Chapter 14 : Guna Traya Vibhaga Yoga – अध्याय १४: गुणत्रयविभागयोग

The Supreme Lord said: I shall again declare that supreme knowledge, the best of all knowledge, by knowing which all the sages have attained supreme perfection after being liberated from this world. ॥

The Supreme Lord said: I shall again declare that supreme knowledge, the best of all knowledge, by knowing which all the sages have attained supreme perfection after being liberated from this world. ॥ 1 ॥

Having taken refuge in this knowledge, they attain to My nature; they are not born again even in the creation, nor are they disturbed at the time of dissolution. ॥

Having taken refuge in this knowledge, that is, by embracing it, those who have attained My nature are not born again at the beginning of creation, nor are they disturbed at the time of dissolution. ॥ 2 ॥

My womb is the great Brahma; in that I cast the seed; thence comes the birth of all beings, O Arjuna. ॥

O Arjuna! My primordial nature, which is the great Brahma, is the womb of all beings, that is, the place of conception, and I place the seed of the aggregate of consciousness in that womb. From the union of that inert and conscious, all beings are born. ॥ 3 ॥

Whatever forms are produced in all wombs, O Arjuna, the great Brahma is their womb, and I am the seed-giving Father. ॥

O Arjuna! Whatever forms, that is, embodied beings, are produced in all kinds of wombs, nature is the mother who conceives them all, and I am the Father who implants the seed. ॥ 4 ॥

Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas—these Gunas, born of Prakriti, bind down the imperishable embodied one in the body, O mighty-armed Arjuna. ॥

O Arjuna! The three Gunas, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, born of nature, bind the imperishable soul to the body. ॥ 5 ॥

Of these, Sattva, being pure, is illuminating and healthful; it binds, O sinless one, by attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge. ॥

O sinless one! Of these three Gunas, Sattva, being pure, is illuminating and free from विकार; it binds by attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge, that is, by pride in it. ॥ 6 ॥

Know that Rajas is of the nature of passion, the source of thirst and attachment; it binds the embodied one, O Arjuna, by attachment to action. ॥

O Arjuna! Know that Rajas, which is of the nature of passion, is born of desire and attachment. It binds this soul by attachment to actions and their fruits. ॥ 7 ॥

But know that Tamas is born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds, O Arjuna, by heedlessness, indolence, and sleep. ॥

O Arjuna! Know that Tamas, which deludes all embodied beings, is born of ignorance. It binds this soul by heedlessness, indolence, and sleep. ॥ 8 ॥

Sattva attaches one to happiness, Rajas to action, O Arjuna; Tamas, verily, shrouding knowledge, attaches one to heedlessness. ॥

O Arjuna! Sattva attaches one to happiness, Rajas to action, and Tamas, shrouding knowledge, attaches one to heedlessness. ॥ 9 ॥

Sattva prevails, having overpowered Rajas and Tamas, O Arjuna; Rajas prevails, having overpowered Sattva and Tamas; likewise, Tamas prevails, having overpowered Sattva and Rajas. ॥

O Arjuna! Sattva prevails by suppressing Rajas and Tamas, Rajas prevails by suppressing Sattva and Tamas, and likewise, Tamas prevails by suppressing Sattva and Rajas, that is, increases. ॥ 10 ॥

When, through every gate in this body, the light of knowledge shines forth, then it may be known that Sattva is predominant. ॥

When consciousness and the power of discrimination arise in this body, as well as in the inner self and the senses, then it should be known that Sattva has increased. ॥ 11 ॥

Greed, activity, undertaking of actions, restlessness, and longing—these are born when Rajas is predominant, O best of the Bharatas. ॥

O Arjuna! When Rajas increases, greed, activity, undertaking of actions with selfish motives, restlessness, and longing for sense pleasures—all these arise. ॥ 12 ॥

Darkness, inertness, heedlessness, and delusion—these are born when Tamas is predominant, O Arjuna. ॥

O Arjuna! When Tamas increases, darkness in the inner self and the senses, inactivity in obligatory duties, and heedlessness, that is, vain efforts and the deluding tendencies of the inner self such as sleep—all these arise. ॥ 13 ॥

If the embodied one meets with death when Sattva is predominant, then he attains to the spotless realms of those who know the Highest. ॥

When a man dies during the increase of Sattva, he attains to the pure, divine realms of those who perform good deeds, such as heaven. ॥ 14 ॥

Dying in Rajas, he is born among those attached to action; and dying in Tamas, he is born in the wombs of the senseless. ॥

Dying in Rajas, he is born among men attached to actions; and dying in Tamas, he is born in the wombs of insects, animals, etc., which are senseless. ॥ 15 ॥

The fruit of good action is said to be Sattvic and pure; the fruit of Rajas is pain, and the fruit of Tamas is ignorance. ॥

The fruit of good action is said to be Sattvic, that is, pure, such as happiness, knowledge, and detachment; the fruit of Rajas is pain, and the fruit of Tamas is ignorance. ॥ 16 ॥

From Sattva arises knowledge, and from Rajas greed; heedlessness and delusion arise from Tamas, and also ignorance. ॥

From Sattva arises knowledge, and from Rajas greed; and from Tamas arise heedlessness and delusion, and also ignorance. ॥ 17 ॥

Those who are established in Sattva go upwards; the Rajasic remain in the middle; and the Tamasic, abiding in the functions of the lowest Guna, go downwards. ॥

Those who are established in Sattva go to the higher realms such as heaven; the Rajasic remain in the middle, that is, in the human world; and the Tamasic, abiding in the functions of Tamas such as sleep, heedlessness, and indolence, go downwards, that is, attain to the lower wombs of insects, animals, etc., and to hells. ॥ 18 ॥

When the seer beholds no agent other than the Gunas, and knows Him who is higher than the Gunas, he attains to My Being. ॥

When the seer sees no agent other than the three Gunas, and knows Me, the Supreme Self, the embodiment of Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss, who is far beyond the three Gunas, he attains to My Being. ॥ 19 ॥

The embodied one, having transcended these three Gunas out of which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, old age, and pain, and attains to immortality. ॥

The man who transcends these three Gunas, which are the cause of the body's origin, is freed from birth, death, old age, and all kinds of sorrows, and attains to supreme bliss. ॥ 20 ॥

Arjuna said: What are the marks of him who has crossed over these three Gunas, O Lord? What is his conduct, and how does he transcend these three Gunas? ॥

Arjuna said: What are the marks of the man who has transcended these three Gunas, and what kind of conduct does he have? And O Lord, by what means does a man transcend these three Gunas? ॥ 21 ॥

The Supreme Lord said: He who hates not illumination, activity, and delusion when they arise, nor longs for them when they cease, O Arjuna; ॥

The Supreme Lord said: O Arjuna! The man who neither hates the illumination which is the effect of Sattva, nor the activity which is the effect of Rajas, nor the delusion which is the effect of Tamas, when they arise, nor longs for them when they cease; ॥ 22 ॥

He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the Gunas, who, knowing that the Gunas act, is self-contained and swerves not; ॥

He who, seated like a witness, is not disturbed by the Gunas, and who, understanding that the Gunas alone are acting in the Gunas, remains steadfast in the embodiment of Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss, and never deviates from that state; ॥ 23 ॥

He who is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, a stone, and gold are alike, to whom the agreeable and the disagreeable are the same, who is steadfast, who regards alike censure and praise; ॥

He who is constantly established in the Self, who regards pleasure and pain alike, who has the same attitude towards a clod of earth, a stone, and gold, who regards the agreeable and the disagreeable alike, who is wise, and who has the same attitude towards censure and praise; ॥ 24 ॥

Who is the same in honor and dishonor, who is the same to friend and foe, who has abandoned all undertakings—he is said to have crossed over the Gunas. ॥

He who is the same in honor and dishonor, who is the same to friend and foe, and who is free from the pride of doership in all undertakings—that man is said to have transcended the Gunas. ॥ 25 ॥

And he who serves Me with unfailing devotion, he, crossing beyond the Gunas, is fit for becoming Brahman. ॥

And the man who constantly worships Me through unwavering devotion also transcends these three Gunas and becomes fit for attaining to the embodiment of Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss, which is Brahman. ॥ 26 ॥

For I am the abode of Brahman, the immortal and immutable, the eternal Dharma, and the absolute bliss. ॥

For I am the abode of the imperishable Brahman, the immortal, the eternal Dharma, and the unbroken, uniform bliss. ॥ 27 ॥

Om Tat Sat, thus in the Upanishad of the Bhagavad Gita, the knowledge of Brahman, the supreme scripture of Yoga, the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, ends the fourteenth discourse entitled: "The Yoga of the Division of the Three Gunas." ॥ 14 ॥