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In the previous chapter, Shri Krishna mentioned the difference between the body and soul or the field and the knower of the field. This chapter explains his nature and how it is the source of the body and its elements. Krishna explains that he is the origin of mind and matter.
The material nature consists of three gunas: Sattva, rajas, and tamas. Sattva means goodness, rajas is passion, and tamas is ignorance. In a living being, all these three gunas exist, but one works as dominating. Since the body, mind, and intellect are material energy, they possess these three gunas.
The person who is peaceful, serene, and believes in morality is dominated by Sattva guna. One who has passion and endless desires and works to satiate them is dominated by Rajas. However, the one who is lazy, delusional, intoxicated, and gets excessive sleep, means the person is dominated by Tamas guna. Therefore, a person to progress in the spiritual path has to deal with these gunas, and he has to rise higher than these three modes to attain enlightenment.
To break free from these modes easily, Krishna tells Arjun to keep absorbed in God. Since God is the Superior and free from these three modes, only he can help the soul to leave these gunas behind and progress toward God.
Shri Krishna then elaborates on the qualities of liberated souls. He clears Arjun’s queries regarding the gunas and the material world. The enlightened ones don’t get distracted by the situation of this material world. They see the effects of these gunas on people and situations. They know that God manifests everything, and he is the caretaker of all.
Therefore, such people remain unaffected; they don’t feel misery, triumph and remain situated in the self. Shri Krishna concludes this chapter by emphasizing the power of devotion that helps a person overcome all three gunas of material energy.
The Divine Lord said: O Parth, I shall once again explain to you the supreme knowledge. The knowledge by knowing which, all great saints attained the liberation and God.
The soul who believes in this knowledge and comes under my shelter will be liberated from this material world. Such soul will not be reborn once it has come to my abode.
Nature is like a womb that I impregnate with my power. Thus, O son of Kunti, I choose the souls to be reborn; all the souls get birth in the womb, which is material, and I am the seeding father.
O mighty-armed Arjun, the material energy consists of three gunas: sattva (goodness), rajas (passion), and tamas (ignorance). Every person is driven by these gunas and dominated by one.
Amongst these, sattva guṇa is the state of being good, pure, and about self-well-being. It binds the soul by creating attachment to happiness and knowledge.
O Arjun, rajas guna is the nature of passion. Such a soul is driven by material desires. Therefore, he performs all his work to achieve material desires and makes the soul expect the fruit of his every action.
O Arjun, a person with tamas guna dominating, is full of ignorance. Such Guna makes a living being lazy, sleepy, and careless.
From time to time, a person gets dominated by these three gunas. However, it is possible to decrease the tamas guna and increase the rajas Guna in oneself. Similarly, when the person is dominated by rajas guna, he can change himself to be dominated by sattva guna since this is the superior of all three gunas.
O Arjun, those who die while operating from the sattva guna, such souls receive the pure abodes. People who die with rajas Guna dominating take birth among people driven by passion and work. However, those who die having rajas Guna in dominance take birth in the animal kingdom.
Those who remain in the mode of goodness gain knowledge, those who work by passion get greedy, and those who operate from ignorance get delusion and darkness.
Thus the goodness or sattva guna takes a person higher, the rajas guna sets him in the middle, and tamas takes a soul downward.
When a person understands that each person functions from these three gunas and knows Me to be transcendental to these guṇas, they understand my divine nature.
One who surpasses these three modes of material energy becomes free from life, death, old age, and all the miseries of life.
Arjun inquired: Listening to the words of Krishna, Arjun asked, O Lord, “what are the characteristics of the people who have crossed all these three modes?” How do they go beyond these gunas? How do they behave?”
The Supreme Divine Personality said: O Arjun, the person who has risen higher than these gunas neither hates any of these gunas nor wants them. They remain neutral about everything and don’t get distracted. They remain neutral, and they are not uncertain about anything.
Those who are same in happiness and misery, those who see gold and stone as same, those who remain equal in pleasant and unpleasant, those who remain unaffected in honor and dishonor, those who treat friends and enemies equal, are those who have lifted higher than three gunas of material energy.
Those who serve me and are absorbed in me get rid of these gunas and attain me!