True divinity means serving Krishna; atheism and independent material enjoyment define the demoniac nature.Listen — Srila Prabhupada Uvaca
Bhagavad-gītā 16.6 — October 18, 1975, Johannesburg 751018BG-JOHANNESBURG [51:20 Minutes] BG-16.06_751018BG-JOHANNESBURG Prabhupāda: ...daivo vistaraśaḥ prokta āsuraṁ pārtha me śṛṇu [Bg. 16.6] There are two classes of men throughout the whole universe. One class is called daiva and the other class is called āsura. Daiva āsura eva ca. Daivo vistaraśaḥ proktaḥ.
So far the devas are concerned, Kṛṣṇa has explained in various ways in the last chapters, ahiṁsā, kṣānti, ārjavam, how to practice these things. So viṣṇu-bhakto bhaved devaḥ asuras tad-viparyayaḥ. These two classes, how they are ascertained? One who is a devotee of the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, they are called deva, or demigods, and persons who know Viṣṇu or may not know—on the whole, they are not devotees of Viṣṇu—even they are devotee of other demigods, they are called asura.
Just like Rāvaṇa. Rāvaṇa, he was a great devotee of Lord Śiva, but he is described as asura, rākṣasa. Similarly, Hiraṇyakaśipu was a great devotee of Lord Brahmā; still, he is accepted as rākṣasa. So unless one is Vaiṣṇava, or devotee of the Lord Viṣṇu, he is asura or rākṣasa.
This is the instruction of the śāstra. In modern days also, practically nobody is devotee, so how they are described in the Bhagavad-gītā? They are described as duṣkṛtinaḥ, mūḍhāḥ, narādhamāḥ, māyayāpahṛta-jñānāḥ, āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ [Bg. 7.15]. These asuras also divided into so many classes.
The first-class asura is the duṣkṛtina, one who is engaged in sinful meritorious action. Sinful meritorious. Just like a big thief. There are many organization of smugglers, black market, thieves.
They have got brain to organize. Without brain they cannot organize. Now, in the Western countries there are big, big organizations simply for smuggling, cheating and bluffing, and very good brain—educated, lawyers. I have seen practically in New York these cheating concerns.
There are many lawyers to help them how to cheat. And they make arrangement, take money from one, cheating. Many organizations. So they are called duṣkṛtina.