yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣarakṣāṁsi rājasāḥ । pretān bhūtagaṇāṁścānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ ||17.4||
The sāttvika people worship the devas; the rājasika (people) worship the yaksa-raksasa, (and) the others, tāmasika (people), worship ghosts and bhūta-gaṇas.
From different standpoints we can see what kind of śraddhā a person has - whether sattva, rajas, or tamas. One way of determining this is by looking at the deities he worships. If he worships devas like Indra, Varuna, Agni, Vishnu, Śiva etc. who are mentioned in Vedas, his śraddhā is sāttvika - yajante sāttvikā devān. Then there are those who worship yaksa - a certain kind of celestial, or raksasa, their worship is considered rājasika - yakṣarakṣāṁsi rājasāḥ. And those who invoke pretas - ghosts, or harmful spirits their worships is considered tāmasika - pretān bhūtagaṇāṁścānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ.
aśāstravihitaṁ ghoraṁ tapyante ye tapo janāḥ | dambhāhaṅkārasaṁyuktāḥ kāmarāgabalānvitāḥ ||17.5|| karśayantaḥ śarīrasthaṁ bhūtagrāmamacetasaḥ |
māṁ caivāntaḥ śarīrasthaṁ tān viddhyāsuraniścayān ||17.6||
Those people who are riddled with pretension and egoity, who lack in discrimination, endowed with strong passion and longing who perform terrible religious disciplines not enjoined by the śāstra, emaciating the sense organs obtaining in the body, and Me as well, who obtains within the body - may you know them (to be) of āsura conviction.
Tapas here is religious worship that may consist of prayers, rituals, etc. The tapas that these people do is not enjoined by śāstra - aśāstravihitaṁ. And it is ghoraṁ - afflicting one’s own body-mind-sense-complex. Not only that, when such people worship, others are also afflicted. They are riddled with deceit and egoism - dambhāhaṅkārasaṁyuktāḥ, since their religious activities are meant to declare to others and also for the sake of ahankāra - egoism motives.
And they are endowed with a very strong longing - kāmarāgabalānvitāḥ. Even though all tapas involve denying sense organs, a sāttvika person also denies feeding the sense organs, lives a disciplined life, and does his meditation and prayer for his tapas. But the difference is, the sāttvika person wants nothing but moksa, however the others want temporary power or enjoyment, therefore they are called acetasaḥ - lack of discrimination.
māṁ caivāntaḥ śarīrasthaṁ karśayantaḥ - they are afflicting me (ātmā) who obtains in the body. Since ātmā is not destroyed even when the body is destroyed, how can they afflict ātmā? It is just a figurative speaking to express that they are not following what is to be done according to the mandate of śāstra which will bring one to gain back his ātmā-svarūpa. tān viddhyāsuraniścayān - may you know these characteristics are āsura convictions, therefore we should avoid them.
Even though Arjuna just specifically asks about the types of śraddhā in worship, but Lord Krsna gives him more information about types of śraddhā in others actions also, for the understanding that śraddhā is all about one’s attitudes towards life.
āhārastvapi sarvasya trividho bhavati priyaḥ |
yajñastapastathā dānaṁ teṣāṁ bhedamimaṁ śṛṇu |17.7||
And, for everyone, the food that is liked also is three-fold, so too, are ritual, religious discipline, and charity. Listen to this difference of theirs.
āyuḥsattvabalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ |
rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvikapriyāḥ ||17.8||
Succulent, creamy, fortifying and pleasing foods, which increase longevity, mental clarity, strength, health, pleasure in taste and aesthetic pleasure, are the foods loved by sāttvika people.
The food that is eaten is divided according to its nature. Some food is rasya - succulent, juicy; some are snigdha - creamy, oily; and some are sthira which remain for a long time in the body. All these varieties of food should be pleasing to our mind - hṛdyā. And they should be sattva - for the development of the mind. If we drink too much coffee or sugar, we find that it is difficult to have a steadiness of mind, so it is clear that food does affect the mind. Whatever we digest that contributes to our steadiness of mind, tranquility, and capacity to think, is what is meant here by food should be sattva.
These foods also contribute to strength - bala and āyuḥ - longevity. And there are things that we eat which is healthy - ārogya. Then it should also be tasty, so it gives us some pleasure - sukha, and also aesthetically pleasing - prītivivardhanāḥ. Thus, the food that enhances all these is liked by those whose disposition is predominantly sattva - sāttvikapriyāḥ.
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