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THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIT K G NAMBOODHIRI
THIRUVALLA, KERALAPresentation adapted from
The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi, Orient Paperbacks,2011
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHI
T K G Namboodhiri
CHAPTER 14
GUNA THRAYA VIBHAGA YOGA
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHICHAPTER 14 - Introduction
In this Chapter Lord Krishna describes at length the unlimited, phenomenal existence of Atman or the Immortal Soul manifesting from its association with the three gunas, Sattva, Rajas & Tamas, knowing which great Sages have achieved release from Samsara- the perpetual cycle of birth & death- and attained the ultimate Goal.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.1 to 14.3
Yet again will I expound the highest and the best of all knowledge, knowing which all the sages passed hence to the highest perfection.By having recourse to this knowledge they become one with Me. They need not come to birth even at a creation, nor do they suffer at a dissolution.The great Prakriti is for Me, the womb in which I deposit the germ; from it all beings come to birth, O Bharata.God is a magician, He simply puts the seed in His imagination- which is Prakriti, Lakshmi or Mother Goddess of the world- and the universe comes into existence.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.4 & 14.5
Whatever forms take birth in the various species, the great Prakriti is their Mother & I the seed-giving Father.Sattva, rajas and tamas are the gunas sprung from Prakriti; it is they, O Mahabahu, that keep the imperishable Dweller bound to the body.I am the Father & the Prakriti is the Mother of all forms that take birth in the various species.The physical body is the product of the three gunas- sattva or goodness, rajas or passion & tamas or nescience (ignorance) which all arise from Prakriti. These gunas or qualities influence the Atman- the imperishable Soul- & keep it bound to the body.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.6 to 14.8
Of these sattva, being without stain, is light-giving & healing; it binds with the bond of happiness & the bond of knowledge, O sinless one.Rajas, know thou, is of the nature of passion; the source of thirst & attachment; it keeps man bound with the bond of action.Tamas, know thou, is born of ignorance, of mortal man’s delusion; it keeps him bound with heedlessness, sloth & slumber, O Bharata.The three gunas, their characteristic features & how they bind the soul to the body are given here. Even sattva binds with bonds of happiness & knowledge. Rajas produces desire & attachment, Tamas creates illusion & lethargy.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.9 to 14.11
Sattva attaches man to happiness, rajas to action, & tamas, shrouding knowledge, attaches him to heedlessness.Sattva prevails, O Bharata, having overcome rajas & tamas; rajas prevails when it has overpowered sattva & tamas; likewise tamas reigns when sattva & rajas are crushed.When the light—knowledge– shines forth from all the gates of his body, then it may be known that sattva thrives.Sattva leads to happiness & the quality of rajas to karma. Tamas covers up knowledge & leads to pramad. All three gunas exist in us. We should make a special effort to cultivate that which we want to strengthen. Each guna predominates when the other two are subordinated. When knowledge emanates from a persons words, demeanour, & actions, know that sattva predominates in him.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.12 to 14.15
Greed, activity, assumption of undertakings, restlessness, craving--- these are in evidence when rajas flourishes, O Bharatarshabha.Ignorance, dullness, heedlessness & delusion– these are in evidence when tamas reigns, O Kurunandana.If the embodied one meets his end whilst sattva prevails, there he attains to the spotless worlds of the knower of the Highest.If he dies during the reign within him of rajas, he is born among men attached to action; and if he dies in tamas, he is born in a species not endowed with reason.The characteristics of rajas & tamas are described. The next birth of a person depends on the reigning guna at the time of his death. Departure during the reign of sattva enables one to reach the higher worlds. Predominance of rajas leads to birth among active humans, & that of tamas leads to birth in sub-human or foolish species.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.16 to 14.19
The fruit of sattvik action is said to be stainless merit; that of rajas is pain & that of tamas ignorance.Of sattva, knowledge is born. Of rajas, greed; of tamas, heedlessness, delusion & ignorance.Those abiding in sattva rise upwards, those in rajas stay midway, those in tamas, sink downwards.When the seer perceives no agent other than the gunas and knows Him who is above the gunas, he attains to My being.The fruits of actions under the three gunas, & the nature of the people with each guna are described.When one realises that these gunas are the agents of all activities & that the embodied Atman is above theses gunas, he attains merger with the Brahman.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.20 & 14.21
The Lord concluded this section:When the embodied one transcends these three gunas which are born of his contact with the body he is released from the pain of birth, death & age and attains moksha.Then Arjuna asked:What O Lord, are the marks of him who has transcended the three gunas? How does he conduct himself? How does he transcend the three gunas?Sri Krishna concluded his discussion on the gunas by saying that if & when the embodied soul overcomes the effects of the three gunas & goes above them, he will be released from the shackles of birth & death. Because of Its identification with the body, mind & intellect, he got tied up in this world.Then Arjuna asked the Lord as to how such a person who has overcome the gunas be recognized? What characterizes such a person. How does he behave? How to go above the gunas?
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.22 & 14.23
The Lord replied:He, O Pandava, who does not disdain light, activity, & delusion when they come into being, nor desires them when they vanish.He, who, seated as one indifferent, is not shaken by the gunas & stays still & moves not, knowing it is the gunas playing their parts.He who transcends the three gunas, does not suffer because of light (Knowledge) or activity or darkness (Ignorance)– does not suffer when any of them predominates over the others- & does not desire that one of these should prevail or subside. A person who has risen above the three gunas will not let himself be deceived by the 3-fold distinction of good, bad, & indifferent. We shall not see in him the effects of any of the three gunas. Such a person has come out of the duality of happiness & misery. He has risen above the pairs of opposites. He would seem to us untouched, unconcerned by anything. He should be absolutely free from egotism.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.24 & 14.25
He who holds pleasure & pain alike, who is sedate, who regards earth, stone & gold, as all the same, who is wise & weighs in equal scale things pleasant & unpleasant, who is even-minded in praise & blame.Who holds alike respect & disrespect, who is the same to friend & foe, who indulges in no undertaking– that man is called guna-atitah.Lord Krishna completes the characteristics of a person who has conquered the three gunas.
T K G Namboodhiri
THE BHAGAVD GITAACCORDING TO
GANDHIVerses 14.26 & 14.27
He who serves Me with an unwavering & exclusive bhakti-yoga transcends these gunas & is worthy to become one with Brahman.For I am the very image of Brahman changeless & deathless as also of everlasting dharma & perfect bliss.Lord Krishna ends his discussion on the three gunas with these verses. Here He tells Arjuna that by unwavering & constant devotion to the Lord, one can go beyond these gunas. Such a person becomes one with Brahman.
End of Chapter 14T K G Namboodhiri
