Bhagavatgita a detailed study chapter14 The three gunas

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11. sarvadhvaareshu dhehe asmin

prakaaSa upajaayathe

 

Jnaanam yadhaa thadhaa vidhyaath vivrdDham satthvam

Ithyutha

 

When

the light of knowledge shines from every door (senses) then it should be known

that satthva predominates.

 

When

satthva predominates in an individual all his outward manifestation through the

senses will be showing the light of knowledge. That is, he never does or feels

anything that may give rise to raga and dvesha

which may display the rajas in him and there is no trace of ignorance

rising out of thamas.

 

 

12. lobhaH pravrtthiH aarambhaH

karmaNaam aSamaH sprhaa

 

rajasyethaani jaayanthe vivrdDhe bharatharshabha

 

Oh

the bull among kurus, avarice, desire for activity, engaging in action,

restlessness, and longing desire , these arise in a nature predominant with

rajas.

 

The

effects of rajas is attachment to activity born out of desire bringing in its

wake other offshoots of desire , such as

krodha , lobha etc. So avarice is mentioned as the sign of rajas. Attachment to activity in the individual is shown by engaging in activity, pravrtthi, and starting new actions , karmaNaam aarambha, thus all the time

immersed in activity which without the tranquility of the satthva brings

restlessness, asamaH. The longing

desire, sprhaa, which only increases

with action . This is the picture of the one predominantly rajasik.

 

13.aprakaaSaH apravrtthiScha

pramaadho moha eva cha

 

Thamsyethaani jaayanthe vivrdDhe kurunandhana

 

Oh

Son of Kurus, dullness , inactivity, negligence and delusion are the effects of

thamas being predominant.

 

Thamas

is due to ignorance and therefore the person predominantly thamasik is seen to

be dull, aprakaaSaH, being devoid of

intelligence. He is listless, apravrtthiH,

and is not active at any time because he is indifferent, pramaadhaH, to the result of action due to delusion, moha.

 

14. Yadhaa satthve pravrdDhe thu pralayam

yaathi dheha bhrth

 

Thadhaa utthamavidhaan lokaan amalaan

prathipadhyathe

 

When an embodied soul dies with satthva in

predominance he goes to the highest

planes of consciousness which are pure.

 

In

chapter 6 it was said that an aspirant continues where he left in his next

janma, praapya puNyakrthaan lokaan

ushithvaa saasvatheeH samaah, (ch6.41) after reaching the regions attained

by those with merit and residing there for considerable time. This is the

effect of the predominance of satthva at the time of leaving the body.

 

15. rajasi pralayam gatvaa

karamsanghishu jaayathe

 

thaThaa praleenaH thamasi mooDa yonishu jaayathe

 

When

one dies with rajas being predominant he is born among those who are attached to karma. Leaving the body with

thamas being predominant, he is born in

the wombs of the ignorant.

 

As

the gunas which are predominant in one due to the past karma prevail in the

present janma, so too the gunas which were asserted in this janma determines

the next. Hence the one in whom rajas is predominant at death owing to his

leading a rajasik life, naturally gets a birth among those attached to action,

to exhaust his karma until he gets wisdom to acquire a nature predominantly

satthvik.

 

The

thamasik on the other hand take janma embodied in ignorance , either human of

even animal births depending on the kind of manifestation of thamas in previous

life. If he lives like an animal he will be born as an animal.

 

Here

we should remember one thing. All beings animal or plant or the inanimate are

composed of the three gunas. In animals there are some which are placid and

others which are aggressive and yet others which are indolent. Even in one

animal these traits may be displayed on different occasions. Similarly the

trees and plants, some of which are tender and soft, some others very hard and

strong and yei others which are without any visible characteristics and go

unnoticed. Even with the inanimate things like rocks, some are soft like marble

and other stones which render themselves suitable for sculpture and others

which are either rough or loosely

formulated that nothing can be done with them.

 

Now

how is this connected with what has been expressed in the above sloka? Anyone

may take birth in any of the species according to his gunas which were

predominant in this life. It could be surmised that one in whom there was

satthva at one time but rajas or thamas took over later is born in one of the

other species according to the texture of the gunas, to exhaust that guna and

to come back to human life later because in other species karma is only

exhausted and no new karma could be acquired and no possibility of changing the

texture of it. We have a lot of stories in our epics and puranas to illustrate this, such as that

of Ahalya, Nalkoobara, Bharatha( who was later born as jadabharatha ) etc.