One who is beyond guṇa

After presented different types of expression of guṇa, now Lord Krsna turns the attention on how to free oneself from the bondage of guṇa.

nānyaṁ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ yadā draṣṭānupaśyati |

guṇebhyaśca paraṁ vetti madbhāvaṁ so ‘dhigacchati ||14.19||

When the seer does not see an agent other than the guṇa and when he knows (himself as) beyond the guṇa, he gains (understanding) My nature.

yadā draṣṭānupaśyati - when one sees nānyaṁ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ - there is no agent other than the guṇa, means he doesn’t see ātmā - the self as the agent - kartā. Action is done by the body-mind-sense-complex which is born of māyā consisting of three guṇa. Action requires not only the agent but also all the accessories for the completion of the action which are again objects that consist of modifications of three guṇa. Previously Lord Krsna said that the one who knows the truth, knows the actions are nothing but interaction of guṇa among guṇa - guṇāḥ guṇeṣu vartante (gītā chapter 3.28).

The important thing here is that the wise person is very clear about the nature of the self. Otherwise even though guṇa do everything, if he considers himself associated with them, he is going to be affected by their actions. While being that cause of which guṇa can function, he himself is not affected by their activities. Like space, which pervades everything but doesn’t get tainted by what happened in space. He remains as the witness of the activities.

Such a person is gaining the nature of Īśvara - madbhāvaṁ so ‘dhigacchati, which is the cause for everything and yet transcends everything. He assimilates the statement “tat tvam asi - you are that” completely and is able to say, “I am that”, knowing that the agent - kārta, exists because of him, but he is not the kārta.

guṇān etānatītya trīndehī dehasamudbhavān | janmamṛtyujarāduḥkhairvimukto ‘mṛtam aśnute ||14.20||

Crossing these three guṇa, that are the cause of the body, the embodied one, released from birth, death, old age and sorrow, gains immortality.

These three guṇa are the cause for the creation of this body-mind-sense-complex. That being so how is it possible to get rid of them while in this body? It is correct that body-mind-sense-complex can never been out of guṇa since they are their products. But ātmā doesn’t need to get rid of guṇa since ātmā is always free from them. All long there is no real association between ātmā and guṇa, it is a wrong conclusion. Therefore, for crossing over these guṇa, there is no karma involved. It is just knowing the self to be free from all of them.

Therefore, the one who indwells the body is liberated from birth, death, and every modification in between including old age, now and here itself.

arjuna uvāca kairliṅgaistrīnguṇānetānatīto bhavati prabho | kimācāraḥ kathaṁ caitāṁstrīnguṇānativartate ||14.21||

Arjuna said:

Oh Lord! By what characteristic does a person become (recognisable as) one who has crossed these three guṇa? What is his conduct, and how does he transcend these three guṇa?

Arjuna wants to know by what indications he can recognise the person who has transcended these three guṇa and his conduct, means the way of recognising a wise man. And the most important question is how does he transcend these three guṇa, which is the means of transcending these guṇa.

Lord Krsna answered in four verses, the spontaneous expressions of a guṇātītaḥ - one who is beyond guṇa.

śrībhagavān uvāca prakāśaṁ ca pravṛttiṁ ca mohameva ca pāṇḍava | na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati ||14.22||

Śrībhagavān said:

Pāṇḍava (Arjuna)! Brightness and activity and even delusion, that have come to occur, he does not despise. Nor does he long for those that have gone away.

prakāśaṁ - brightness is the product of sattva such as alertness, cheerful disposition, and so on. pravṛttiṁ - activity is the product of rajas, and moha - delusion is the product of tamas. When these come into being - sampravṛttāni, the wise person does not despise them - na dveṣṭi. When they go away - nivṛttāni, he does not long for them - na kāṅkṣati. They are clearly recognised as products of three guṇa which are not me nor belong to me. Even though I alone experience them, but there is no involvement at all, just like there is no real involvement between space and pot. Whether the pot is small or large, space is not any way affected. Similarly for ātmā, though very much present in the mind, remains unaffected.

udāsīnavadāsīno guṇairyo na vicālyate | guṇā vartanta ityevaṁ yo’vatiṣṭhati neṅgate ||14.23||

He who, remaining as though indifferent, is not shaken by guṇa; and he who abides (in himself), (thinking) that the guṇa alone are acting, the one who does not move (from the vision of the self)…

A person who is udāsīna - remains uncommitted to any particular stand. Whether sattva, rajas or tamas is predominant, the wise person doesn’t want to change it. He accepts the mind as it is, allowing guṇa to manifest without any interference or identification on his part. Therefore he is not under the sway of guṇa - guṇairyo na vicālyate. Because he understands that guṇā are acting - guṇā vartanta, modifying themselves to become both the world and the body-mind-sense-complex. The one who abides in that - yo’vatiṣṭhati, does not move - neṅgate from his true nature, remaining as himself alone undisturbed by the changes of guṇa.

samaduḥkhasukhaḥ svasthaḥ samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ | tulyapriyāpriyo dhīrastulyanindātmasaṁstutiḥ ||14.24||

…who, being wise, is the same with reference to pleasure and pain, abiding in himself, the same with reference to a clod of earth, a stone or gold, the same in pleasant and unpleasant (situations), the same with reference to censure or praised of himself…

He/she is a person for whom pleasure and pain are the same - samaduḥkhasukhaḥ. Certain situations are conducive for happiness - sukha, and some are for pains - duḥkha. These two types of situation, which are born out of one’s present karma or previous karma keep presenting themselves to any person. For one who is svasthaḥ, they are the same. svasthaḥ has two meanings. The one who abides in oneself - sve ātmani tiṣṭhati. His/her appreciation of “I” is in sat-cit-ānanda-ātmā which is beyond guṇa. Another meaning is the one who is happy or contented by oneself - svasmin tiṣṭhati, no matter what happens in the mind or external world, one is happy with oneself.

samaloṣṭāśmakāñcanaḥ - loṣṭa - a clod of earth, āśma - a stone, kāñcanaḥ - gold, are the same for him. They are all belong to earth but people value them differently. But it is very clear for him all value are being superimposed. He knows gold is having much higher price then rock, but it doesn’t offer him any more security than rock. Further, he is the same in desirable and undesirable situations - tulyapriyāpriyaḥ. And whether he is subject to censure - nindā, or praise of himself - ātmasaṁstutiḥ, he doesn’t feel diminished or flattered.

mānāpamānayostulyastulyo mitrāripakṣayoḥ |

sarvārambhaparityāgī guṇātītaḥ sa ucyate ||14.25||

… who is the same towards respect and insult, the same towards the views of a friend or an enemy, who has given up all undertaking - he is called the one who is beyond the guṇa.

He remains equal - tulyaḥ in respect - māna and insult or rejection - apamāna. Every individual will experience these two things without exception because people praise or criticise others according to their own understanding and value structure. Further, he is equal to the view of a mitra - friend or an ari - enemy. He is one who renounces all undertakings - sarvārambhaparityāgī. It is a particular course of action for the purpose of some achievements which make a person feel satisfied through some forms of success.