The Blessed Lord answers.
According to the nature of the material influences [gunas: virtue, passion, ignorance] received by the incarnate being, his faith may belong to three orders: virtue, passion or ignorance. Hear My word on this.
According to which guna marks his existence, the being develops a particular faith. He is said to have such and such a faith, according to whether he is bathed in one or the other.
Those who are ruled by virtue worship celestial beings, those who are ruled by passion worship demonic beings, and those who are enveloped by ignorance live in the worship of ghosts and other spirits.
Those who impose upon themselves severe austerities, but which are not in conformity with the scriptures, indulging in them out of pride, egotism, concupiscence and attachment, driven by passion, and who thus torture their bodies, without understanding, in their unconsciousness, that they also torture Me, the Supreme Soul within them, these, know that they are asuras (demonic, impious, evil, atheistic beings).
The foods dear to everyone are also divided into three orders, which correspond to the three gunas (the three attributes and modes of influence of material nature: virtue, passion, ignorance). The same applies to sacrifice, austerity and charity. Listen, and I will teach you what distinguishes them.
The foods of virtue purify existence and prolong its duration. They provide strength, health, joy and satisfaction. These substantial foods are sweet, juicy, fatty and full of flavour.
Foods that are too bitter, sour, salty, pungent, dry or hot are loved by those who are dominated by passion. They cause suffering, unhappiness and disease.
And dear to men who are enveloped by ignorance, food cooked for more than three hours before being eaten, food that is tasteless, lacking in freshness, smelly, decomposed or impure, and even leftovers.
Among the sacrifices, those which are performed out of duty, according to the rules of the Scriptures, and without expecting any fruit for oneself, belong to virtue.
But the sacrifice made with a view to some material result or benefit, or in an ostentatious manner, out of pride, know that it is born of passion.
As for the sacrifice performed without any faith and outside the scriptural precepts, where no consecrated food is distributed, no hymn sung, where the priests receive no gift in return, it is said to be born of ignorance.
The use of truthful language, directed towards the good of all, but also the avoidance of hurtful words, as well as the diligent recitation of the Vedas (the original holy scriptures), are the austerities of the word.
Serenity, simplicity, gravity, self-control and purity of thought are the austerities of the mind.