Commentary on the Bhagavadgita : 18 - Swami Krishnananda.

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Tuesday, February 01, 2022. 20:00

Discourse 41

The Fourteenth Chapter: Rising Above the Three Gunas

POST-18.

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SBG-CH-14, SLO-21.

Arjuna uvacha,

'kair lingais trin gunan etan atito bhavati prabho

kim acharah katham chaitans trin gunan ativartate"

“What are the marks of a person who has transcended the gunas? What are the ways in which he conducts himself in the world? Please tell me.”

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SBG-Ch-14, Slo-22.

shri-bhagavan uvacha,

"prakasham cha pravrittim cha moham eva cha pandava

na dveshti sampravrittani na nivrittani kankshati."

The Lord says, “When some effects follow due to the operation of sattva, rajas or tamas, the person who has transcended the qualities of prakriti neither is elated nor is disgusted, or is there any resentment at their operation.” When sattva operates, he does not exult. When rajas and tamas operate, he is not in any way affected. Whether the gunas are actively operating or whether they withdraw themselves into a state of inactivity, it makes no difference to this person because he sees them as they are—as objects of the witness consciousness—and he does not identify his consciousness with the three gunas.

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SBG-Ch-14, Slo-23 -

"udāsīna-vad āsīno guṇair yo na vichālyate

guṇā vartanta ity evaṁ yo ’vatiṣhṭhati neṅgate."(14.23):

Udāsīnavad āsīno  :

He remains silent, taking no initiative in anything, appearing to be a person who has no intention of doing anything at all. He keeps quiet, knowing all things. He seems to be doing nothing, yet is internally doing many things. He is then not affected by the operation of the gunas even when they blow like a whirlwind on his person. 

Guṇā varianta ity evaṁ yo’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate : 

Fickleness of the mind is caused by the coming and going of the three gunas, which sometimes makes the mind feel satisfied, sometimes makes it restless, sometimes makes it feel fatigued or slothful. These operations of the psyche will be witnessed by his consciousness, and he will not identify himself with the properties of the psyche, which are usually affected by the gunas. 

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SBG-Ch-14, Slo-24-

"sama-duhkha-sukhah sva-sthah sama-loshtashma-kanchanah

tulya-priyapriyo dhiras tulya-nindatma-sanstutih."

Samaduḥkhasukhaḥ svasthaḥ (14.24): 

Pleasure or pain, let it be. It matters little. Svasthaḥ means always calm and quiet, reposed in himself. Samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ: Whether he sees a nugget of gold or a big boulder of granite, it makes no difference to him. A clod of earth and a wall of gold have the same value to the eye of this great soul who has transcended the operation of the three gunas. 

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SBG-Ch-14, Slo-25-

"manapamanayos tulyas tulyo mitrari-pakshayoh

sarvarambha-parityagi gunatitah sa uchyate."

Mānāpamānayos tulyas (14.25):

Praise and censure mean the same thing. It makes no difference to such a person whether he is glorified or condemned.

Tulyo mitrāripakṣayoḥ: 

Let a friend come or let an enemy come; there is no difference. Sarvārambhaparityāgī: He will still do nothing. He will be like a kutastha. He will be seated  calm and quiet in himself, as if the world does not exist at all  for him. Such a person is a gunatita, one who has transcended the operation of the three gunas.

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Māṁ ca yo’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti yogena sevate, sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahmabhūyāya kalpate (14.26). 

After having given us so many instructions regarding the details of the working of the three gunas, finally Sri Bhagavan says, “I shall give you a final recipe how you can get over the three gunas.

Undividedly love Me; then you will find that the gunas have no effect upon you. You need not have to struggle to observe the operation of the gunas with your witness consciousness, and put forth great effort in your mind. 

Effortlessly they will vanish; they will leave you of their own accord, provided you genuinely love Me.” 

Yo’vyabhicāreṇa bhakti yogena sevate: 

Such a person, the greatest devotee of God who wants only God and has no other thought in his mind, automatically rises above the three gunas. Brahmabhūyāya kalpate: He becomes fit for absorption into Brahman.

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Brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham amṛtasyāvyayasya ca, śāśvatasya ca dharmasya ukhasyaikāntikasya ca (14.27): 

“I am the very source of the bliss of Brahman.” Or it may mean: 

“Brahman is the origin, the source, of every kind of incarnation or manifestation.” The literal meaning of the verse is:

“My abode, My highest realm which is the Eternal Realm, is Brahman. It is the Absolute Being; it is the source of all things; it is the source of immortality, of imperishability, of perpetual existence, of all goodness and righteousness, of happiness of very kind, of infinite bliss—ekantika sukha.”

While the Fourteenth Chapter has been very busy with a psychological analysis of the properties of prakriti, it has finally clinched the whole matter by saying that love of God is supreme and every other effort on the part of a human being comes afterwards.

We will find that from here on, every chapter has a peculiarity of its own; every chapter has its own characteristic as distinguished from other chapters. From the First to the Eleventh Chapter there is a kind of sequential ascent of thought, but from the Thirteenth Chapter onwards the chapters maintain a kind of individuality of their own; they take up one specific subject, and go into detail on that subject.

To be continued ....

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