Bhagavad Gita Chapter 16, Verse 23

यः शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य वर्तते कामकारतः | न स सिद्धिमवाप्नोति न सुखं न परां गतिम् ||

yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim

He who discards the scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own desires attains neither perfection, nor happiness, nor the supreme goal.

Krishna warns against discarding scriptural guidance: 'yaḥ śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya vartate kāma-kārataḥ'—who discards the scriptural injunctions and acts according to his own desires. This is the demonic approach: rejecting wisdom, rejecting guidance, rejecting principles, and acting only from desires. 'Na sa siddhim avāpnoti'—he attains neither perfection. You can't perfect yourself by following your desires—they're endless, contradictory, and lead to bondage. 'Na sukhaṁ'—nor happiness. Desire-driven action doesn't bring happiness—it brings temporary pleasure followed by more desire. 'Na parāṁ gatim'—nor the supreme goal. Liberation requires wisdom, not just desire. This is the consequence of rejecting scriptural guidance: you stay stuck in desire-driven action, never reaching perfection, never finding happiness, never attaining liberation. The scriptures aren't arbitrary rules—they're wisdom about what leads to liberation and what leads to bondage. Discarding them means discarding the map to liberation.