Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter14 The three gunas

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6.thathra satthvam nirmalathvaath

prakaasakam anaamayaam

 

 

Sukhasangena baDhnaathi jnaanasangena cha anagha

 

Satthva

shines without impediment due to its purity. It binds through attachment to joy and

attachment to knowledge.

 

Satthva

is pure and hence nothing marring its purity, it shines in all its glory and produces , light and

happiness.. Light denotes knowledge and happiness that results due to the

absence of illness, Amaya. Nevertheless satthva also binds the soul by

creating an attachment to happiness and knowledge. It makes one desirous of

acquiring knowledge, secular and spiritual and causes rebirth to satisfy the

desire, though this is preferable to attachment born out of rajas and thamas.

 

The

supreme spirit which is ever free and is of pristine purity shines in its full

glory only when the three gunas are transcended and one becomes guNaatheetha,

which is the message contained in this chapter. Satthva is pure being

uncontaminated by ragadhveshadhi and hence the divinity of the inner self

shines through it as a light shines through a crystal. But still it is a

reflection only and not the reality. One cannot light a candle in the lamp that

is reflected through a crystal. But still it is better than the other two gunas

which conceal the truth, rajas by colouring the intellect with raga and dhvesha

and thamas by covering the intellect by ignorance and delusion.

 

7. rajo raagaathmakam vidDhi thrshNaasangasamudhbhavam

 

Thath nibaDhnaathi kountheya karmasangena dhehinam

 

rajas

is of the nature of passion, born out of desire and attachment. It binds the

embodied soul through action.

 

 

Rajas

is of the nature of thrshNa, passion and sanga, attachment. ThrshNa

is desire for sensual enjoyment and sanga is the attachment towards

them, denoted by the term eeshanAthrayam, longing for wealth, wife and

son and attachment towards them. All the actions born out of rajas are towards

securing these and causes bondage resulting in several lives.

 

thrshNa also means thirst, which here refers to thirsting

for the objects of desire. How the desire leads to disaster has been explained

in detail by the sloka Dhyaayatho vishyaang pumsaH in chapter 2.

When the thirst for pleasure, power or wealth arises in the mind it propels the

individual into activity till the desire is satisfied and into further activity

in acquiring more and in protecting what one has etc. thrishNaa, the desire

)kama) has been referred to in chapter 3

by Krishna as a fire, dhushpoora anala, which only burns more by being

fed. All thrshNa except for Krishna are

binding.

 

 

8.thamasthu ajnaanjam vidDhi mohanam

sarvadhehinaam

PramaadhaalasyanidhraabhiH thath nibaDhnaathi bhaaratha

 

Thamas

is born out of ignorance which deludes all beings, by negligence, indolence and

sleep.

 

Thamas

is ignorance causing delusion , that is false knowledge, which deludes all beings into believing in what is erroneous. Thamas

causes negligence, lethargy and sleep. Not to do what has to be done is negligence, pramAdha and it leads to lethargy, Alasya,

resulting finally in inactivity inducing sleep. People overcome with thamas

are seen to eat and sleep all the time. Even when thamas induces activity it is

always directed towards erroneous action because of ignorance.

 

Rajas

is described to be of red in colour in the scriptures while thamas is described

as black. raga, the word for

attachment has also another meaning, colour. Rajas thus coloures the thoughts

and actions whereas thamas covers the intellect with darkness.

 

Thamas is another word for ignorance resulting

in delusion. Sometimes thamas is mistaken for satthva because one endowed with

thamas does not want to act and deludes himself that what he has is enough.

This is not contentment that results from satthva but it is sheer laziness. We

often find people saying that there is no use for working or aspiring for anything

because fate determines everything. This is not philosophy but delusion. They

do not want to try, that is all. It is like devil quoting the scriptures. As a

result of thamas, one neglects his duty and leads an animal like existence.

Even to become wicked and an evildoer, requires the motivation of rajas. A raJasik

individual may become saathvik when he is punished or experiences the futility of the

worldly desires at some time or other but for the thamsik one, it may take many

janmas, often reverting back to animal life to evolve himself even to the level

of a rajasik.

 

It is easily understood how rajas and thamas

binds us to the world by making us go through the cycle of birth and death but

how can satthva bind us ? This is explained in the subsequent sloka