yang semestinya; dan makhluk lain yang memiliki kekuatan laku spiritual sebanding pun bergerak selangkah demi selangkah dari satu alam ke alam lain, naik ke atas, hingga akhirnya mencapai jalur yang sama seperti para Siddha itu. Namun mereka yang tidak demikian—karena wataknya berlawanan—sampai pada tujuan masing-masing melalui lintasan yang berbalik arah.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual destiny (gati) follows one’s inner discipline and disposition: those with yogic strength progress through realms in an ordered ascent and can regain the Siddhas’ path, while those lacking such steadiness move in a contrary direction toward lower or different outcomes.
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and liberation-oriented conduct, he explains a cosmological-ethical principle: beings may fall from a perfected realm, yet through comparable practice they can again rise stepwise; otherwise, due to contrary tendencies, they reach different destinations.