Chapter 896(36) 494
‘“The lord said, ‘I am again stating the excellent and supreme out of all types of knowledge. Knowing that, all the sages are freed from this 495 and attain supreme liberation. Seeking refuge in this knowledge and attaining my true nature, they are not born at the time of creation, nor suffer at the time of destruction. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The great brahman 496 is my womb. Into that, I place the seed. 497 And from that, all the beings are created. O Kounteya! The different forms that are created in all wombs, the great brahman 498 is like their mother 499 and I am the father who provides the seed. O mighty-armed one! The qualities sattva, rajas and tamas, generated from nature, bind the indestructible atman in the body. O sinless one! Among these, 500 sattva is shining because it is pure and is without sin, but ties down the atman because of attachment to happiness and knowledge. 501 O Kounteya! Know rajas to be based on desire and the origin of thirst and attachment. 502 That 503 binds the atman 504 firmly because of attachment to action. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Know tamas to be born from ignorance and the source of delusion in every being. That 505 binds firmly through error, 506 sloth and sleep. 507 O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Sattva attaches to happiness and rajas attaches to action. Tamas veils knowledge and attaches to errors. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Sattva overcomes rajas and tamas and becomes strong, rajas, sattva and tamas, and tamas, sattva and rajas. 508 Know that when the light of knowledge is ignited in all the gates of this body, 509 it is only then that sattva becomes strong. O best of the Bharata lineage! Greed, 510 inclination, beginnings of action, 511 restlessness and desire—these are created when rajas becomes strong. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! Darkness, lack of enterprise, inadvertence and delusion—these are created when tamas becomes strong. If a being dies when sattva becomes strong, then he attains the shining 512 world reserved for those who have the supreme knowledge. Death when rajas become strong leads to rebirth as someone addicted to action. And death when tamas, 513 leads to rebirth as subhuman species. 514 It has been said that sattva-type action has the fruit of pure happiness, rajas-type has the fruit of unhappiness and tamas-type has the fruit of ignorance. From sattva, wisdom results, and from rajas, greed, and from tamas, only inadvertence, delusion and ignorance result. Those with a preponderance of sattva ascend above. 515 Those with rajas stay in the middle. 516 Those with despicable tamas qualities, descend below. 517 When the seer doesn’t see any agent other than the qualities and knows that which is beyond the qualities, he attains my nature. 518 When the being transcends the three qualities that are the origin of the body, he attains immortality, free from birth, death, old age and unhappiness.’
‘“Arjuna said, ‘O lord! From what signs does one know one who has transcended? What is his conduct? And how does he transcend these three qualities?’
‘“The lord said, ‘O Pandava! He who is engaged in knowledge and inclination and delusion and yet does not hate, nor desire if these are withdrawn. 519 He is established in indifference and the qualities don’t disturb him. Knowing the action of the qualities to be of this form, he is steady and doesn’t waver. Equal between happiness and unhappiness, established in himself, 520 equal between earth, stone and gold, similar in treatment of the loved and the hated, tranquil, similar between praise and censure. He who treats respect and insult alike, friend and enemy alike and discards all beginnings of action, 521 he is said to have transcended the qualities.’ He who worships me single-mindedly and with unwavering devotion, he transcends these qualities and is worthy of attaining the state of the brahman. Because I am the embodiment of the brahman—indestructible, immortal, 522 and also of eternal dharma and absolute bliss.’”’ 523
Chapter 897(37)
‘“The lord said, ‘They say the ashvattha tree, 524 with a root above and branches below, is indestructible. He who knows that its leaves are the metres 525 knows the truth. Specially nurtured by the gunas, with objects 526 as its shoots, its branches extend upwards and downwards. In the world of men, its rootlings 527 stretch downwards, the cause of action. In this, 528 this form 529 is not felt, nor the end, nor the beginning. Nor even its establishment. Slicing the thick root of this ashvattha with the weapon of firm detachment, thereafter, one must seek that goal, the attainment of which means no return, 530 stating, “I seek refuge in that original being, from whom this eternal process is created,” without pride and delusion, having conquered the fault of attachment, constant in the knowledge of the atman, having restrained desire, freed from the opposites of happiness and unhappiness, the wise go to that indestructible goal. Attaining that, there is no return. The sun cannot light that, 531 nor the moon, nor fire. That is my supreme abode. Indeed, part of my eternal form is established as beings in nature and attracts the mind and six 532 senses to the world of beings. Like the wind carries away fragrance from receptacles, 533 the lord, 534 when it discards one body and attains another one, takes these 535 with it and leaves. This 536 is established in the ears, the eyes, touch, the tongue, the nose and also the mind and enjoys objects. The deluded do not see the establishment and also the enjoyment and progress, with the qualities as attributes. 537 Those with eyes of wisdom, see this. Careful 538 yogis, established in the atman, see this. Despite care, those who are not established in the atman, and are without consciousness, don’t see this. The energy in the sun that lights up the entire world, that in the moon and that too in the fire, know that energy to be mine. I enter the earth and hold up the beings with my energy. As the watery moon, I nourish all the herbs. 539 I am established in the bodies of beings as the fire of digestion. I mingle with the prana and apana breath 540 and digest the four types of food. 541 I am established in the hearts of all beings. I result in memory and knowledge and their lack. Indeed, it is I who am the knowledge of the Vedas and the origin of Vedanta. And I am the knower of the Vedas. 542 The destructible and the indestructible, these two purushas exist in the world. All these beings are destructible. 543 The fixed is known as the indestructible. 544 That apart, there is a supreme purusha known as the paramatman, who enters the three worlds and sustains them—the indestructible Lord. Because I am beyond destruction and superior even to the indestructible, therefore, I am known as the supreme being 545 in this world 546 and in the Vedas. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Without delusion, he who knows me as the supreme being, he is omniscient and worships me in every way. O pure one! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus, this extremely secret knowledge has been related by me. This understanding leads to knowledge and accomplishment.’”’ 547
Chapter 898(38) 548
‘“The lord said, ‘O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Absence of fear, pureness of heart, 549 steadiness in jnana yoga, 550 donation, and control, 551 yajnas, self-study, 552 practice of austerities and simplicity, 553 absence of injury to others, truthfulness, lack of anger, renunciation, tranquility, lack of criticism of others, compassion towards beings, lack of avarice, gentleness, sense of shame, 554 steadfastness, energy, forgiveness, perseverance, cleanliness, absence of hatred, absence of ego—these belong to the person born towards divine wealth. 555 O Partha! Arrogance, insolence, egoism, anger, cruelty and ignorance—these belong to birth towards demonic wealth. Divine wealth is for liberation. Demonic wealth is for bondage. O Pandava! Do not sorrow. You have been born towards divine wealth. O Partha! In this world, two types of beings are created, divine and demonic. The divine has been stated in detail. Hear from me about the demonic. Demonic people do not know about inclination and disinclination. 556 In them, there is no purity nor righteousness, nor even truthfulness. They say the world is full of falsehood, 557 without basis, 558 without a lord, created without continuity 559 and with no reason other than to satisfy desire. Resorting to such views, with distorted minds, little intelligence and cruel action, they perform evil deeds. They are born to destroy the world. Seeking refuge in insatiable desires, deluded with a sense of insolence, pride and arrogance, accepting search of the untrue 560 a
nd performing impure rites, they act. Resorting to immeasurable thoughts till the time of destruction, 561 convinced certainly that the enjoyment of desire is supreme, tied down with the noose of a hundred hopes, prone to lust and anger and accepting evil means for the sake of desire gratification, they wish to accumulate wealth. Today I have gained this. I will get that desired object later. I have this and again that wealth will also be mine. This enemy has been killed by me. I will also kill the others. I am the lord, I am the enjoyer. I am the successful, strong and happy. I am wealthy and of noble descent. Who is there equal to me? I will perform yajnas, I will donate. 562 I will pleasure myself. Deluded by ignorance in this way, minds distracted by many thoughts, caught in the net of delusion, addicted to gratification of desires, they are hurled into impure hell. Self-glorifying, haughty, proud because of wealth, they insolently perform unsanctioned rites that are yajnas only in name. Resorting to vanity, strength, insolence, desire and anger, they hate me in their own bodies and in the bodies of others and are disfavoured. In this world, I hurl those hateful, cruel, evil and worst among men into demonic births, 563 several times. O Kounteya! From birth to birth, the deluded don’t attain me and obtaining demonic births, go down even further. 564 Desire, anger and avarice—these are the three types of doors to hell and destroyers of the atman. Give up these three. O Kounteya! The man who is freed from these three dark doors and follows that which is good for the atman, thereafter attains the supreme goal. He who deviates from the prescription of the shastras 565 and acts as he desires like doing, that person doesn’t attain liberation or happiness or the supreme goal. Therefore, in deciding what should be done and what should not be done, the shastras are your test. In this, 566 get ready to perform action knowing what the shastras prescribe.’”’
Chapter 899(39)
‘“Arjuna said, ‘Those who discard 567 the prescriptions of the shastras, but worship 568 with recourse to faith, what is their devotion like? Is it sattva, rajas or tamas?’
‘“The lord said, ‘According to their nature, people show three kinds of faith—sattva-type, rajas-type and tamas-type. Listen to this. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Everyone’s faith follows his inner nature. This being 569 is full of faith. The kind of faith one has makes the person. Those of the sattva-type worship the gods, those of the rajas-type, yakshas and rakshas. 570 The others, of the tamas-type, worship ghosts 571 and devils. 572 Those who perform terrible austerities, not sanctioned by the shastras, full of insolence and ego and deriving strength from desire and attachment, 573 devoid of consciousness, torture the elements in the body and also me, inside the body. 574 Know them to be driven by demonic resolution. The favoured food of all is of three types and so too, sacrifices, meditation and donations. Listen to the distinction between these. The sattva-type favour food that increases life expectancy, vitality, 575 strength, freedom from disease, happiness and joy—tasty, oily, nourishing and pleasant. The rajas-type favour food that is extremely spicy, acidic, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning—increasing unhappiness, sorrow and disease. The tamas-type favour food cooked a long time ago, 576 no longer succulent 577 and with a bad smell, stale 578 and tasted by others 579 —impure. The sacrifices performed according to prescribed rites, pacifying the mind, without attachment to fruits and only because such sacrifices ought to be performed, are of the sattva-type. O best of the Bharata lineage! But know sacrifices performed in search of fruits or indeed because of insolence, 580 to be of the rajas-type. Sacrifices without following prescribed rites, without donating food, without mantras, without donations and without faith, are said to be of the tamas-type. Worship of gods, brahmanas, 581 teachers and the wise, purity, simplicity, brahmacharya and non-violence 582 —these are known as physical austerities. Not uttering words that lead to anxiety, speaking the truth and that which is pleasant and leads to welfare, 583 and self-study 584 —these are known as verbal austerities. Tranquility of mind, lack of cruelty, reserve in speech, control of one’s self, purity in attitude 585 —all these are known as mental austerities. These three types of austerities performed single-mindedly by men, without attachment to fruits and with supreme faith, are said to be of the sattva-type. Austerities performed with the objective of obtaining praise, respect or worship, and based on insolence, are said to be of the rajas-type and in this, 586 are temporary and uncertain. Austerities performed on the basis of delusion, resulting in the oppression of one’s self or undertaken to destroy others, are said to be of the tamas-type. Alms donated for the sake of donation, 587 to those who have not benefited the donor, 588 and based on place, time and subject 589 —are said to be of the sattva-type. But donations for the sake of return favours or for the fruits or given unwillingly, are said to be of the rajas-type. Donations in the wrong place, at the wrong time and to the wrong subject, given without respect and disdainfully—are said to be of the tamas-type. “Om tat sat”—in these three ways, the brahman has been described in the sacred texts. From this, in the past, brahmanas and the Vedas and yajnas have been created. Therefore, according to prescribed rites, sacrifices, donations and austerities by those who are learned in the brahman, are always undertaken after uttering “Om”. Those who desire liberation, give up desire for fruits and undertake sacrifices, donations and austerities after uttering “Tat”. O Partha! “Sat” is used to signify existence and superiority. And the word “Sat” is also used for auspicious acts. Steadfastness in sacrifices, donations and austerities is known as “Sat” and action performed towards those ends is also indeed known as “Sat”. O Partha! Sacrifices, donations and austerities and any other action, undertaken without faith, are known as the opposite of “Sat”, with nothing 590 in this world or in the afterworld.’”’
Chapter 900(40)
‘“Arjuna said, ‘O mighty-armed one! O Hrishikesha! O slayer of Keshi! 591 I wish to separately understand the essence of renunciation and relinquishing.’ 592
‘“The lord said, ‘The wise know the relinquishing of action that satisfies desires as sannyasa. The discriminating call the relinquishing of the fruits of all action tyaga. Some learned people say that all action is associated with evil and should be relinquished. Some others say that action like sacrifices, donations and austerities should not be relinquished. O supreme among the Bharata lineage! Listen to my decided views about that relinquishing. O tiger among men! It has been said that relinquishing is of three types. Sacrifices, donations and austerities are not to be relinquished. Those actions certainly have to be performed, because sacrifices, donations and austerities purify the hearts of the learned. O Partha! But even these actions should be performed through relinquishing attachment and fruits. 593 That is my decided and supreme view. It is not advisable to renounce indicated action. 594 Discarding this through delusion is known as tamas-type. 595 He who relinquishes action because action leads to discomfort and requires physical exertion, performs rajas-type relinquishing. He doesn’t receive the fruits from relinquishing. O Arjuna! Sattva-type relinquishing is known as that where attachment and fruits are relinquished and action is performed only because it is indicated action. Immersed in the sattva quality, steady in learning and without doubt, the relinquisher doesn’t hate disagreeable action or become addicted to agreeable action. He who possesses a body cannot give up action in its entirety. Because he relinquishes fruits of action, he is known as a true relinquisher. Those who don’t relinquish face three types of fruits of their action in the afterworld—bad, good and mixed. But sannyasis don’t. 596 O mighty-armed one! In the sacred texts, 597 five reasons are described in support of performing all action. Hear these from me. The abode and also the agent, different types of instruments and different and various types of endeavour—and the fifth is the divine. 598 Whatever action, appropriate or inappropriate, a man begins through the body, the mind and speech, is caused by these five. Although this is the state of affairs, 599 he who thinks of the absolute atman as the agent, his intelligence is unrefined and that ignorant person doesn’t see. 600 He who
has no sense of ego and whose intelligence is unattached, even if he slays all these people, doesn’t really kill and is not tied down. 601 Knowledge, that which can be known and the knower, are the three impetuses behind action. 602 The action, the instrument and the agent form the base for action. According to qualities, three types of differences in knowledge and action and the agent are described in sankhya. 603 Listen properly to that too. That which in all beings, in differentiated form, sees the undifferentiated and indestructible substance, 604 know that to be sattva-type knowledge. But the knowledge through which one sees in all beings, in differentiated form, differentiated and separate substances, know that to be rajas-type knowledge. But that which is attached to a single action, 605 is illogical, trivial and without true knowledge, that is known as tamas-type. 606 Action where fruits have been relinquished, without attachment, without love or hate, performed only because it is indicated, is known as sattva-type. 607 Again, action undertaken, with great difficulty, by those with desire for fruits or with a sense of ego, is known as rajas-type. Action begun under delusion, without consideration of consequences, destruction, injury 608 and one’s own capabilities, is known as tamas-type. An agent who is without attachment, without sense of ego, patient and enthusiastic, equal in attitude towards success and failure, is known as sattva-type. An agent who is attached, desirous of fruits of action, avaricious, injurious, 609 impure and swayed by joy and sorrow, is known as rajas-type. An agent who is not steady, vulgar, 610 insolent,fraudulent, disrespectful, 611 lazy, despondent and procrastinating is known as tamas-type. O Dhananjaya! According to quality of intellect and perseverance, there are three types of differences. Listen to what is being said, separately and comprehensively. O Partha! The intellect 612 that knows inclination and disinclination, right action and wrong, fear and freedom from fear, bondage and liberation, is sattva-type. O Partha! The intellect through which one does not correctly understand dharma and adharma and right action and wrong, is rajas-type. O Partha! The intellect through which one thinks evil action is righteous, and in every way thinks the opposite, 613 shrouded in ignorance, that is tamas-type. O Partha! The perseverance through which one uses unwavering yoga to focus the functions of the mind, the breath of life and the senses, that perseverance is sattva-type. O Partha! O Arjuna! The perseverance through which dharma, artha and kama are sought and according to the area, fruits desired, is known as rajas-type. O Partha! The perseverance through which the misguided person doesn’t discard dreaming, 614 fear, sorrow, despondency and ego, is known as tamas-type. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Now hear from me about the three types of happiness. Where happiness comes from gradual practice and there is an end to unhappiness, that which is initially like poison but at the end like ambrosia, based on the tranquility of one’s intellect focused on the atman, that is known as sattva-type. That which comes from association with objects and the senses and is initially like ambrosia but at the end like poison, that happiness is said to be rajas-type. The happiness that, at the beginning and at the end, binds and deludes the atman and that which is created from sleep, sloth and inadvertence, 615 is known as tamas-type. On earth, in heaven and even among the gods, there doesn’t exist anything that is free from these three qualities generated from nature.
Mahabharata: Vol. 5 Page 19