sattvaṁ rajastama iti guṇāḥ prakṛtisambhavāḥ | nibadhnanti mahābāho dehe dehinamavyayam ||14.5||
Arjuna, the mighty armed! Sattva, rajas, and tamas, the qualities existing in prakṛti, bind (as though) the changeless indweller of the body, to the body.
Sattva, rajas, and tamas are the three components - guṇa of the material cause of creation - prakṛti. Guṇa is purely a technical name given by the śāstra for certain phenomena. They are not attributes as we know, like big, small, circular, green, etc. which can be perceived and qualify a substance. Here guṇa is not something different from māyā. That means māyā is in the form of these three guṇa - sattva, rajas, and tamas. By these three guṇa mentioned in śāstra, we are able to explain certain conditions we experience. They exist in the prakṛti - guṇāḥ prakṛtisambhavāḥ. Because they exist in the cause of creation - prakṛti, we find that their expressions manifest in the creation. Therefore all the body-mind-sense-complex are mixture of sattva, rajas, and tamas.
nibadhnanti - they bind, but only seemingly bind. If they really bind, it is not possible to get released from them. Later in this chapter, Lord Krsna is going to show that we are released from all these guṇā simply by knowing that we are free from guṇā - nirguṇā. Where do they bind? In the body - dehe. Whose body? The one who indwells the body - dehinam, who does not undergo any change - avyayam, not bound by time. These guṇā seemingly bind ātmā. Why seemingly? Because the bondage is only due to ignorance when I think this body-mind-sense-complex is me. The infinite, eternal ātmā apparently becomes finite and time-bound.
Now he defines each guṇā one by one.
tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt prakāśakamanāmayam |
sukhasaṅgena badhnāti jñānasaṅgena cānagha ||14.6||
Arjuna, sinless one! There (among these), sattva, because it is pure, is illuminating and is free from affliction. It binds (one) by connection to (subtle form of) pleasure and connection to knowledge.
Firstly let us take sattva. It is defined here as anāmaya - without affliction, because it is free from any kind of impurity - nirmalatvāt. Sattva is able to illumine very clearly - prakāśaka, thus it is a capacity for clear knowledge. Besides clear knowledge, sukha is also an expression of sattva. Whenever one is cheerful or experiences a pleasurable moment, sattva is predominant. Though these are desirable experience, they too are binding - badhnāti, because sukha cannot remain just like other experiences. This kind of sukha is always connected to favourable object or condition of the mind - sukhasaṅgena. It also binds through connection with knowledge - jñānasaṅgena, where some knowledge is necessary for one to gain happiness. Only if one knows that knowledge is a property of the mind and not ātmā, by association with jñāna is not binding. Ātmā is sukha-svarūpa and does not become sukhī at any time. One is happy with understanding of one’s essential nature is a wise man. But if one is happy only with certain connection, the person is bound.
rajo rāgātmakaṁ viddhi tṛṣṇāsaṅgasamudbhavam | tannibadhnāti kaunteya karmasaṅgena dehinam ||14.7||
Kaunteya (Arjuna)! Rajas, may you know, is in the form of a colouring (of the mind), causing longing and well-entranced attachment. It totally binds the indweller of the body by connection with action.
Rajas is defined here as rāgātmakaṁ - disposition towards something that pleases and entices, in such it colours our mind. It’s just like dyeing colour over the white cloth, to make it attractive. Once one has rāga, it will not easily leave. It will cause longing and attachment - tṛṣṇāsaṅgasamudbhavam. Tṛṣṇā - longing for an object that one doesn’t have. And we hold on to something we have attachment - saṅga.
This expression of rajas binds very well - tannibadhnāti. This bondage leads to kāmā, then one has to do action either properly or improperly. The pressure of rāga makes it impossible to avoid actions, where punya and pāpā which are gathered cause further birth. Therefore it binds the indweller of the body - dehinam again and again in the cycle of birth and death by the connection with action - karmasaṅgena.
tamastvajñānajaṁ viddhi mohanaṁ sarvadehinām | pramādālasyanidrābhistannibadhnāti bhārata ||14.8||
Bhārata (Arjuna)! Tamas, may you know, is born of ignorance and causes delusion for all those who have bodies. It binds (the person) completely by indifference, slothfulness and sleep.
Tamas is born of ignorance - tamastvajñānajaṁ. When everything, including sattva and rajas are born of ignorance of the nature of the self - mūla-avidyā, why specifically mentioned tamas here? This ajñāna is called tūla-avidyā - ignorance regarding simple discrimination between right and wrong, dharma-adharma-viveka is lacking. When tamas predominates, the person is not able to use his intellect at all, thus there is delusion - mohanaṁ. Things appear differently from what they are. Value structures and priorities become confused and distorted for this person.
Tamas binds with its manifestation. One of these is pramāda - incapacity to do what one knows is to be done. Then ālasya - apathy or slothfulness which obstructs the fulfilment of rāga. Nothing is urgent for this person to do it now. Another manifestation is sleep - nidrā. The person will sleep too much.
Next Lord Krsna briefly stated the expression of these guṇa.
sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata |
jñānamāvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayatyuta ||14.9||
Bhārata (Arjuna)! Sattva binds in the form of pleasure, and rajas in the form of action. Tamas, on the other hand, covering knowledge, binds indeed in the form of apathy.
rajastamaścābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata | rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaścaiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajastathā ||14.10||
Bhārata (Arjuna)! Sattva arises overwhelming rajas and tamas. Rajas indeed (arises overwhelming) tamas and sattva. So too, tamas (arises overwhelming) rajas and sattva.
When mentioned three of them in certain orders, it means three of them are there all the time, only predominant difference.
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