DIVINE INFORMATION PART 124
414 Chapter XIV The Yoga of the Division ofthe Three Gunas (Guna-Traya-Vibhaga-Yoga) The Blessed Lord said: “Sattva,Rajas and Tamas (purity, passion and inertia)—these Gunas, O mighty-armed, bornof Prakriti, bind fast in the body the indestructible embodied one (5). Ofthese Sattva (purity) which from its stainlessness is luminous and healthy,binds by attachment to happiness and by attachment to knowledge, O sinless one!(6). Know thou Rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of thirst forlife and objects and attachment, it binds fast, O son of Kunti, the embodiedone by attachment to action (7). But know thou Tamas (inertia) born ofignorance is the deluder of all embodied beings; it binds fast, O Bharata, byheedlessness, indolence and sloth (8). “Now Sattva (purity) prevails,having overpowered Rajas and Tamas, O Bharata; now Rajas, having overpoweredSattva and Tamas; now Tamas, having overpowered Sattva and Rajas (10). “When the wisdom-light shines atevery gate (sense) in this body, then it should be known that Sattva isincreasing (11). Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, restlessness,desire—these are born of increase of Rajas, O best of the Bharatas (12).Darkness, inertness, heedlessness, and also delusion—these are born of theincrease Of Tamas, O descendant of the Kuru (13). “If the embodied one dies whenSattva is predominant, then he goes to the spotless worlds of the Highest (14).If he dies when Rajas is predominant, he is born among those attached toaction; if he dies when Tamas is predominant he is born in the wombs of thesenseless (15). The fruit of good action, they say, is Sattvic and pure; verilythe fruit of Rajas is pain and the fruit of Tamas is ignorance (16). Those whoare seated in Sattva rise upwards; the Rajasic remain in the middle; and theTamasic who follow in the course of the lowest Guna, go downwards (18). “When the seer beholds not an agentother than the Gunas and knows that which is higher than the Gunas, he attainsto My being (19). The embodied one, having crossed beyond these three Gunas outof which the body is evolved is freed from birth, death, old age and pain andattains the immortal” (20). Arjuna said: “What are the marks ofhim who has crossed over the three qualities, O Lord? What is his conduct andhow does he pass beyond the three Gunas?” (21) The Blessed Lord said: “He, OPandava, who hates not radiance nor activity, nor even delusion when present,nor longs for them when absent (22), he who, seated as a neutral, is not movedby Gunas; who knowing that the Gunas act, is firm and moves not (23). He towhom pain and pleasure are alike, who dwells in the Self, to whom a lump ofearth, stone and gold are alike, to whom the dear and the undear are alike, whois firm, to whom censure and praise are same; the same in honour and disgrace,the same to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings—he is said to havecrossed over the qualities” (24-25). 415 Chapter XV The Yoga of Supreme Purusha(Purushottama Yoga) The Blessed Lord said: “With rootsabove, branches below, the Asvattha is said to be indestructible; its leavesare the hymns; he who knows this knows the Vedas (1). Below and above spreadits branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense-objects are its buds, and its rootsgrow downwards in the world of men ending in action (2). Its form is notperceived here, neither its end nor its origin nor its existence; having cutasunder this firm-rooted Asvattha with the strong axe of non-attachment, thatgoal should be sought for, going whither none returns again. I seek refuge inthat Primeval Purusha whence streamed forth the ancient energy (3-4). “Free from pride and delusion, withthe evil of attachment conquered, constantly abiding in the Self, their desireshaving completely turned away, liberated from the pairs of opposites known aspleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that goal Eternal (5). “There the sun does not shine, northe moon, nor fire; having gone thither they return not; that is My SupremeAbode (7). An eternal portion of My own self having become a living soul in theworld of life, draws to itself the five senses with mind for the sixth abidingin Prakriti (8). Abiding in the body of living beings as the fire Vaisvanara,united with Prana and Apana, I digest the four kinds of food (14). “I am seated in the hearts of all;from Me are memory, knowledge and their absence; I am verily that which has tobe known by all the Vedas; I indeed am the author of the Vedanta and the knowerof the Vedas am I (15). “There are two Purushas in theworld—the perishable and the Imperishable; all beings are perishable and theKutastha (immutable, unchanging) is called the Imperishable (16). But there isanother, the supreme Purusha, called the Highest Self, the indestructible Lord,who pervading all, sustains the three worlds (17). As I transcend theperishable and am even higher than the Imperishable, I am known in the worldand in the Veda as ‘Purushottama’ (the Highest Purusha) (18). “He who, undeluded thus knows Me,the Highest Purusha, he knowing all worships Me with his whole being O Bharata,this most profound teaching has been taught by Me, O sinless one. On knowingthus one becomes illumined, O Bharata and all his duties are accomplished”(19-20). >From BHAGAVAD GITA FOR BUSY PEOPLE By SRI SWAMI SIVANANDA Posted on 26-10-2021by R. Gopalakrishnan I will continue in nextposting -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/396719254.929897.1635220090454%40mail.yahoo.com.
