The Bhagavad Gita (17 page)

22  “And yet, remember, Arjuna, that the Spirit
(Purusha
energy) dwelling in the individual body as
Atma
is truly Brahman, the Godhead. This Supreme Being is spoken of as the following: the Observer who watches and referees the game of life, the Approver who permits it all to happen, the Supporter who helps it all to happen, the Enjoyer who experiences it all with gusto but knows it is a game, and most important, the Master who holds complete dominion over all the events though being unaffected by any of them.

23  “When you have directly experienced the Godhead (Brahman), you will not be born again because then you will truly know that the Divine One is beyond all this natural world of
prakriti
and
gunas.
The fire of this great knowledge will burn out all your
karmas,
and there will be no more motivating force within you to create another birth. Thus unburdened, you (in this state, called
jivanmukti)
will duly perform all your duties in the world and yet watch life in total peace.

24  “The paths to this great knowledge are several. Some realize it by building mind power through meditation
(
dhyana yoga
); others do it by sharpening the intellect through acquisition of knowledge
(jnana yoga);
and yet others through performing selfless action
(karma yoga).
Whichever the path, if successfully walked it eventually develops pure, single-minded love for God
(bhakti yoga,
union with God through devotion). When one reaches this level of absolute Divine Love one reaches the End.

25  “For those unable to grasp any of these paths there is another way. By diligently and faithfully listening to their spiritual teachers and worshiping the Divine as instructed, they too will eventually pass beyond the wheel of death and rebirth.

26  “Return for a moment, Arjuna, to consideration of the field. Remember that whatever comes into existence, whether thing or being, is a result of the union between matter and Spirit (the field and the Knower).

27  “When the matter part of this union falls in death, the spirit part remains standing. Ordinary people do not see the Spirit within and therefore think that it is their own self that dies. Only when you see the undying within the dying do you really see the Truth.

28  “Indeed, true seers, perceiving Divinity in everyone, do no harm to anyone. The ones who don’t perceive this unity separate themselves from others, seeing some as friends and others as foes. These are the ones who do harm. It is this illusion of separateness that causes all evils perpetrated by humanity! How can one who really knows
Atma
injure the same
Atma
in another? As I have often repeated, the true seer of
Atma
reaches the Godhead and leaves death and rebirth behind.

29  
“Seers of Truth are aware that all action is done by the body and not by the Spirit dwelling in the body (by
prakriti,
not
Purusha).
They know that the body belongs to nature, and
Atma
belongs to Spirit. Thus they understand that the True Self
(Atma)
is actionless, is never the doer.

30  “You must ultimately realize this tremendous lesson: All creatures, although appearing separate, are truly only one; all beings emanate from the Godhead and are united in the Godhead. The one who truly learns this
becomes
the Godhead and thereby attains liberation.

31  “The True Self
(Atma),
as I have said, has no beginning or end. It is beyond
prakriti.
Though dwelling in the field (the body), this Knower of the Field does not act. It is therefore untouched by the fruits of action and untainted by
karma,
good or bad.

32  “This True Self Within is indeed mysterious, Arjuna. It is subtler than the subtlest. As water, when it is steam (its subtle state), defies being dirtied by its surroundings,
Atma
is never tainted though it dwells in every creature.

33  “Just as the single sun illuminates the whole world, the sole Knower of the Field lights up the entire field. All beings great and small, saint and sinner, high and low, get their light — their consciousness — from this one source.

34  “Finally, Arjuna, know that the goal is not to get entangled in the world, but to use the world to reach Divinity. Use your eye of wisdom, your intuitive faculty, to distinguish between the field and the Knower. Then you can actually cut yourself free from the field, from bondage to the worldly, and reach Me, the Supreme Goal.”

1  “Arjuna, I will now explain in more detail the very nature of nature
(prakriti),
and how the three
gunas
function within each individual’s life. The term
guna
refers not only to the three properties of nature but also to the corresponding three underlying attitudes of mind that shape all human behavior. When you know these secrets, you possess the spiritual wisdom that can take you beyond birth and death. Through this wisdom the sages were guided to supreme perfection.

2  “In fact, those who live by this wisdom definitely unite with Me and will not have to be reborn even when the cosmos is recreated at the dawn of a cycle.

3  
“It is I who instills the seed of all births into the vast womb of nature (
prakriti).
Nature in turn gives birth to the infinitely diverse temperaments of all creatures.

4  “Everything that is born, Arjuna, comes from this subtle union of Spirit and nature. Whatever forms are produced in any of the wombs of the universe, know that My nature
(prakriti)
is the cosmic mother of all creation, and that I am the seed-giving father.”

5  “All life evolves from the differentiating power of three forces or strands in nature:
sattva
(purity, light, calmness),
rajas
(passion, action), and
tamas
(ignorance, darkness, inertia).

“Everyone, Arjuna, has all three forces within them in differing proportions and will, as I have mentioned, exhibit the type of behavior that is in accord with their predominating
guna.
Thus, the
gunas
explain why you think, feel, speak, and act as you do. This is the entire map. The
sattvic
person (a rare type) will be calm and harmonized.
Rajasic
persons (certainly the majority) are full of restless energy.
Tamasic
people (also quite common) will be lethargic, indolent, and unmotivated to act.

“The word
guna
also means
strand
in a directly literal sense.
Gunas
are forces that weave together to form a strong rope that binds the Self
(Atma,
soul) to one’s worldly body and thus to life, death, and rebirth.

“The objective of life is to reshape one’s character upward in pursuit of a higher ideal — changing from indolence or inertia
(tamas)
into passionate effort
(rajas),
and then channeling that into calmness
(sattva).

6  “Of these forces,
sattva,
being pure, provides an unobstructed 6 view of
Atma.
But even here a problem can arise when one finds pleasure in sacred knowledge and begins yearning for it.
Any
pleasure, even good pleasure, creates attachment and subsequent desire. All attachments, even golden ropes, bind the individual
(jiva)
to the pain and sadness of the material world.

7  “Desireful action is the very nature of
rajas,
the second
guna.
Desire goads one into action and creates a sense of doership in the mind. It spawns a thirst for acquiring and clinging to worldly things — to people and sensations that attract the senses. As fuel feeds fire,
rajas
breeds attachments to action and its fruit. This attachment turns on itself, bringing greed and greed’s close relative, anger.

8  
“Tamas
(literally
darkness)
is saturated with ignorance and instills nothing but indolence and stupor. This
guna
bewilders people, stealing their capacity for work (their
rajasic
energy) as well as their composure (their
sattvic
calmness).

9-10  “So, Arjuna,
sattva
ties the calm person to joy,
rajas
binds active doers to incessant activity, and
tamas
fastens indolent people to delusion and sloth. Over the course of a day all three
gunas
ebb and flow within each person.
Sattva
rises to the fore by overpowering
rajas
and
tamas. Rajas
rules when
sattva
and
tamas
are weak.
Tamas
prevails when the other two qualities lie dormant and yield to lethargy.

11-13  “One should be aware of which
guna
predominates. I will describe some of the signs: When
sattva
rises it is as if the light of the True Self is shining out through all your gates (senses). Your seeing is sharper, hearing is more acute, and thinking and actions steadier, more
precise. When
rajas
takes over your personality it is as if impatience, greed, and longing have sprung to the forefront, as if your own restlessness is compelling you to action.
Tamas
has taken charge when your mind feels lazy, bewildered, and uncaring.

14-15  “The particular state of mind uppermost at the time of your death is the deciding factor of your next birth. If your soul departs when
sattva
is predominant, you go to the pure heavens of beings who know the Creator. If you die in a
rajasic
state — full of unfulfilled desires, excitement, fears, and sorrows — you are reborn into the wombs of people similarly driven. If you die in a
tamasic
mentality you depart in an unconscious state, only to be reborn into a situation of equal dullness and ignorance, perhaps even as a subhuman or lower animal.

16-17  “I repeat, Arjuna, always seek to move to the next higher level (from
tamas
to
rajas
to
sattva),
because the consequences of the various actions are clear.
Sattvic
actions result in wisdom, purity, and happiness.
Rajasic
activities always bring greed, anger, and great pain.
Tamasic
behavior leads to ignorance and dull inertia.

“But also know that the anger and pain of driven,
rajasic
people may be heaven sent, because nothing motivates a person to mend his or her ways as much as the misery that always accompanies desire-driven action. Suffering is the training ground where one shapes good character and right conduct
(dharma).
It is
dharma
(living a truth-based life) that lifts one to the serenity of
sattva.

18  “Those who live in
sattva
rise upwards, whether in this world or the next. Those stuck in
rajas
stay in the middle, ever caught up in earthly activity. Those mired in
tamas
sink even lower.

19-20  “Remember, Arjuna, the
gunas
are nature
(prakriti),
19-20 and all actions, whether
sattvic, rajasic,
or
tamasic,
take place in nature. All things in nature are just permutations of the three strands, the
guna
forces — even the mind, senses, and objects that attract the senses are permutations of these three.

“The purpose of earthly life, as I have said, is to outgrow the two inferior
gunas
and reach the serenity of
sattva —
and then to ascend beyond even
sattva.
The person who climbs beyond all three
guna
states is in essence transcending nature itself, and is thereby freed of the natural body, and is thus liberated from the awful cycle of birth, decay, death, and rebirth. This person enters the realm of Pure Consciousness and attains the supreme bliss of My Being, Brahman, the Godhead.”

21  Arjuna asks, “What are the hallmarks of those
jnanis
(wise
yogis)
who have transcended the three
gunas?
How do they conduct themselves? And how do they rise beyond these entangling strands?”

22-23  “Good question,” Krishna says. “Those who transcend the
gunas
are in essence watchers, beyond the worldly. Although constantly aware of the inevitable cycle of birth, disease, senility, grief, and so forth, they dwell above it all and merely witness it. They feel no attraction or aversion to any of the
gunas —
no desire even for the calm joy of
sattva
or for the excitement of
rajas,
and no repulsion toward the lethargy of
tamas.
They have nothing to gain by adhering to any of these
earthly behaviors and nothing to lose by turning from them. While the waves of
guna
forces ebb and flow, these transcended persons remain calm, steady, unaffected, unconcerned, and unmoved. As they do not tie their moods to
guna-
created circumstances, they cease being uplifted or depressed by their own likes or dislikes.