अथ चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः । गुणत्रयविभागयोगः
14. Gunatraya Vibhag Yoga.
The yoga of the Three Gunas.
The ways of the Gunas are further elucidated :-
The Symptoms of the Gunas 14-11 to 14-18
ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्त्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसाः ।
जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः ॥ १४-१८॥
14-18 Those who are fixed in Sattva go upwards; the Rajasikas remain in the middle; and the Tamasikas, abiding in the functions of the lowest Guna, go downwards.
There is an inviolable relationship between the change of the Gunas in the Jvatman and his being born high or low.
1. The one fixed in Sattva may be born a celestial if he is inclined towards enjoyment of pleasures. But if his bent is towards knowledge and wisdom he takes a suitable human birth and strives for further progress in that direction.
2. The man of Rajas is ever active in all of his births. For higher births, nor does he deteriorate to lower births. He maintains the position he has gained and waits for the dawn of discrimination to guide him upwards.
3. But the man steeped in Tamas wallows in the nether regions.
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In what other respects do the Gunas get themselves distinguished one from the other? The answer comes:-
सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च ।
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च ॥ १४-१७॥
14-17 From Sattva arises wisdom and greed from Rajas; heedlessness and error arise from Tamas, and also ignorance.
What is mentioned in this stanza is the truth about the Gunas. Man should therefore ever endeavour to subdue ( bring under control) the base Gunas in him and rise high. Moreover:-
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कर्मणः सुकृतस्याहुः सात्त्विकं निर्मलं फलम् ।
रजसस्तु फलं दुःखमज्ञानं तमसः फलम् ॥ १४-१६॥
14-16 The fruit of good action, they say, is Sattvika and pure; verily the fruit of Rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of Tamas.
Tamas engulfs man either in inertia or in wicked deeds which prevent him from making upward progress. Rajas is the one instrument to save man from stagnation and lead him to prosperity. It drives him on to incessant action; but the nature of karma is to bring misery in its train. And this misery is no ill luck. It has a great purpose to serve. Nothing else equals misery for inducing man to soar high. In the training ground of misery he gets his character shaped. Consequently dharma emanates from him. Ultimately dharma or good conduct lifts him to Sattva which is all purity and brilliance.
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रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते ।
तथा प्रलीनस्तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते ॥ १४-१५॥
14-15 Meeting with death in Rajas, he is born among those attached to action; and, dying in Tamas, he is born in the wombs of the deluded.
1. The already mentioned Sattvika man casts off the body in all calmness and in full consciousness.
2. The Rajasika man leaves the body with excitement, desire and sorrow. So he is born again as the one given to excessive activities.
3. The Tamasika man dies in an unconscious state. Such a one is born again as an animal or a sub-human being.
A Tamasika man ought to endeavour to become a Rajasika man, and a Rajasika man, a Siitivika one. Because:-
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Is there any connection between the ascendency of the Guna and the reincarnation of the Jivatman? The answer comes :-
यदा सत्त्वे प्रवृद्धे तु प्रलयं याति देहभृत् ।
तदोत्तमविदां लोकानमलान्प्रतिपद्यते ॥ १४-१४॥
14-14 If the embodied one meets with death when Sattva is predominant, then he goes to the pure worlds of those who know the highest.
The thought uppermost in the mind at the time of departing from the body, is the deciding factor of the next birth of that Jivatman. Because of the prevalence of Sattva at that juncture, godly thoughts are inevitable. And Brahma loka is the highest among the regions obtained by the embodied. The highest deity known to them is the Creator Brahma or the Hiranyagarbha. But this knowledge is not to be equated with Brahma jnana, which is the finale.
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अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च ।
तमस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे कुरुनन्दन ॥ १४-१३॥
14-13 Indiscrimination, inertness, heedlessness and delusion-these arise, 0 joy of the Kurus, when Tamas is predominant.
The literal meaning of the word aprakas is, darkness. But the darkness of the mind lands one into indiscrimination. There is no initiative in the one lacking in discrimination. Lethargy overtakes such a dullard (a slow or stupid person.). He becomes heedless or indifferent to progress and prosperity in life. He is so much deluded that he mistakes stagnation for self-sufficiency. That man becomes depraved. These are all due to the predominance of Tamas.
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लोभः प्रवृत्तिरारम्भः कर्मणामशमः स्पृहा ।
रजस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे भरतर्षभ ॥ १४-१२॥
14-12 Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, unrest, longing -these arise, 0 best of the Bharatas, when Rajas is predominant.
Attempt at making the property of others, one's own is greed. Officiously engaging oneself in matters not one's own is what is meant by activity here. Increasing one's activities unnecessarily and out of proportion is not the way of the wise. Any little success in a new undertaking brings in elation and any little set back in another undertaking brings in dejection. Oscillation of the mind in these ways is called unrest. A prosperous undertaking of a neighbour goads a greedy man into a similar venture. His impatience to have it done immediately is known as longing. These trails are all born of Rajas.
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सर्वद्वारेषु देहेऽस्मिन्प्रकाश उपजायते ।
ज्ञानं यदा तदा विद्याद्विवृद्धं सत्त्वमित्युत ॥ १४-११॥
14-11 When the light of knowledge beams through all the gateways of the body, then it may be known that Sattva is predominant.
If a lamp is placed With in a box fitted With glasses of various hues, its light shines through all the glasses. The intensity of the light adds to the brilliance pouring out. Man's body is very much like that box. The sense organs are the gateways for the light of the self with in to beam into view. While in Sattva, the effulgence of the self is at its height. And this is evinced by the functioning of the senses. In the act of seeing there is sharpness, in hearing there is alertness, in performing an action there is precision accompanied by deliberation and accuracy. All the senses function pleasantly at their best. These are the marks of the predominance of Sattva.
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How does the Prakriti bind the Jivas? The process is explained :-
The Functions of the Gnnas 14-05 to 14-10
How do these Gunas act one over the other? It is delineated :-
रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत ।
रजः सत्त्वं तमश्चैव तमः सत्त्वं रजस्तथा ॥ १४-१०॥
14-10 Sattva asserts itself, 0 Bharata, by predominating over Rajas and Tamas; and Rajas, over Sattva and Tamas; and Tamas, over Sattva and Rajas.
All the three Gunas are inherent in the Jivatman. These Gunas again are interrelated like the three sides of a triangle. When any one side of a triangle is placed in the forefront, the other two get behind perforce. Even so is the case with the three Gunas inborn in man. In his calm and serene wakeful state, man stays in Sattva which nourishes him in joy and wisdom. The preponderance of Rajas drives him into activity. But when overwhelmed with Tamas, man can neither learn nor work. He yields to lethargy and sleep. In the course of a day, all the three Gunas dominate by turns, over all beings.
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All the three Gunas are collectively described again:-
सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रजः कर्मणि भारत ।
ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तमः प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत ॥ १४-९॥
14-09 Sattva binds one to happiness, and Rajas to action, 0 Bharata, while Tamas verily veils knowledge and binds one to heedlessness.
The temperament predominant in a man is the indicator of the Guna in which he has moulded himself.
The man who is callous about his duty, who wastes his time without compunction, who squanders his money foolishly-such a man is immersed in Tamas.
Rajas dominates in him who is ever active and engages himself in all sorts of enterprises.
Sattva is in ascendancy in the man given to pleasures ranging from the physical to the intellectual and ethical.
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तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम् ।
प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत ॥ १४-८॥
14-08 But know Tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds fast, 0 Bharata, by heedlessness, indolence and sleep.
1. Tamas is inertia born of ignorance.
2. It enshrouds the discrimination of man.
3. While Rajas despoils Sattva, Tamas despoils both Rajas and Sattva.
4. It delivers man into heedlessness, indolence and sleep, rendering him inert.
5. By nature it is destructive.
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रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् ।
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ॥ १४-७॥
14-07 Know Rajas to he of the nature of passion, the source of thirst and attachment; it binds fast, 0 Kaunteya, the embodied one by attachment to action.
The way of the Rajas is to instil desire and goad one into undertaking new projects. As a dye colours the white cloth, this Guna colours the Jivatman red. Trishna or thirst is the hankering of the mind after things not yet acquired, while sanga or attachment is the act of clinging on to the objects already acquired. Rajas engenders greed for sense objects visible and invisible. As fuel feeds fire, Rajas fosters attachment to action. It creates the sense of agency in the Jivatman, although his ideal is to rid himself of that feeling.
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The characteristics of the three Gunas are now delineated :-
तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् ।
सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ ॥ १४-६॥
14-06 Of these, Sattva, being stainless, is luminous and unobstructive. It binds, 0 sinless one, by creating attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge.
The Sattva Guna may be compared to an evenly made clear glass. Light passes through it unobstructed and undiminished. Things seen through that glass are as vividly visible as to a normal naked eye. The Sattva is similarly transparent to the brilliance of Atman. Seeing the things objectively in their true perspective is the secular knowledge. Seeing the Atman as He is, is the sacred knowledge.
The enjoyment of a pleasure is with a greater gusto in the highly developed ones than in the ordinary beings. This is due to the predominance of Sattva in the former beings. A hearty enjoyment of a pleasure in its turn breeds an inordinate attachment to it. The one who enjoys pleasure greatly next tries to increase his knowledge of the object of enjoyment. Pleasure derived from an object and the knowledge of that object are interrelated. Therefore there grows as much attachment to the knowledge as there is attachment to the pleasure. The scope for the cultivation of pleasure and the knowledge pertaining to it is ever on the increase in Sattva. The subtler a force the more powerful is it in effect. Attachment to emotional pleasure and the intellectual pleasure is almost akin to anandam which is Brahman. To outgrow and transcend this transient pleasure is hardly ever possible to a sadhaka.
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सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसम्भवाः ।
निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् ॥ १४-५॥
14-5 Sattva, Rajas, Tamas -these Gunas, 0 mighty armed, born of Prakriti, bind the indestructible embodied one fast in the body.
The Prakriti is made up of the three Gunas. It should not be construed that just as forms are superimposed on substances like gold, the Gunas are superimposed on the Prakriti. Verily just as fire and its heat are one and the same; Prakriti and the Gunas are identicaL In tricolour printing, all the various hues and shades required for a colourful picture can be very effectively brought out. Even so the entire Prakriti consists of the three Gunas. In substance they are one while in expression they are three.
Prakriti or the Kshetra is dependent on the Kshetrajna. How can the Gunas bind him who is the owner thereof? The fact is that the unfettered Atman seems as if fettered due to ignorance. Wave lets in the water cause the reflection of the sun in it to quiver. It ts the reflection of the sun that trembles, but not the real sun. In this manner the reflected Atman seems to be in the shackles of the Gunas, while actually neither the reflected Atman nor the original Atman in any way gets bound.
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How is the cycle of birth kept up? The answer comes :-
The Process of Birth 14-03 & 14-04
सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तयः सम्भवन्ति याः ।
तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रदः पिता ॥ १४-४॥
14-04 Whatever forms are produced, 0 Kaunteya, in any wombs whatsoever, the great Brahma (Prakriti) is their womb, I the seed-giving Father.
The wombs of the Prakriti are infinitely graded providing scope for all types of beings to sprout forth. The celestials, the human beings, the beasts, the birds, the insects, the vegetable kingdom, the bacteria-all these have their suitable wombs to take birth and thrive. The Prakriti is the Cosmic Mother for the entire creation. And Iswara is the Father.
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मम योनिर्महद् ब्रह्म तस्मिन्गर्भं दधाम्यहम् ।
सम्भवः सर्वभूतानां ततो भवति भारत ॥ १४-३॥
14-03 My womb is the Mahat Brahma (Prakriti); in that I place the germ; thence, 0 Bharata, is the birth of all beings.
The Prakriti is called Mahat Brahma, the fourfaced entity. He is constituted of the three Gunas. He is the material cause of everything movable and immovable. Whatever is manifest as the universe with its multitudinous beings is he; and his unmanifest state is immensely more. For this reason he is known as the Mahat Brahma-the great entity. All pervasiveness is his.
A seed is sown in the soil. In this act, the seed is the germ and the soil, the womb. In a baby's coming into being, its mother and father function as the Prakriti and the Purusha respectively. This act takes place in a macrocosmic scale too. In the great womb of the Prakriti the germ of atma chaitanya is embedded. The blissful union of the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna takes place in this way, leading to the coming forth of Hiranyagarbha, the cosmic embodied being. And the countless Jivatmas are none other than the rays radiating from this cosmic being. The Jivatman is also called the Kshetrajna because of his being endowed with the faculty of understanding. Variations and grades in the Jivatmas are all due to the limiting adjuncts (Upadhis) caused by desires which are all born of ignorance. Consequently the Jivatmans are all of infinite aptitudes and temperaments.
The next stanza further clarifies this fact.
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Jnana aids Mukti 14-01 & 14-02
The benefits of Brahma jnana are :-
इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागताः ।
सर्गेऽपि नोपजायन्ते प्रलये न व्यथन्ति च ॥ १४-२॥
14-02 They who, having devoted themselves to this knowledge, have attained to unity with Me, are neither born at the time of creation, nor are they disturbed at the time of dissolution.
The doll of salt consigned to the sea loses its assumed individuality and regains its natural state. Even such is the case with the Jnani. He gets himself identified with Brahman, who is beyond the modifications of Prakritti. Transmigrations involving him in births and deaths do not trouble and tarnish him.
Boiled paddy does not sprout when sowed at the field. But the unboiled gram keeps on propagating. The man bathed in the fire of Brahma jnana is no more troubled with births and deaths: But the ignorant one cannot escape from that ordeal. -Sri Ramakrishna
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The Blessed Lord said:
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
परं भूयः प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् ।
यज्ज्ञात्वा मुनयः सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गताः ॥ १४-१॥
14-01 I shall again declare that supreme knowledge, the best of all forms of knowledge; by knowing which, all the sages have passed from this world to the highest perfection.
1. The sages who have been blessed with Self knowledge have nothing else to gain.
2. And this supreme knowledge has already been explained. Still, it is again delineated from, another angle.
3. While Brahma jnana is the easiest to acquire for those who have purified their minds, it is the hardest and the least understood for those whose minds are steeped in worldliness.
4. It therefore requires to be presented in as many ways as possible.
5. The votaries of Brahma jnana are designated as Munis.
6. Perfection is theirs to the extent they make progress in this knowledge.
7. While the advanced Brahma jnanis are ever perfect in themselves, their bodily existence often puts on apparent defects.
8. The limits of the Kshetra ought not however to be imputed to the Kshetrajna or the self.
9. But since this error is committed frequently, Self-knowledge requires to be expounded repeatedly and in a variety of ways.
Knowledge pertaining to Iswara is the real knowledge. Branches of arts and sciences, logic, grammar-learning such as these usually confuse the understanding instead of clarifying it. Sacred books often function as shackles that prevent free thinking. All learning is good if it can ever guide man Godward. --Sri Ramakrishna
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Is it sufficient if man aspires to Sattva and gets established there? The answer comes :-
Transcending the Gunas is Mukti 14-19 & 14- 20
What is the benefit that befalls the one that transcends the Gunas? The blessing is portrayed :-
गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् ।
जन्ममृत्युजरादुःखैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्नुते ॥ १४-२०॥
14-20 The embodied one having crossed over these three Gunas out of which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to immortality.
The plenitude of Brahma jnana is explained here. The jivatman resides in the body which is made up of the three Gunas, but his ideal is not to identify himself with his residence. Pain due to birth, decay and death is to that Jivatman only who identifies himself with the body. A Jivanmukta is the who is free from body consciousness even while dwelling in the body. Fixed as he is in the Bliss of Brahman, he has virtually transcended the three Gunas.
The body has its birth and death. But the Atman is free from these modifications. He is like the areca-nut in its shell. When still tender, this nut and its shell hold fast to each other but when ripe the nut separates itself from the shell. In Brahma Jnana the body consciousness drops away -Sri Ramakrishna
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नान्यं गुणेभ्यः कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति ।
गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति ॥ १४-१९॥
14-19 When the seer perceives no agent other than the Gunas, and knows Him who is higher than the Gunas, be enters into My Being.
1. The Prakriti is the agent for all karmas.
2. The Gunas being none other than the Prakriti, they are equated with it.
3. The Gunas are therefore held as, agents for all the activities, no matter where they take place.
4. The senses and the objects of the senses are all nothing but the modifications of the Gunas.
5. To outgrow the inferior Gunas and ascend to the superior Gunas is the plan and purpose of the mundane life.
Is the goal of life reached when one gets at the pure Sattva?
1. Gaining the pure Sattva is the climax of the earthly life; but even that state has to be transcended.
2. Nirguna Brahman is beyond the three Gunas.
3. Getting into that Absolute State is the goal of life.
4. There is neither karma nor agency in that State.
5. It is the Highest Goal to be attained, though it cannot be defined in words.
What are the indications of Iswara revealing Himself in the heart of the devotee? The dawn is the harbinger of the sunrise. Similarly, selflessness, absence of agency, purity and such like divine qualities precede the spiritual vision of Iswara. - Sri Ramakrishna
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The Definition of the One who has Transcended the Gunas 14-21 to 14-27
Is Bhakti the only means to go beyond the Gunas? The elucidation comes:-
ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च ।
शाश्वतस्य च धर्मस्य सुखस्यैकान्तिकस्य च ॥ १४-२७॥
14-27 For I am the Abode of Brahman, the Immortal, and the Immutable, the Eternal Dharma and Absolute Bliss.
Mythology has it that the Lord Siva made elaborate preparations to invade and lay siege to the iron, sliver and golden citadels of three mighty Asuras who were invincible. Finally, the great Lord's opening His divine eye resulted in the total destruction of the Demons and their domains. This is a mythological presentation of the transcendence of the three Gunas with the aid of Self-knowledge.
All the four Yogas are herein harmonized.
1. Bhakti and the attainment of the Saguna Brahman through it have been explained in the previous stanza.
2. The Immortal and the Immutable Brahman or the Nirguna Brahman is reached by Jnana yoga.
3. By serving the Lord through Karma yoga, the Eternal Dharma or the Sunatana Dharma which is another name for Brahman is made one's own.
4. The practice of Raja yoga culminates in the creation of Amrita dhara, the Divine Nectar which provides Absolute Bliss which is another name for Brahman.
Thus all the four yogas are paths by pursuing which the sadhaka gets beyond the three Gunas.
The right course is to adopt all these four yogas simultaneously. He who does so traverses the three Gunas and gets into Brahman who is supremely beyond them.
A wayfarer was passing through a dense forest. Three thieves sprang on him and over powered him. Forthwith he was relieved of all of his possessions. The first highwayman then drew out his dagger to do away with the victim. The second bandit pleaded against such a drastic measure and voted for binding the fellow fast and leaving him to his fate. This counsel was acted upon and the thieves quitted the scene. But in a short while, the soft-hearted third robber reappeared, released the victimized man and kindly showed him his way back home. The grateful wayfarer requested this unexpected saviour to go along with him and accept his gratitude and hospitality. But the stranger politely expressed his inability to go beyond his bounds and disappeared into the forest.
This world is the forest. The three Gunas are the three thieves. The Jivatman is the wayfarer. The divine qualities are his possessions. Of the three Gunas, Tamas tries to destroy him. Rajas binds him with lust, greed and anger. Sattva saves him from these fetters and shows him the way Godward. But Guna as it is, Sattva cannot have access to the proximity of Brahman. -Sri Ramakrishna
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The third and the last question is being answered now :-
3. How does he rise above the Gunas?
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते ।
स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते ॥ १४-२६॥
14-26 And be who serves Me with an unswerving devotion, be, going beyond the Gunas, is fitted for becoming Brahman.
Extreme devotion surges in the heart of the devotee who has made himself over to the Lord. He has nothing but Narayana to cognize both within and without. This intense fervour ends with his becoming Brahman. As darkness disappears when light comes, the three Gunas disappear when the dawn of the Brahma jnana takes place.
The devotee sees Iswara in many forms. But when he gets into Samadhi this very Iswara is realized by him as the formless Infinite Nirguna Brahman. It is in this realization that Bhakti and Jnana get harmonized. Sri Ramakrishna
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These three stanzas are in reply to the second question raised by Arjuna.
2. What is his conduct?
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयोः ।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीतः स उच्यते ॥ १४-२५॥
14-25 The same in honour and dishonour, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings- he is said to have risen above the Gunas.
Honour and dishonour, friendship and enmity dualities such as these exist for him who is bound by the Gunas and for him who is ignorant. Because of the persistence of the Jiva hood, the engaging of one self in personal undertakings becomes possible.
But these limitations are not for him who has gone beyond the three Gunas.
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समदुःखसुखः स्वस्थः समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चनः ।
तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुतिः ॥ १४-२४॥
14-24 Balanced in pleasure and pain, Self-abiding, viewing a clod of earth, a stone and gold alike; the same to agreeable and disagreeable, firm, the same in censure and praise;
The Gunas have assumed the form of the human body; they have also assumed the forms of various objects. And these forms interact on one another.
The Atman is no party to these interactions. The knower of the Atman remains as Atman, unconcerned with the workings of the Gunas.
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उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते ।
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येवं योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते ॥ १४-२३॥
14-23 He who, sitting like one unconcerned, is moved not by the Gunas, who, knowing that the Gunas operate, is firm and moves not;
A hill does not shake while the trees, plants and creepers on it shake when the wind blows. The Guna move in the Brahma jnani but be remains calm, steady and unconcerned with the happening in the world.
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This is in answer to the first question put by Arjuna.
1. What are the marks, 0 Lord, of him who has crossed over the three Gunas?
The Blessed Lord said :
श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव ।
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति ॥ १४-२२॥
14-22 He, 0 Pandava, who hates not light, activity and delusion, when present, nor longs (have a strong wish or desire) after them when absent;
The Brahma jnani who has soared beyond the three Gunas evinces merits found in a mirror. It truly reflects the objects placed before it. When nothing is presented before it, it remains in its own state. The mirror is in no way affected by the appearance and disappearance of things in its proximity. Similar to this is the place gained by the three Gunas in the mind of the Muni who has transcended them. While they come and go, he remains unaffected by them.
To the man adhering to Tamas, lethargy and sleep are most welcome. He is very much annoyed if his sleep is disturbed.
But that man who has crossed over the Gunas treats sleep and wakefulness alike. His body is given the required repose which automatically gets reduced to its bare minimum in the enlightened man.
The man caught up in Rajas is always up and doing. What seems good to him, he executes devotedly; and what other is held bad by him, is abhorred and avoided. Going to the temple regularly and doing ritualistic worship elaborately are all aspects of his life, too holy to be given up.
But the man who has gone beyond the Gunas holds all these observances as mere schooling. Nothing is gained by him by sticking on to them and nothing is lost by relinquishing them. Any and every good action is devotedly done by him, and he is equally superb when nothing at all is done. But it is impossible for any bad deed to emanate from him.
1. The man immersed in Sattva has his intellectual pursuits and refined pleasures in which he is deeply absorbed.
2. Scriptural learning has a remarkable hold on the devotee.
3. Pious discourse, rapturous Bhajana, deep meditation -
all these are meticulously practised by the man of Sattvika disposition. If these doings are interrupted or dropped out for a day, the aspirant feels as if a great spiritual loss has been inflicted on him. This feeling is the sign of his being attached to Sattva Guna.
But the man who has transcended the Gunas has nothing to gain by adhering to these observances and nothing to lose by abandoning them. With or without these good occupations the Brahma Jnani ever rests in Brahman.
How do the Jivan muktas, the liberated souls, live in the world? They live like the kingfisher that dives deep into the water to catch fish, but does not get wet. The few drops that happen to be on its feathers are shaken off with ease. The liberated souls are unaffected by the happenings to the world -Sri Ramakrishna
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An occasion now arises for Arjuna to raise a doubt; and he avails himself of it.
Arjuna said :
अर्जुन उवाच ।
कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो ।
किमाचारः कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते ॥ १४-२१॥
14-21 What are the marks, 0 Lord, of him who has crossed over the three Gunas? What is his conduct? And how does he rise above the Gunas?
Here are three questions linked together. They are being severally answered.
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ॐ तत्सदिति श्रीमद्भगवद्गीतासूपनिषत्सु
ब्रह्मविद्यायां योगशास्त्रे श्रीकृष्णार्जुनसंवादे
गुणत्रयविभागयोगो नाम चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः ॥ १४॥
In the Upanishad of the Bhagavad Gita, the knowledge of Brahman, the Supreme, the science of Yoga and the dialogue between Sri Krishna and Arjuna, this is the fourteenth discourse designated :
THE YOGA OF THE DIVISION OF THE THREE GUNAS
