bhagavad-giitaa adhyaaya 14 (English)

In this chapter, Kr's'n'a continues his explanation about the highest knowledge. He also indicates that a person becomes liberated afted attaining this knowledge. He also indicates that during creation, he acts as father and brahma acts as mother. This idea of nature as mother also exists in other traditions. Kr's'n'a then explains how the different gun'a fetter the soul in a body. The fetters of sattva might be more pleasant that the fetters of rajah' or tamah', but fetters are nevertheless fetters. One possible comparison is that one can be fettered sometimes by a chain of gold, sometimes by a chain of silver, and sometimes by a chain of iron, but one is still fettered. Kr's'n'a certainly describes sattva as the most pleasurable, and tamah' as the least pleasurable gun'a, but all three are nevertheless binding the soul to this mundane existence. The tenth verse is understood to describe how sometimes sattva dominates, sometimes rajah' dominates, and sometimes tamah' dominates. No gun'a dominates permanently. When Kr's'n'a says that the soul, who dies while sattva is dominant, reaches the worlds of the knowers of the supreme, he still talks about the higher planets in the material world. The soul has to overcome all the three gun'a to reach immortality. Arjuna then asks Kr's'n'a how one can overcome the three gun'a, and Kr's'n'a explains to him that a neutral and indifferent person, who is not agitated by the gun'a, can be understood to have overstepped the gun'a. Kr's'n'a also explains that a person, who constantly practises bhakti-yoga, overcomes the three gun'a. He also explains that he is the foundation of brahma. There is a misconception, which is rather common in the Western world, about the relationship between the personal form of Kr's'n'a and the impersonal brahma. Here, Kr's'n'a makes it clear that he is the origin of the impersonal brahma, and not the other way round.

Next adhyaaya

Â:iB:g:v:an:Øv:ac: p:rö B:Üy:H )v:xy:aem: wan:an:aö wan:m:Ø¶:m:m:Î . y:jwatv:a m:Øn:y:H s:v:ðü p:raö es:e¹em:t:< g:t:aH / 1 /	S''rii Bhagavaan spoke: I will again explain the highest of knowledges, after knowing which all hermits arrived at the supreme fulfilment in this world. (1)
Edö wan:m:Øp:aeÂ:ty: m:m: s:aD:my:üm:ag:t:aH . s:g:ðü\|ep: n:<p:j:ay:nt:ð )l:y:ð n: vy:T:¡nt: c: / 2 /	After taking refuge to this knowledge, those who have arrived at my likeness are not born, even in the universal creation, and don't tremble in the universal destruction. (2)
m:m: y:<en:m:ühdÏb:ÒÉ t:¡sm:ng:B:þ dD:amy:hm:Î . s:mB:v:H s:v:üB:Üt:an:aö t:t:< B:v:et: B:art: / 3 /	My womb is the great brahma. I conceive in it. Then the birth of all living beings happens, o descendant of Bharata^*. (3)
s:v:üy:<en:\:Ø k>nt:ðy: m:Üt:üy:H s:mB:v:¡nt: y:aH . t:as:aö b:ÒÉ m:h½<en:rhö b:ij:)dH ep:t:a / 4 /	Brahma is the great womb in those manifestations, who assemble in all wombs, o Kuntii's son^*. I am the father who gives the seed. (4)
s:¶v:ö rj:st:m: Eet: g:ØN:aH )káet:s:mB:v:aH . en:b:¿:¡nt: m:hab:ah< dðhð dðehn:m:vy:y:m:Î / 5 /	The gun'a, namely sattva, rajah', and tamah', which are produced from nature, fetter the imperishable soul in a body, o Mahaabaahu^*. (5)
t:*: s:¶v:ö en:m:ül:tv:atp:ÒkaS:km:n:am:y:m:Î . s:ØK:s:¤ñn: b:¿:aet: wan:s:¤ñn: c:an:G: / 6 /	There, sattva, which is healthy and brilliant due to its purity, binds with attachment to pleasure and with attachment to knowledge, o faultless one^*. (6)
rj:< rag:atm:k÷ ev:e¹ t:à\Naas:¤s:m:Ø»v:m:Î . t:eÀb:¿:aet: k>nt:ðy: km:üs:¤ñn: dðehn:m:Î / 7 /	Know rajah', which is characterised by passion, to be arisen from attachment to desire! It fetters the soul with attachment to action, o Kuntii's son^*, (7)
t:m:stv:wan:j:ö ev:e¹ m:<hn:ö s:v:üdðehn:am:Î . )m:adal:sy:en:dÒaeB:st:eÀb:¿:aet: B:art: / 8 /	but know tamah', which is produced from ignorance, to be the delusion of all souls! It fetters with madness, idleness, and sleep, o descendant of Bharata^*. (8)
s:¶v:ö s:ØK:ð s:Wj:y:et: rj:H km:üeN: B:art: . wan:m:av:àty: t:Ø t:m:H )m:adð s:Wj:y:ty:Øt: / 9 /	Sattva connects with pleasure, rajah' with action, o descendant of Bharata^*, but after covering knowledge, tamah' certainly connects with madness, (9)
rj:st:m:Á:aeB:B:Üy: s:¶v:ö B:v:et: B:art: . rj:H s:¶v:ö t:m:Á:òv: t:m:H s:¶v:ö rj:st:T:a / 10 /	and after surpassing rajah' and tamah', sattva arises, o descendant of Bharata^*, and even rajah' does so with sattva and tamah', as well as tamah' does with sattva and rajah'. (10)
s:v:ü¾arð\:Ø dðhð\|¡sm:np:ÒkaS: up:j:ay:t:ð . wan:ö y:da t:da ev:½ae¾v:à¹ö s:¶v:em:ty:Øt: / 11 /	When clearness and knowledge appears in all openings in this body, then one should indeed know sattva to be powerful. (11)
l:<B:H )v:àe¶:rarmB:H km:üN:am:S:m:H sp:àha . rj:sy:ðt:aen: j:ay:nt:ð ev:v:à¹ð B:rt:\:üB: / 12 /	Covetousness, appearance, beginning of actions, uneasiness, desire; those are born in powerful rajah', o most excellent of the Bharata^*. (12)
A)kaS:<\|)v:àe¶:Á: )m:ad< m:<h Ov: c: . t:m:sy:ðt:aen: j:ay:nt:ð ev:v:à¹ð kÙ,n:ndn: / 13 /	Darkness and inertia, madness and even bewilderment; those are born in powerful tamah', o darling of the Kurus^*, (13)
y:da s:¶v:ð )v:à¹ð t:Ø )l:y:ö y:aet: dðhB:àt:Î . t:d<¶:m:ev:daö l:<kan:m:l:anp:Òet:p:½t:ð / 14 /	but when a human being enters death in prosperous sattva, then he reaches the pure worlds of the knowers of the supreme. (14)
rj:es: )l:y:ö g:tv:a km:üs:e¤\:Ø j:ay:t:ð . t:T:a )l:in:st:m:es: m:ÜZy:<en:\:Ø j:ay:t:ð / 15 /	After obtaining death in rajah', one is born among those connected with action, as well as one, who died in tamah', is born from the wombs of the confused. (15)
km:üN:H s:Økát:sy:ahÚH s:a¡¶v:k÷ en:m:ül:ö Pl:m:Î . rj:s:st:Ø Pl:ö dØHK:m:wan:ö t:m:s:H Pl:m:Î / 16 /	It has been said that the result of virtuous action, related to sattva, is spotless, but the result of rajah' is pain, and ignorance is the result of tamah'. (16)
s:¶v:ats:Wj:ay:t:ð wan:ö rj:s:< l:<B: Ov: c: . )m:adm:<h> t:m:s:< B:v:t:<\|wan:m:ðv: c: / 17 /	Knowledge comes forth from sattva, and even covetousness from rajah'. Madness and bewilderment, and even ignorance, arise from tamah'. (17)
UDv:þ g:cC¡nt: s:¶v:sT:a m:Dy:ð et:Å¡nt: raj:s:aH . j:G:ny:g:ØN:v:àe¶:sT:a AD:< g:cC¡nt: t:am:s:aH / 18 /	Those, who are situated in sattva, go upwards. Those, who belong to rajah', stay in the middle. Those, who belong to tamah', are situated in the condition of the lowest gun'a, and go downwards. (18)
n:any:ö g:ØN:ðBy:H kt:aürö y:da dÒÄan:Øp:Sy:et: . g:ØN:ðBy:Á: p:rö v:ðe¶: m:»av:ö s:<\|eD:g:cCet: / 19 /	When the seer considers the performer not to be different from the gun'a, and knows what's beyond the gun'a, he approaches my essence. (19)
g:ØN:an:ðt:an:t:ity: *:indðhi dðhs:m:Ø»v:an:Î . j:nm:m:àty:Øj:radØHK:òev:üm:ØVt:<\|m:àt:m:Sn:Øt:ð / 20 /	After overcoming these three gun'a, which are the origin of the body with the pains of birth, death, and old age, the liberated soul reaches immortality. (20)
Aj:Øün: uv:ac: kóel:ü¤ós:ing:ØN:an:ðt:an:t:it:< B:v:et: )B:< . ekm:ac:arH kT:ö c:òt:aös:ing:ØN:an:et:v:t:üt:ð / 21 /	Arjuna spoke: By which characteristics does one manage to overstep these three gun'a, o lord? What is the behaviour, and how does one surpass these three gun'a? (21)
Â:iB:g:v:an:Øv:ac: )kaS:ö c: )v:àe¶:ö c: m:<hm:ðv: c: p:aNRv: . n: ¾ðeÄ s:mp:Òv:à¶:aen: n: en:v:à¶:aen: ka{Ïx:et: / 22 /	S''rii Bhagavaan spoke: He, who does not hate brightness and activity, and even bewilderment, when they are present, and does not desire them when they are vanished, o Paan'd'u's son^*, (22)
udas:in:v:das:in:< g:ØN:òy:<ü n: ev:c:aly:t:ð . g:ØN:a v:t:ünt: Ety:ðv:ö y:<\|v:et:Ået: n:ð¤t:ð / 23 /	and who is seated with indifference, and is not agitated by the gun'a, who maintains that gun'a occur, and who doesn't move, (23)
s:m:dØHK:s:ØK:H sv:sT:H s:m:l:<ÄaSm:kaWc:n:H . t:Øly:e)y:ae)y:< D:irst:Øly:en:ndatm:s:öst:Øet:H / 24 /	and who is neutral to pleasure and pain, self-abiding, and neutral to clay, stone, and gold, and equal towards dear and disliked, firm, and equal towards blame and praise of himself, (24)
m:an:ap:m:an:y:<st:Øly:st:Øly:< em:*:aerp:x:y:<H . s:v:aürmB:p:erty:ag:i g:ØN:at:it:H s: ucy:t:ð / 25 /	and equal towards honour and contempt, equal towards the side of a friend and an enemy, and a renouncer of all effort, is said to have overstepped the gun'a, (25)
m:aö c: y:<\|vy:eB:c:arðN: B:¡Vt:y:<g:ðn: s:ðv:t:ð . s: g:ØN:ans:m:t:ity:òt:anb:ÒÉB:Üy:ay: klp:t:ð / 26 /	and he, who constantly worships me through bhakti-yoga, partakes of identification with brahma after crossing over these gun'a, (26)
b:ÒÉN:< eh )et:Åahm:m:àt:sy:avy:y:sy: c: . S:aÃ:t:sy: c: D:m:üsy: s:ØK:sy:òka¡nt:ksy: c: / 27 /	for I am the foundation of the immortal, and imperishable, and eternal brahma, and of the pleasant and exclusive virtue^*. (27)