gIta sArodhdhAra English - 9

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Dear hari bhaktas

 

Here is shrI Bannur Ramachandra Rao's English notes on the seventeenth verse

of the gIta sArodhdhAra.

 

ramakrishnaru manage bandaru bAgila tegeyiro

madhusudhana bhimasena rao

hunsur sriprasad

 

Shloka 17-3:

==========

sattvAnurUpA sarvasya sraddha bhavati bhArata

sraddhAmayOyam purushO yO yachhrddh:h sa Eva sa:h

 

Word-by-word meaning:

=====================

Bharata = O Arjuna (born in the family of Bharata)

sattvAnurUpA = in accordance with the innate nature (sattvik, Rajasik, or

tamasik)

sarvasya = of all (things) beings

bhavati = is so

ayam = this

purusha:h = JIva

sraddhamaya:h = is embraced by his own involvement (which depends on his

innate

nature)

(ata:h = therefore)

ya:h = whoever (is having)

yatsradda:h = whichever type of involvement (as per his innate nature)

saEva = that alone

sa:h = he is

 

Summary:

========

A person ivolves himself in the type of actions which are according to his

innate nature. The basic or innate nature of Jivas is classified as Sattvik,

Rajasik, or Tamasik and the actions in which he gets involved are in

accordance with it.

 

Explanatory notes:

==================

Sri Satyadhyanatirtharu explains this as follows:

 

Jivas are of three categories - Sattvikas, Rajasas and Tamasas. In chapter

16, it was stated that Jivas are either Sattvik or Tamasik depending on

whether they have 'daivik' or 'Asurik' knowledge (also this applies to their

behaviour) and now keeping the Sattvikas as it is, the Tamasik category is

divided as Rajasik and Tamasik, thereby resulting in three categories. It has

been stated here that in case of a Jiva who is Sattvik, his involvement in

actions will be Sattvik which is constant with him (he is always sattvik),

the one with Rajasik type maintains the same and one with

Tamasik nature has the same forever.

 

It is a question generally asked whether a Tamasik Jiva cannot make efforts

to become a sattvik or Rajasik person and it is stated above that it is not

possible and all jivas remain in the category they are according to their

basic nature. But we see that good persons sometimes involve in wrongful acts

and the one's branded bad also show signs of goodness. In the commentary to

gItA tAtparya, Sri Jayatirtha states that such things are shown up by the

state of the minds of the Jivas in the particular circumstance, but their

basic nature gets determined by their behaviour in

a majority of circumstances. In other words the category of a person is

inborn and will never undergo a change.