Bhagavad Gita

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14: Guṇa Traya Vibhāga Yogam, Verse 22 to 25:

Bhagavad Gita - krishna

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Those Who Are Transcendental To The Three Gunas Natural Modes Have No Impact On Them

श्रीभगवानुवाच |
प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव |
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ् क्षति || 14.22||
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते |
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येवं योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते || 14.23||
समदु:खसुख: स्वस्थ: समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चन: |
तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुति: || 14.24||
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयो: |
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीत: स उच्यते || 14.25||

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha
prakāśhaṁ cha pravṛittiṁ cha moham eva cha pāṇḍava
na dveṣhṭi sampravṛittāni na nivṛittāni kāṅkṣhati|| 14.22||
udāsīna-vad āsīno guṇair yo na vichālyate
guṇā vartanta ity evaṁ yo ’vatiṣhṭhati neṅgate|| 14.23||
sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ sama-loṣhṭāśhma-kāñchanaḥ
tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras tulya-nindātma-sanstutiḥ|| 14.24||
mānāpamānayos tulyas tulyo mitrāri-pakṣhayoḥ
sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa uchyate|| 14.25||

Shloka Translation
BG – Ch. 14- Ver. 22 to 25:

The Supreme Divine Personality said to Arjuna, “Those who are transcendental to the three gunas neither despise illumination (which is born of sattva), nor activity (which is born of rajas), nor even delusion (which is born of tamasa) when these are abundantly present, nor do they yearn for them when they are absent.” They are unaffected by natural modes and stay unaffected by them. Knowing that it is only the gunas who act, they remain steadfast in their self.

Those who are the same in happiness and distress; who are established in the self; who regard a clod, a stone, and a piece of gold as of equal value; who remain the same amidst pleasant and unpleasant events; who are intelligent; who accept both blame and praise with equanimity; who treat both friend and foe alike; and who have abandoned all enterprises are said to have risen above the three gunas.

Explanation

The characteristics of people who have transcended the three gunas are now clarified by Shree Krishna. When they witness the gunas working in the world and their consequences appearing in people, objects, and circumstances around them, they are unconcerned.

When they observe ignorance, illuminated people do neither despise it, nor do they become involved in it. Worldly-minded people are preoccupied with the state of the globe. They devote their time and energy to ruminating on the situation of the world. The enlightened souls are also concerned about human wellbeing, but it is in their nature to serve others.

They understand that the world is ultimately in God’s hands. They must simply perform their duties to the best of their abilities and leave the rest in God’s hands. Our first job as we enter God’s world is to purify ourselves. Then, with a pure mind, we will automatically undertake good and beneficial actions in the world, without allowing the pressures of the world to weigh us down.
When the modes of nature perform their natural roles in the world, beings of illumination, who know they to be transcendental to the functioning of the modes, are neither wretched nor jubilant, according to Shree Krishna. In fact, they are unconcerned even when they perceive these gunas in their minds.

Because the mind is made out of material energy, it contains the three Maya modes. As a result, it is normal for the mind to be influenced by the gunas and their associated thoughts. The issue is that we do not perceive the mind as separate from ourselves when we are in bodily consciousness.
So, when our minds provide us with a frightening thought, we think to ourselves, “Oh, I’m thinking negatively.” We begin to associate with the poisonous concepts, allowing them to infiltrate our minds and spiritually harm us. Even if the mind presents a concept that is hostile to God and Guru, we adopt the thought as our own.

We would be able to disassociate ourselves from unpleasant thoughts if we could see the mind as separate from us at the time. “I shall have nothing to do with any thinking that is not helpful to my dedication,” we’d say, rejecting mental thoughts. On the transcendental platform, people have learned the art of separating themselves from all bad thoughts that arise in their minds.

The soul, like God, exists beyond the three gunas. We identify with the pain and pleasures of the body in physical consciousness, and hence oscillate between the emotions of joy and dejection. Those who are established on the transcendental platform of the self, on the other hand, do not identify with the body’s enjoyment or distress. Such self-realized mystics are aware of the world’s dualities but are unaffected by them. As a result, they become nirguna. This offers them an equal vision, in which a piece of stone, a lump of earth, gold, favourable and unfavourable conditions, criticisms and glorifications are all the same to them.

Verse & what we can learn

Arjuna asked three different inquiries, each of which the Lord answered one by one. Krishna explains in these words that a person who is transcendentally placed has neither envy nor a desire for anything. When a living creature, embodied by a material body, remains in this material universe, he is under the dominion of one of the three modes of material nature.

He is free of the grasp of the material modes of nature when he is genuinely out of the body. He should be neutral as long as he is not out of his physical body. He should devote himself to the Lord’s devotional service so that his identification with the material body is immediately dissolved.
When one is conscious of the material body, one acts solely for the sake of sense enjoyment; however, when one transfers consciousness to Krishna, sense gratification ceases to exist. This material body is unnecessary, and one does not have to obey the material body’s dictates.
The attributes of the material modes in the body will act, but the self as spirit soul will remain unaffected. What causes him to grow aloof? He doesn’t want to appreciate his body, yet he also doesn’t want to leave it. The devotee is naturally free once he or she is transcendentally located. He doesn’t have to struggle to break free from the impact of material nature’s modes.

The next inquiry is about a transcendentally placed person’s interactions. So-called honour and shame bestowed on the body affect the materially placed individual, but such false honour and dishonour have no effect on the transcendentally situated person. He fulfills his duties in Krishna awareness and is unconcerned about whether a man honours him or not. He accepts things that are beneficial to his role in Krishna consciousness; otherwise, he has no need for material objects, whether they are stones or gold.

He considers everyone who assists him in the accomplishment of Krishna awareness to be a great friend, and he does not despise his so-called adversary. Because he realizes he has nothing to do with material life, he is equally disposed and perceives everything on an equal footing.

He is unconcerned with social and political issues since he is familiar with the condition of ephemeral upheavals and disturbances. He doesn’t try anything just for the sake of trying. He can attempt anything for Krishna, but he never does anything for himself. As a result of such activity, one becomes transcendentally positioned.

To acquire knowledge and implement that knowledge in life one needs to be mentally and physically active and healthy and for that daily meditation is a great tool.

There are various types of meditation like Buddhist meditation, heartfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, meditation for stress, and each meditation benefits are countless. There is also numerous meditation techniques for beginners which help in practicing daily meditation so go ahead and start your journey towards a peaceful and balanced life.

In the next shloka Shri Krishna talks about those who serve him.

Let’s learn to live with “The Gita” via Meditation Affinity…

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