sarvadvāreṣu dehe’smin prakāśa upajāyate | jñānaṁ yadā tadā vidyād vivṛddhaṁ sattvamityuta ||14.11|| When illumination, that is knowledge, is born in all the sense organs, in this body, then may one know indeed that sattva is predominant.
sarvadvāreṣu literally means with reference to all the gates. These are where we get information from the world, five organs of knowledge. Through these senses, correct knowledge arises in the intellect, and this is because of the nature of the light - prakāśa. Because of alertness and concentration, correct knowledge is born. This is the basis to infer that sattva is predominant.
Then the indicator of rajas being predominant is told in the next verse.
lobhaḥ pravṛttirārambhaḥ karmaṇāmaśamaḥ spṛhā | rajasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe bharatarṣabha ||14.12||
Arjuna, the foremost in the clan of Bharata! Greed, physical restlessness, undertaking of activities, mental restlessness, longing - these are born when rajas has increased.
When rajas is predominant, these effects of rajas become manifest. lobhaḥ - greed is wanting which can’t be removed by attainment. pravṛtti - meaningless activity like nail biting, legs shaking, etc. ārambhaḥ - a deliberate calculated undertaking to accomplish a given end. Even in a sāttvika person rajas can become predominant at a given time because of which varieties of activities take place. In this sense rajas is a good thing, because it makes us act. Similarly tamas is good because it gives us rest. The difficulty arises when rajas and tamas become predominant at the wrong time. aśamaḥ - the absent of tranquility. spṛhā - craving regarding sense objects in general.
Then indication of tamas being predominant is told in next verse.
aprakāśo’pravṛttiśca pramādo moha eva ca | tamasyetāni jāyante vivṛddhe kurunandana ||14.13||
Arjuna, the joy of the Kuru family! Dullness, absence of activit, indifference, and indeed delusion - these are born, when tamas has increased.
When tamas is predominant, these products are born. aprakāśa - absence of alertness and discrimination. pramāda - total negligence towards performing any action. apravṛtti - even though there is something to be done, there is no activity. If tamas generally predominates, even to begin anything is a problem. moha - delusion, either the mind is not capable of thinking or it draws erroneous conclusions.
These guṇa are not just affecting the current life, but also will affect next life.
yadā sattve pravṛddhe tu pralayaṁ yāti dehabhṛt | tadottamavidāṁ lokān amalān pratipadyate ||14.14||
When the embodied one dies, when sattva has increased, then he gains the worlds of those who know the highest, that are free from impurity.
If the embodied one - dehabhṛt which is the jīva who has predominant sattva in life, then at the time of death - yadā pralayaṁ yāti, sattva also being predominant - sattve pravṛddhe, then he/she goes - pratipadyate to the worlds which are not fraught with pain - lokān amalān like heaven etc, the worlds where people know the highest uttamavidāṁ lokān. These are the gods like Indra etc.
rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā karmasaṅgiṣu jāyate | tathā pralīnastamasi mūḍhayoniṣu jāyate ||14.15||
Having died with the predominance of rajas, he is born among those committed to karma; so too, the one who died with predominance of tamas is born in the wombs of those who have no discriminative faculty.
A person whom rajas was predominant in one’s life, so too at the time of death. Such person will be born among those who are committed to karma - karmasaṅgiṣu jāyate.
These are human beings who committed to various means for achieving various ends. So too, the one who died when tamas predominant is born in the wombs of creatures who are steeped in delusion - tathā pralīnastamasi mūḍhayoniṣu jāyate, like animals.
Therefore one should grow for sattva predominant while alive, by cultivating values and disciplines.
Having told the results of guṇa in terms of future births, now he explained their results in this life.
karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam | rajasastu phalaṁ duḥkham ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam ||14.16||
They say, that the result for the good action done is connected to sattva and is pure (a result that is free from any distress). But pain is the result of rajas and ignorance is the result of tamas.
Those who are learned say - āhuḥ the following. When the action done is good, the result is pure - nirmala phalam, devoid of distress. This person enjoys relative freedom from pain in life, and after death, one enjoys a world free from pain called heaven.
On the other hand, the result of karma born of rajas is distress - rajasastu phalaṁ duḥkham. This person is living under great pressure, and because of that one cannot always follow the right means. Naturally one will incur pāpā. When rajas is predominant, pāpā is unavoidable, therefore one will have duḥkha in the form of varieties of discomforts. The result of the actions born of tamas is ignorance - ajñāna. Even to experience oneself as a samsārī is better than being a samsārī and not knowing it, since one who doesn’t know will not get out of it.
Next two verses are summed up from previous verses.
sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ rajaso lobha eva ca | pramādamohau tamaso bhavato’ jñānameva ca ||14.17||
From sattva is born knowledge and indeed from rajas is greed. Apathy and delusion are from tamas and so also is ignorance.
From sattva, knowledge is born - sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ and since knowledge of the self liberates, therefore it is to be nurtured. From rajas, there is greed - rajaso lobha eva ca and from tamas, indifference and erroneous conclusion are born - pramādamohau tamaso.
ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattvasthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ | jaghanyaguṇavṛttisthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ ||14.18||
Those abiding in sattva go (to the world) higher up, those belonging to rajas remain in the middle and those belonging to tamas, having the nature of the lowest guṇa, go down.
Those who live a life influenced primarily by sattva, doing what is to be done, avoiding what is not to be done, are those who are situated in sattva - sattvasthā. Such people after death, are born in the sphere of experience that are superior - ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattvasthā in the sense that there is more happiness like heaven. In the middle is the world of human beings, where those whose lives have been dictated by rajas are born - madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ. Those whose lives have been controlled by tamas go to the lowest, the undesirable - jaghanyaguṇavṛttisthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ.
Rajas is in between because the person who is rajasika can become sāttvika or tāmasika. The person who is tāmasika, however cannot become sāttvika straightaway, but have to become rājasika first.
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