Srimad Bhagavad-Gita : Chapter-17. Slokam-18.

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Saturday, December 25, 2021. 8:00. PM.

Srimad Bhagavad-Gita

Chapter-17. { Sraddha-traya-vibhaga-yogam }

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Slokam-18 :

"Satkara-mana-pujartham   tapo  dambhena  caiva  yat,

kriyate  tad-iha  proktam   rajasam  calam-adhruvam."

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Tatvam of the Slokam :

"Those ostentatious penances and austerities which are performed in order to gain respect, honor and reverence are said to be in the mode of passion. They are neither stable nor permanent. Austerity that is performed with ostentation for the sake of gaining honor, respect, and adoration is in the mode of passion. Its benefits are unstable and transitory."

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Translation :

yat    tapah   =  which is  austerity;

satkara  mana  pujartham  =   to  get  ( from  other  people / public )   respect,  honour,  and  worship;

dambhena  eva  ca  kriyate  =  performed  with  pride;

calam  adhruvam    tat  =  that  without  any  rules  and  regulaations  (  not  according  to  vedik scriptures );

iha  rajasam  proktam  =  in  this  world  it is said  to  be  rajasam. 

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Commentary :

Sometimes penance and austerity are executed to attract people and receive honor, respect and worship from others. Persons in the mode of passion arrange to be worshiped by subordinates and let them wash their feet and offer riches. Such arrangements artificially made by the performance of penances are considered to be in the mode of passion. The results are temporary; they can be continued for some time, but they are not permanent.

Here Lord Krishna commences with tapah or austerities that exemplify raja guna the mode of passion. The occasional enacting of ostentatious austerities for the hope of receiving praise, salutations and acclamation with a covert desire for prestige, honour and wealth results in rewards that are temporary, unstable and transient. Even if following perfectly the ordinances and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures such austerities are merely situated in raja guna.

Lord Krishna describes the austerities that are situated in raja guna the mode of passion are those that are enacted with the expectancy of praise, prestige, acclaim and with the hope of receiving adulation and adoration from others is in raja guna along with any Vedic activity that is impelled by hidden motives of garnishing rewards or desire for recognition and worship from others even if enacted according to the Vedic scriptures.

Lord Krishna now describes austerities characterised by raja guna the mode of passion. Austerities that are enacted for the sake of gaining recognition and garnering praise and respect from others, that are enacted to receive adulation and adoration and whose enactment is ostentatious and pretentious are situated in raja guna and whatever results derived are uncertain, unstable and temporary.

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Conclusion :

Although austerity is a powerful tool for the purification of the self, not everyone utilizes it with pure intention. A politician labors rigorously to give many lectures a day, which is also a form of austerity, but the purpose is to gain a post and prestige. Similarly, if one engages in spiritual activities to achieve honor and adulation, then the motive is equally material though the means is different. An austerity is classified in the mode of passion if it is performed for the sake of gaining respect, power, or other material rewards.

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To be continued ....

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