Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14 The Yoga of the Three Qualities of Nature

Shloka 1 The Supreme Knowledge Beyond All Knowledge śhrī bhagavān uvācha | paraṁ bhūyaḥ pravakṣhyāmi jñānānāṁ jñānam uttamam | yaj jñātvā munayaḥ sarve parāṁ siddhim ito gatāḥ || 14.1 || The Supreme Lord said: Once again I shall declare to you that supreme knowledge, the best of all knowledge. Having known it, all the sages have gone beyond this world of bondage and attained the highest spiritual perfection. → Shloka 2 Freedom from Birth and Death Through Divine Knowledge idaṁ jñānam upāśhritya mama sādharmyam āgatāḥ | sarge ’pi nopajāyante pralaye na vyathanti cha || 14.2 || Those who take refuge in this knowledge and attain a nature like My own are not born again at the time of creation, nor are they disturbed at the time of dissolution. → Shloka 3 The Great Prakṛti as the Womb of All Beings mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadhāmy aham | sambhavaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ tato bhavati bhārata || 14.3 || The great total material nature is My womb. In it I place the seed of life, and from this union, O Arjuna, the birth of all living beings takes place. → Shloka 4 The Lord as the Seed-Giving Father of All Beings sarva-yoniṣhu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ | tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā || 14.4 || O son of Kunti, whatever forms come into being in all species of life, the great material nature is their womb, and I am the seed-giving Father. → Shloka 5 The Three Guṇas That Bind the Imperishable Soul sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛiti-sambhavāḥ | nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam || 14.5 || Goodness, passion, and ignorance are the three modes born of material nature. O mighty-armed Arjuna, they bind the imperishable soul to the perishable body. → Shloka 6 Sattva: Illuminating, Yet Still Binding tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt prakāśhakam anāmayam | sukha-saṅgena badhnāti jñāna-saṅgena chānagha || 14.6 || Among these, sattva, being pure, is illuminating and free from affliction. O sinless one, it binds the soul through attachment to happiness and attachment to knowledge. → Shloka 7 Rajas: Born of Craving and Attachment rajo rāgātmakaṁ viddhi tṛiṣhṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam | tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam || 14.7 || O son of Kunti, know rajas to be of the nature of passion, born of worldly craving and attachment. It binds the embodied soul through attachment to action and its results. → Shloka 8 Tamas: Born of Ignorance and Delusion tamas tv ajñāna-jaṁ viddhi mohanaṁ sarva-dehinām | pramādālasya-nidrābhis tan nibadhnāti bhārata || 14.8 || But know tamas to be born of ignorance, the deluder of all embodied beings. O Arjuna, it binds them through negligence, laziness, and excessive sleep. → Shloka 9 How Each Guṇa Attaches the Soul sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata | jñānam āvṛitya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayaty uta || 14.9 || Sattva attaches one to happiness, rajas to action, O Arjuna, while tamas, covering knowledge, attaches one to negligence. → Shloka 10 The Shifting Dominance of the Three Guṇas rajas tamaśh chābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata | rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaśh chaiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā || 14.10 || Sometimes sattva prevails by overpowering rajas and tamas, O Arjuna; sometimes rajas prevails over sattva and tamas; and at other times tamas prevails over sattva and rajas. → Shloka 11 Signs That Sattva Is Predominant sarva-dvāreṣhu dehe ’smin prakāśha upajāyate | jñānaṁ yadā tadā vidyād vivṛiddhaṁ sattvam ity uta || 14.11 || When the light of knowledge shines through all the gates of the body, then one should know that sattva is predominant. → Shloka 12 Signs That Rajas Is Predominant lobhaḥ pravṛittir ārambhaḥ karmaṇām aśhamaḥ spṛihā | rajasy etāni jāyante vivṛiddhe bharatarṣhabha || 14.12 || O best of the Bharatas, when rajas predominates, greed, restless activity, the undertaking of new ventures, unrest, and craving arise. → Shloka 13 Signs That Tamas Is Predominant aprakāśho ’pravṛittiśh cha pramādo moha eva cha | tamasy etāni jāyante vivṛiddhe kuru-nandana || 14.13 || O descendant of Kuru, when tamas predominates, darkness, inertia, negligence, and delusion arise. → Shloka 14 The Destination of Those Who Die in Sattva yadā sattve pravṛiddhe tu pralayaṁ yāti deha-bhṛit | tadottama-vidāṁ lokān amalān pratipadyate || 14.14 || When an embodied soul dies with sattva predominant, it attains the pure realms of those who know the highest. → Shloka 15 The Destination of Those Who Die in Rajas and Tamas rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā karma-saṅgiṣhu jāyate | tathā pralīnas tamasi mūḍha-yoniṣhu jāyate || 14.15 || One who dies when rajas is predominant is born among those attached to action; likewise, one who dies in tamas is born in the wombs of the deluded. → Shloka 16 The Fruits of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas karmaṇaḥ sukṛitasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam | rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam || 14.16 || The wise say that the fruit of virtuous action is sattvic and pure, while the fruit of rajas is pain, and the fruit of tamas is ignorance. → Shloka 17 What Each Guṇa Gives Rise To sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ rajaso lobha eva cha | pramāda-mohau tamaso bhavato ’jñānam eva cha || 14.17 || From sattva arises knowledge, from rajas arises greed, and from tamas arise negligence, delusion, and ignorance. → Shloka 18 The Upward, Middle, and Downward Journeys ūrdhvaṁ gachchhanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣhṭhanti rājasāḥ | jaghanya-guṇa-vṛitti-sthā adho gachchhanti tāmasāḥ || 14.18 || Those established in sattva rise upward; those of rajas remain in the middle; and those abiding in the lowest mode, tamas, go downward. → Shloka 19 Seeing That Only the Guṇas Act nānyaṁ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ yadā draṣhṭānupaśhyati | guṇebhyaśh cha paraṁ vetti mad-bhāvaṁ so ’dhigachchhati || 14.19 || When the seer perceives that there is no agent of action other than the guṇas, and knows That which is beyond the guṇas, he attains My divine nature. → Shloka 20 Transcending the Guṇas Brings Immortality guṇān etān atītya trīn dehī deha-samudbhavān | janma-mṛityu-jarā-duḥkhair vimukto ’mṛitam aśhnute || 14.20 || When the embodied soul transcends these three guṇas, which are the source of the body, it becomes free from birth, death, old age, and misery, and attains immortality. → Shloka 21 Arjuna Asks: How Is the Transcendent Person Known? arjuna uvācha | kair liṅgais trīn guṇān etān atīto bhavati prabho | kim āchāraḥ kathaṁ chaitāṁs trīn guṇān ativartate || 14.21 || Arjuna said: O Lord, by what signs is one known who has transcended the three guṇas? What is his conduct, and how does he go beyond these three modes? → Shloka 22 Equanimity Toward Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas śhrī bhagavān uvācha | prakāśhaṁ cha pravṛittiṁ cha moham eva cha pāṇḍava | na dveṣhṭi sampravṛittāni na nivṛittāni kāṅkṣhati || 14.22 || The Supreme Lord said: O Pandava, one who neither hates illumination, activity, and delusion when they are present, nor longs for them when they are absent, is said to be transcendent. → Shloka 23 Sitting Like a Witness, Unshaken by the Guṇas udāsīna-vad āsīno guṇair yo na vichālyate | guṇā vartanta ity evaṁ yo ’vatiṣhṭhati neṅgate || 14.23 || He who sits like one unconcerned, unshaken by the guṇas, knowing that only the guṇas are acting, remains firm and does not waver. → Shloka 24 Qualities of the One Beyond the Guṇas: Equality in Opposites sama-duḥkha-sukhaḥ sva-sthaḥ sama-loṣhṭāśhma-kāñchanaḥ | tulya-priyāpriyo dhīras tulya-nindātma-saṁstutiḥ || 14.24 || One who is equal in pain and pleasure, established in the self, regards a lump of earth, a stone, and gold alike, remains the same toward the pleasant and the unpleasant, is steadfast, and is equal in censure and praise. → Shloka 25 Equal Toward Honor, Dishonor, Friend and Foe: The Guṇātīta mānāpamānayos tulyas tulyo mitrāri-pakṣhayoḥ | sarvārambha-parityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa uchyate || 14.25 || One who is equal in honor and dishonor, the same toward friends and enemies, and has renounced all selfish undertakings is said to have transcended the guṇas. → Shloka 26 Unwavering Devotion Takes One Beyond the Guṇas māṁ cha yo ’vyabhichāreṇa bhakti-yogena sevate | sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate || 14.26 || One who serves Me with unwavering devotion goes beyond these guṇas and becomes fit for the state of Brahman. → Shloka 27 The Lord as the Foundation of Brahman and Eternal Bliss brahmaṇo hi pratiṣhṭhāham amṛitasyāvyayasya cha | śhāśhvatasya cha dharmasya sukhasyaikāntikasya cha || 14.27 || I am the foundation of Brahman, the immortal and imperishable, of eternal dharma, and of absolute bliss. →