Proper Understanding of Bhagavad Gita – Part 115

रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते |
तथा प्रलीनस्तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते || 15||

rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā karmasaṅgiṣhu jāyate
tathā pralīnas tamasi mūḍhayoniṣhu jāyate

The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 15

General Meaning:

If death occurs when the person is in control of Rajasik qualities, he is born among those who are attached to actions and restlessness. If death overtakes a person when Tamas is dominant, the person is born in the wombs of deluded persons.

Explanatory Notes:

The dominant Guna determines the next birth after death, when a person has extreme Raajasik qualities in thoughts, speech, and actions and during this phase, his soul leaves the body, he will be reborn in a family with dominant Rajasik qualities, he will be a Rajasik person. Similarly, a person with dominant Tamasik qualities will be reborn after death, in a Tamasik family with Tamasik qualities. Such persons have no high or intellectual development. Ignorance, superstitions, lethargy, both mental and physical, and, negativeness, rule the life of such people.

कर्मण: सुकृतस्याहु: सात्विकं निर्मलं फलम् |
रजसस्तु फलं दु:खमज्ञानं तमस: फलम् || 16||

karmaṇaḥ sukṛitasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam
rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam

The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 16

General Meaning:

It is said that the results of good actions are pure and clean, is Saatwik. Verily the fruit of Rajasik is pain and sufferings. The results of Tamasik quality is Ignorance and darkness.

Explanatory Notes:

In this verse, Krishna is summarizing the total effect or results of the 3 Gunas. It is said that the results of goodness in thought, speech, and action is peace, calmness, and transparent, and is known as Saatwik. The next higher evolution of this is Self Realization. The result of Rajasic Guna is restless actions, impulsiveness protects against Tamasic but brings pains and sufferings. It helps a person to evolve higher to Saattwik. There may not be harmony. The results of Tamasic qualities are darkness, ignorance, lethargy, and very negativeness. Instead of evolving to a higher state, it may take a person in retrograde devolution to lower qualities of life forms.

सत्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च |
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च || 17

sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ rajaso lobha eva cha
pramāda-mohau tamaso bhavato ’jñānam eva cha

The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 17

General Meaning:

From Saattwik quality originates spiritual knowledge. From Raajasik quality arise greed and miserliness. From Taamasik quality are born carelessness and mistaken ideas andwrong interpretations.

Explanatory Notes:

A Saattwik person’s thought process and actions are oriented towards the Truth, Harmony, and, Yoga. He becomes motivated towards achieving perfection and Self Realization. He grows in wisdom. A Raajasik person is ever busy in action and motivated by greed and sense pleasure and selfishness. On the positive side, he overcomes Tamas and is favorably situated to become Saattwik. Tamasik Guna gives rise to carelessness, delusions favorably. It is borderline Guna between the Human Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom. The role of the Guna is of vital importance in the transitions. It gives higher Karma and Sanskara to the Human beings. Presence of Guru, tilts the balance of evolution favorably to higher Guna and absence of Guru may tilt the balance of evolution unfavorably.

ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसा: |
जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसा: || 18||

ūrdhvaṁ gachchhanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣhṭhanti rājasāḥ
jaghanya-guṇa-vṛitti-sthā adho gachchhanti tāmasāḥURDHWAM GACCHANTI SATTWASTHAA

The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 18

General Meaning:

Upwards proceed the people, who are established in Sattwikas. In the middle remain the Raajsiks. Abiding in the activities of the worst Gunas, the Taamasiks fall downwards.

Explanatory Notes:

The destiny of the people who die during the dominance of the Sattwa Guna is positive and divine. Subsequent births become more and more spiritual and they attain perfection or Self Realization. The Rajasic people are work and action-oriented. They have a better chance of becoming Saattwik. However, if by chance, they become negative and cruel and fall into the bad or evil company, they may revert back to the Taamasik phase. The Raajasik people experience a mixture of some happiness, but more suffering and pain. Saattwik joy is spiritualized, encompassing Yoga. Their joy is clean and not many sufferings. Taamasik people remain perpetually in darkness, dullness, and ignorance and mostly negative. The resultant progress of the Taamasik is retrograde.

नान्यं गुणेभ्य: कर्तारं यदा द्रष्टानुपश्यति |
गुणेभ्यश्च परं वेत्ति मद्भावं सोऽधिगच्छति || 19||

nānyaṁ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ yadā draṣhṭānupaśhyati
guṇebhyaśh cha paraṁ vetti mad-bhāvaṁ so ’dhigachchhatiNAANYAM GUNEBHYAH KARTAARAM

The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 19

General Meaning:

Except, the Gunas, there is no other doer, once the Seer perceives this, he realizes Him, who is greater than the Gunas and is Supreme, attains to My Being.

Explanatory Notes:

Nature or Prakriti is acting through the Gunas, is synonymous with it. All the events and happenings, actions, reactions and interactions in the Creation are the play of Prakriti or Nature. The mechanism of this is through the Gunas or the primordial basic qualities: Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas. All happenings happen in Nature, through nature, by nature. Once the perceiver, perceives this, he goes beyond the bondage of nature and attains to the Supreme or the Master of Nature. Thus becomes Self Realized.

गुणानेतानतीत्य त्रीन्देही देहसमुद्भवान् |
जन्ममृत्युजरादु:खैर्विमुक्तोऽमृतमश्रुते || 20||

guṇān etān atītya trīn dehī dehasamudbhavān
janma-mṛityujarā-duḥkhair vimukto ’mṛitamaśhnute

The Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 20

General Meaning:

This body is projected from the three Gunas. The embodied soul, having bypassed these three Gunas, is liberated from birth, death, decay, and sufferings, and achieves immortality.

Explanatory Notes:

Most people identify themselves and others with the body. The body is matter. As it goes with all matters, the body is limited and bound by time and space. Time is constantly eating away the matter i.e. the 3 bodies. Hence it is transient and subjected to temporary periods of pleasure and pain; joys and sorrows. It is not free. Real freedom is, to be free from the bondage of Nature, which operates through the Gunas and time and space.

Enemy less State:

If one remembers this, meditates on this, gradually it will be revealed to him that, there is no agency, human or otherwise, that make things happen to us, Positive or Negative. The whole thing is the play of Nature through the Gunas. Once one realizes it, all barriers between God and His Devotee melt away. There is God-Realization. This is the Enemy less State.

• This is the NIRBAIR State of Sikhism.
• This is the ARIHANTAANAM State of Jainism.
• This is the NIRVANA State of Buddhism.
• This is the MOKSHYA State of Hinduism.
• This is the SELF REALIZATION State of Yogis.
• This is the CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS of Christianity.

This is ONE IN ALL and ALL IN ONE.

It is our humble prayer that, please keep on practicing Kriya Yoga daily, sincerely, lovingly and this achievement is not far.

May God bless you with Love, Laughter, Light, Longevity and Life.

With Love and Best Wishes,
Paramahansa Atmananda Ji