Is The Asura Good Or Bad

“There are instances in history of many asuras – Ravana, Kamsa, Hiranyakashipu – to whom the Lord appeared in various incarnations just to kill. Therefore God’s mercy is shown to the asuras if they are fortunate enough to be killed by Him.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, 16.20 Purport)

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“Is birth as an asura a defect or a feature? I ask because in the general context, when discussing good and bad, you have the suras and the asuras. These are both Sanskrit words. The second word is a negation of the first. Whatever that first word represents, the second word [asura] would be the opposite.

“That has always been my understanding, that the asuras are generally bad. To take birth in such a species is not good. The asuras cannot distinguish properly between right and wrong. They lean towards sinful behavior. Sinful in this context means drawing further away from the endpoint of liberation. It is like getting colder if playing the hot and cold game.

“At the same time, some people say that the asuras are not demonic. They are a certain kind of species. They sometimes exhibit religious allegiance, such as in worshiping Mahadeva. They are staunchly aligned with the material energy, in trying to exploit it. They are subtly paying homage to that energy of the Supreme Lord.”

In Bhagavad-gita we find three qualities which are compared to gates. These gates open up to a hellish existence. These qualities or traits are lust, anger, and greed. Lust is kama, which is material desire. Anger is the result of unfulfilled kama. Perhaps the desire is fulfilled, but the returns are diminishing; there is little enjoyment from repeated indulgence. Therefore, anger is inevitable. Whether I am winning or losing, in playing the game I will eventually become angry.

Greed is the result of continuous success in kama. It seems that all of the cases are inauspicious. Better to be free of kama in the first place. The more a person indulges material desire, the more vulnerable they are to both finding and opening one of these gates leading to a hellish condition.

Birth as an asura is a kind of punishment. It is the reward for impious deeds. The asuras and the Rakshasas go together, for the purposes of discussion. They are both condemned, as they cannot find the right way to live. If I do not know the proper direction in which to go, how will I approach the proper destination? Even worse, if I know the proper way but refuse to follow out of envy, then it is like I am intentionally punishing myself.

मोघाशा मोघकर्माणो मोघज्ञाना विचेतस:
राक्षसीमासुरीं चैव प्रकृतिं मोहिनीं श्रिता:

moghāśā mogha-karmāṇo
mogha-jñānā vicetasaḥ
rākṣasīm āsurīṁ caiva
prakṛtiṁ mohinīṁ śritāḥ

“Those who are thus bewildered are attracted by demonic and atheistic views. In that deluded condition, their hopes for liberation, their fruitive activities, and their culture of knowledge are all defeated.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.12)

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that sometimes the asura descends to such depths of depravity and interference against saintly people that the Supreme Lord Himself appears on the scene. As an avatara such as Narasimha, Rama, or Krishna, God deals directly with the asura. This is already the most auspicious vision, and since it is on the mind at the time of death, when facing the weapons of destruction, the interaction leads to the highest destination for the victim.

अन्त-काले च माम् एव
स्मरन् मुक्त्वा कलेवरम्
यः प्रयाति स मद्-भावं
याति नास्त्य् अत्र संशयः

anta-kāle ca mām eva
smaran muktvā kalevaram
yaḥ prayāti sa mad-bhāvaṁ
yāti nāsty atra saṁśayaḥ

“And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me alone, at once attains My nature. Of this there is no doubt.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 8.5)

Rather than take the chance of spending significant time within the inauspicious species of the asura or the rakshasa, we can safely traverse the recommended path of devotion. This devotional service, bhakti-yoga, is available in any kind of birth. Even the Daitya named Prahlada is known for his exemplary behavior, in the face of the intrusive opposition from his antagonistic father named Hiranyakashipu.

In Closing:

Like if laws obeying to fail,
Then deserved sent to jail.

Opening to hell the gates three,
In Rakshasas and asuras to see.

From shastra the information,
That not auspicious the destination.

Sometimes Supreme dealing directly so,
Like avatara of Narasimha to know.