Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 66

72. Has this been heard by you, Pârtha, with an attentive mind? Has the delusion of your ignorance been destroyed, O Dhananjaya? 

Arjuna said: 

73. Destroyed is my delusion, and I have gained my memory through Your grace, O Achyuta. I am firm; my doubts are gone. I will do Your word. 

Sanjaya said: 

74. Thus have I heard this wonderful dialogue between Vâsudeva and the high-souled Pârtha, causing my hair to stand on end. 

75. Through the grace of Vyâsa have I heard this supreme and most profound Yoga, direct from Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, Himself declaring it. 

76. O King, as I remember and remember this wonderful and holy dialogue between Keshava and Arjuna, I rejoice again and again. 

77. And as I remember and remember that most wonderful Form of Hari, great is my wonder, O King; and I rejoice again and again. 

78. Wherever is Krishna, the Lord of Yoga, wherever is Pârtha, the wielder of the bow, there are prosperity, victory, expansion, and sound policy: such is my conviction. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 18:72-78 

Here the Bhagavad Gita ends. 
Om! Peace! Peace! Peace be to all! 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 65

61. The Lord, O Arjuna, dwells in the hearts of all beings, causing all beings, by His Mâyâ, to revolve, as if mounted on a machine. 

62. Take refuge in Him with all your heart, O Bhârata; by His grace shall you attain supreme peace and the eternal abode. 

63. Thus has wisdom, more profound than all profundities, been declared to you by Me; reflecting over it fully, act as you like. 

64. Hear you again My supreme word, the profoundest of all; because you are dearly beloved of Me, therefore will I speak what is good to you. 

65. Occupy your mind with Me, be devoted to Me, sacrifice to Me, bow down to Me. You shall reach Myself; truly do I promise unto you, for you are dear to Me. 

66. Relinquishing all Dharmas, take refuge in Me alone; I will liberate you from all sins; grieve not. 

67. This is never to be spoken by you to one who is devoid of austerities or devotion, nor to one who does not render service, nor to one who cavils at Me. 

68. He who, with supreme devotion to Me, will teach this deeply profound philosophy to My devotees, shall doubtless come to Me alone. 

69. Nor among men is there any who does dearer service to Me, nor shall there be another on earth dearer to Me, than he. 

70. And he who will study this sacred dialogue of ours, by him shall I have been worshipped by the Yajna of knowledge; such is My conviction. 

71. And even that man who hears this, full of Shraddhâ and free from malice, he too, liberated, shall attain to the happy worlds of those of righteous deeds. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 18:61-71 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 64

50. Learn from Me in brief, O son of Kunti, how reaching such perfection, he attains to Brahman, that supreme consummation of knowledge. 

51. Endued with a pure intellect, subduing the body and the senses with fortitude, relinquishing sound and such other sense objects, abandoning attraction and hatred; 

52. Resorting to a sequestered spot, eating but little, body, speech and mind controlled, ever engaged in meditation and concentration, possessed of dispassion; 

53. Forsaking egoism, power, pride, lust, wrath and property, freed from the notion of "mine," and tranquil, he is fit for becoming Brahman. 

54. Brahman-become, tranquil-minded, he neither grieves nor desires; the same to all beings, he attains to supreme devotion unto Me. 

55. By devotion he knows Me in reality, what and who I am; then having known Me in reality, he forthwith enters into Me. 

56. Even doing all actions always, taking refuge in Me—by My grace he attains to the eternal, immutable State. 

57. Resigning mentally all deeds to Me, having Me as the highest goal, resorting to Buddhi-Yoga do you ever fix your mind on Me. 

58. Fixing your mind on Me, you shall, by My grace, overcome all obstacles; but if from self-conceit you will not hear Me, you shall perish. 

59. If filled with self-conceit you think, "I will not fight," vain is this your resolve; your Prakriti will constrain you. 

60. Fettered, O son of Kunti, by your own Karma, born of your own nature, what you, from delusion, desire not to do, you shall have to do in spite of yourself. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 18:50-60 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 63

40. There is no entity on earth, or again in heaven among the Devas, that is devoid of these three Gunas, born of Prakriti. 

41. Of Brâhmanas and Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, as also of Sudras, O scorcher of foes, the duties are distributed according to the Gunas born of their own nature. 

42. The control of the mind and the senses, austerity, purity, forbearance, and also uprightness, knowledge, realization, belief in a hereafter—these are the duties of the Brâhmanas, born of their own nature. 

43. Prowess, boldness, fortitude, dexterity, and also not flying from battle, generosity, and sovereignty are the duties of the Kshatriyas, born of their own nature. 

44. Agriculture, cattle-rearing, and trade are the duties of the Vaishyas, born of their own nature; and action consisting of service is the duty of the Sudras, born of their own nature. 

45. Devoted each to his own duty, man attains the highest perfection. How engaged in his own duty, he attains perfection, that hear. 

46. From whom is the evolution of all beings, by whom all this is pervaded, worshipping Him with his own duty, a man attains perfection. 

47. Better is one's own Dharma, though imperfect, than the Dharma of another well-performed. He who does the duty ordained by his own nature incurs no evil. 

48. One should not relinquish, O son of Kunti, the duty to which one is born, though it is attended with evil; for, all undertakings are enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke. 

49. He whose intellect is unattached everywhere, who has subdued his heart, whose desires have fled, he attains by renunciation to the supreme perfection, consisting of freedom from action. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 18:40-49 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 62

29. Hear you the triple distinction of intellect and fortitude, according to the Gunas, as I declare them exhaustively and severally, O Dhananjaya. 

30. That which knows the paths of work and renunciation, right and wrong action, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, that intellect, O Pârtha, is Sâttvika. 

31. That which has a distorted apprehension of Dharma and its opposite and also of right action and its opposite, that intellect, O Pârtha, is Râjasika. 

32. That which enveloped in darkness regards Adharma as Dharma and views all things in a perverted light, that intellect, O Pârtha, is Tâmasika. 

33. The fortitude by which the functions of the mind, the Prâna and the senses, O Pârtha, are regulated, that fortitude, unswerving through Yoga, is Sâttvika. 

34. But the fortitude by which one regulates one's mind to Dharma, desire and wealth, desirous of the fruit of each from attachment, that fortitude, O Pârtha, is Râjasika. 

35. That by which a stupid man does not give up sleep, fear, grief, despondency and also overweening conceit, that fortitude, O Pârtha, is Tâmasika. 

36. And now hear from Me, O bull of the Bhâratas, of the threefold happiness. That happiness which one learns to enjoy by habit, and by which one comes to the end of pain. 

37. That which is like poison at first, but like nectar at the end; that happiness is declared to be Sâttvika, born of the translucence of intellect due to Self-realization. 

38. That which arises from the contact of object with sense, at first like nectar, but at the end like poison, that happiness is declared to be Râjasika. 

39. That happiness which begins and results in self-delusion arising from sleep, indolence and miscomprehension, that is declared to be Tâmasika. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 18:29-39 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 61

18. Knowledge, the known, and the knower form the threefold cause of action. The instrument, the object, and the agent are the threefold basis of action. 

19. Knowledge, action, and agent are declared in the Sânkhya philosophy to be of three kinds only, from the distinction of Gunas: hear them also duly. 

20. That by which the one indestructible Substance is seen in all beings, inseparate in the separated, know that knowledge to be Sâttvika. 

21. But that knowledge which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds as different from one another, know you that knowledge as Râjasika. 

22. While that which is confined to one single effect as if it were the whole, without reason, without foundation in truth, and trivial—that is declared to be Tâmasika. 

23. An ordained action done without love or hatred by one not desirous of the fruit and free from attachment, is declared to be Sâttvika. 

24. But the action which is performed desiring desires, or with self-conceit and with much effort, is declared to be Râjasika. 

25. That action is declared to be Tâmasika which is undertaken through delusion, without heed to the consequence, loss of power and wealth, injury to others and one's own ability. 

26. An agent who is free from attachment, non-egotistic, endued with fortitude and enthusiasm, and unaffected in success or failure, is called Sâttvika. 

27. He who is passionate, desirous of the fruits of action, greedy, malignant, impure, easily elated or dejected, such an agent is called Râjasika. 

28. Unsteady, vulgar, arrogant, dishonest, malicious, indolent, desponding and procrastinating, such an agent is called Tâmasika. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 18:18-28 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 60

11. Actions cannot be entirely relinquished by an embodied being, but he who relinquishes the fruits of action is called a relinquisher. 

12. The threefold fruit of action—disagreeable, agreeable and mixed—accrues to non-relinquishers after death, but never to relinquishers. 

13. Learn from Me, O mighty-armed, these five causes for the accomplishment of all works as declared in the wisdom which is the end of all action: 

14. The body, the agent, the various senses, the different functions of a manifold kind, and the presiding divinity, the fifth of these; 

15. Whatever action a man performs by his body, speech and mind—whether right or the reverse—these five are its causes. 

16. Such being the case, he who through a non-purified understanding looks upon his Self, the Absolute, as the agent, he of perverted mind sees not. 

17. He who is free from the notion of egoism, whose intelligence is not affected by good or evil, though he kills these people, he kills not, nor is bound by the action. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 18:11-17 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 59

Arjuna said: 

1. I desire to know severally, O mighty-armed, the truth of Sannyâsa (Renunciation), O Hrishikesha, as also of Tyâga (Sacrifice), O slayer of Keshi. 

The Blessed Lord said: 

2. The renunciation of Kâmya (Wishful) actions, the sages understand as Sannyâsa: the wise declare the abandonment of the fruits of all works as Tyâga. 

3. Some philosophers declare that all action should be relinquished as an evil, whilst others say that the work of Yajna, gift, and austerity should not be relinquished. 

4. Hear from Me the final truth about relinquishment, O best of the Bhâratas. For relinquishment has been declared to be of three kinds, O tiger among men. 

5. The work of Yajna, gift, and austerity should not be relinquished, but it should indeed be performed; for Yajna, gift, and austerity are purifying to the wise. 

6. But even these works, O Pârtha, should be performed, leaving attachment and the fruits—such is My best and certain conviction. 

7. But the renunciation of obligatory action is not proper. Abandonment of the same from delusion is declared to be Tâmasika. 

8. He who from fear of bodily trouble relinquishes action, because it is painful, thus performing a Râjasika relinquishment, he obtains not the fruit thereof. 

9. When obligatory work is performed, O Arjuna, only because it ought to be done, leaving attachment and fruit, such relinquishment is regarded as Sâttvika. 

10. The relinquisher endued with Sattva and a steady understanding and with his doubts dispelled, hates not a disagreeable work nor is attached to an agreeable one. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 18:1-10 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 58

14. Worship of the Devas, the twice-born, the Gurus and the wise, purity, straightforwardness, continence, and non-injury are called the austerity of the body. 

15. Speech which causes no vexation, and is true, as also agreeable and beneficial, and regular study of the Vedas—these are said to form the austerity of speech. 

16. Serenity of mind, kindliness, silence, self-control, honesty of motive—this is called the mental austerity. 

17. This threefold austerity practiced by steadfast men, with great Shraddhâ, desiring no fruit, is said to be Sâttvika. 

 
18. That austerity which is practiced with the object of gaining welcome, honor and worship, and with ostentation, is here said to be Râjasika, unstable and transitory. 

19. That austerity which is practiced out of a foolish notion, with self-torture or for the purpose of wining another, is declared to be Tâmasika. 

20. To give is right, a gift given with this idea, to one who does no service in return, in a fit place and to a worthy person, that gift is held to be Sâttvika. 

 
21. And what is given with a view to receiving in return, or looking for the fruit, or again reluctantly, that gift is held to be Râjasika. 

22. The gift that is given at the wrong place or time, to unworthy persons, without regard or with disdain, that is declared to be Tâmasika. 

23. "Om, Tat, Sat": this has been declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that were made of old the Brâhmanas, the Vedas and the Yajnas. 

24. Therefore, uttering "Om", are the acts of sacrifice, gift and austerity as enjoined in the ordinances, always begun by the followers of the Vedas. 

25. Uttering "Tat", without aiming at fruits, are the various acts of Yajna, austerity and gift performed by the seekers of Moksha. 

26. The word "Sat" is used in the sense of reality and of goodness; and so also, Pârtha, the word "Sat" is used in the sense of an auspicious act. 

27. Steadiness in Yajna, austerity and gift is also called "Sat": as also action in connection with these, or action for the sake of the Lord, are called "Sat". 

28. Whatever is sacrificed, given or performed, and whatever austerity is practiced without Shraddhâ, it is called "Asat", O Pârtha; it is nothing here or hereafter. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 17:14-28 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 57

Arjuna said: 

1. Those who setting aside the ordinance of the Shâstra, perform sacrifice with Shraddhâ, what is their condition, O Krishna? Is it Sattva, Rajas or Tamas? 

The Blessed Lord said: 

2. Threefold is the Shraddhâ of the embodied, which is inherent in their nature—the Sâttvika, the Râjasika and the Tâmasika. Hear of it. 

3. The Shraddhâ of each is according to his natural disposition, O descendant of Bharata. The man consists of his Shraddhâ; he verily is what his Shraddhâ is. 

4. Sâttvika men worship the Devas; Râjasika, the Yakshas and the Râkshasas; the others—the Tâmasika men—the Pretas and the hosts of Bhutas. 

5-6. Those men who practice severe austerities not enjoined by the Shâstras, given to ostentation and egoism, possessed with the power of lust and attachment, torture, senseless as they are, all the organs in the body, and Me dwelling in the body within; know them to be of Asurika resolve. 

7. The food also which is liked by each of them is threefold, as also Yajna, austerity and almsgiving. Hear this, their distinction. 

8. The foods which augment vitality, energy, strength, health, cheerfulness and appetite, which are savory and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable, are liked by the Sâttvika. 

9. The foods that are bitter, sour, saline, excessively hot, pungent, dry and burning, are liked by the Râjasika, and are productive of pain, grief and disease. 

10. That which is stale, tasteless, stinking, cooked overnight, refuse and impure, is the food liked by the Tâmasika. 

11. That Yajna is Sâttvika which is performed by men desiring no fruit, as enjoined by ordinance, with their mind fixed on the Yajna only, for its own sake. 

12. That which is performed, O best of the Bhâratas, seeking for fruit and for ostentation, know it to be a Râjasika Yajna. 

13. The Yajna performed without heed to ordinance, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of Mantras, gifts, and Shraddhâ, is said to be Tâmasika. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 17:1-13 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 56

11. Beset with immense cares ending only with death, regarding gratification of lust as the highest, and feeling sure that that is all; 

12. Bound by a hundred ties of hope, given over to lust and wrath, they strive to secure by unjust means hoards of wealth for sensual enjoyment. 

13. "This today has been gained by me; this desire I shall obtain; this is mine, and this wealth also shall be mine in future. 

14. "That enemy has been slain by me, and others also shall I slay. I am the lord, I enjoy, I am successful, powerful and happy. 

15. "I am rich and well-born. Who else is equal to me? I will sacrifice, I will give, I will rejoice." Thus deluded by ignorance, 

16. Bewildered by many a fancy, covered by the meshes of delusion, addicted to the gratification of lust, they fall down into a foul hell. 

17. Self-conceited, haughty, filled with the pride and intoxication of wealth, they perform sacrifices in name, out of ostentation, disregarding ordinance; 

18. Possessed of egoism, power, insolence, lust and wrath, these malignant people hate Me, the Self within, in their own bodies and those of others. 

19. These malicious and cruel evildoers, most degraded of men, I hurl perpetually into the wombs of Asuras only, in these worlds. 

20. Obtaining the Asurika wombs, and deluded birth after birth, not attaining to Me, they thus fall, O son of Kunti, into a still lower condition. 

21. Triple is this gate of hell, destructive of the self—lust, anger and greed; therefore one should forsake these three. 

22. The man who has got beyond these three gates of darkness, O son of Kunti, practices what is good for himself, and thus goes to the Goal Supreme. 

23. He who, setting aside the ordinance of the Shâstra, acts under the impulse of desire, attains not to perfection, nor happiness, nor the Goal Supreme. 

24. So let the Shâstra be your authority in ascertaining what ought to be done and what ought not to be done. Having known what is said in the ordinance of the Shâstra, you should act here. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 16:11-24 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 55

The Blessed Lord said: 

1. Fearlessness, purity of heart, steadfastness in knowledge and Yoga; almsgiving, control of the senses, Yajna, reading of the Shâstras, austerity, uprightness; 

2. Non-injury, truth, absence of anger, renunciation, tranquillity, absence of calumny, compassion to beings, un-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness; 

3. Boldness, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, absence of hatred, absence of pride; these belong to one born for a divine state, O descendant of Bharata. 

4. Ostentation, arrogance and self-conceit, anger as also harshness and ignorance, belong to one who is born, O Pârtha, for an Asurika state. 

5. The divine state is deemed to make for liberation, the Asurika for bondage; grieve not, O Pândava, you are born for a divine state. 

6. There are two types of beings in this world, the divine and the Asurika. The divine have been described at length; hear from Me, O Pârtha, of the Asurika. 

7. The persons of Asurika nature know not what to do and what to refrain from; neither is purity found in them nor good conduct, nor truth. 

8. They say, "The universe is without truth, without a moral basis, without a God, brought about by mutual union, with lust for its cause; what else?" 

9. Holding this view, these ruined souls of small intellect and fierce deeds, rise as the enemies of the world for its destruction. 

10. Filled with insatiable desires, full of hypocrisy, pride and arrogance, holding evil ideas through delusion, they work with impure resolve. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 16:1-10 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 54

11. The Yogis striving for perfection behold Him dwelling in themselves; but the unrefined and unintelligent, even though striving, see Him not. 

12. The light which, residing in the sun illumines the whole world, that which is in the moon and in the fire—know that light to be Mine. 

13. Entering the earth with My energy, I support all beings, and I nourish all the herbs, becoming the watery moon. 

14. Abiding in the body of living beings as the fire Vaishvânara, I, associated with Prâna and Apâna, digest the fourfold food. 

15. I am centred in the hearts of all; memory and perception as well as their loss come from Me. I am verily that which has to be known by all the Vedas, I indeed am the Author of the Vedânta, and the Knower of the Veda am I. 

16. There are two Purushas in the world—the Perishable and the Imperishable. All beings are the Perishable; and the Kutastha is called Imperishable. 

17. But there is another, the Supreme Purusha, called the Highest Self, the immutable Lord, who pervading the three worlds, sustains them. 

18. As I transcend the Perishable and am above even the Imperishable, therefore am I in the world and in the Veda celebrated as the Purushottama, the Highest Purusha. 

19. He who free from delusion thus knows Me, the Highest Spirit, he knowing all, worships Me with all his heart, O descendant of Bharata. 

20. Thus, O sinless one, has this most profound teaching been imparted by Me. Knowing this one attains the highest intelligence and will have accomplished all one's duties, O descendant of Bharata. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 15:11-20 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 53

The Blessed Lord said: 

1. They speak of an eternal Ashvattha rooted above and branching below, whose leaves are the Vedas; he who knows it, is a Veda-knower. 

2. Below and above spread its branches, nourished by the Gunas; sense-objects are its buds; and below in the world of man stretch forth the roots, originating action. 

3-4. Its form is not here perceived as such, neither its end, nor its origin, nor its existence. Having cut asunder this firm-rooted Ashvattha with the strong axe of non-attachment—then that Goal is to be sought for, going whither they, the wise, do not return again. I seek refuge in that Primeval Purusha whence streamed forth the Eternal Activity. 

5. Free from pride and delusion, with the evil of attachment conquered, ever dwelling in the Self, with desires completely receded, liberated from the pairs of opposites known as pleasure and pain, the undeluded reach that Goal Eternal. 

6. That the sun illumines not, nor the moon, nor fire; that is My Supreme Abode, going whither they return not. 

7. An eternal portion of Myself having become a living soul in the world of life, draws to itself the five senses with mind for the sixth, abiding in Prakriti. 

8. When the Lord obtains a body and when He leaves it, He takes these and goes, as the wind takes the scents from their seats, the flowers. 

9. Presiding over the ear, the eye, the touch, the taste and the smell, as also the mind, He experiences objects. 

10. Him while transmigrating from one body to another, or residing in the same or experiencing, or when united with the Gunas—the deluded do not see; but those who have the eye of wisdom behold Him. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 15:1-10 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 52

Arjuna said: 

21. By what marks, O Lord, is he known who has gone beyond these three Gunas? What is his conduct, and how does he pass beyond these three Gunas? 

The Blessed Lord said: 

22. He who hates not the appearance of light (the effect of Sattva), activity (the effect of Rajas), and delusion (the effect of Tamas), in his own mind, O Pândava, nor longs for them when absent; 

23. He who, sitting like one unconcerned, is moved not by the Gunas, who, knowing that the Gunas operate, is Self-centred and swerves not; 

24. Alike in pleasure and pain, Self-abiding, regarding a clod of earth, a stone, and gold alike; the same to agreeable and disagreeable, firm, the same in censure and, praise; 

25. The same in honor and disgrace, the same to friend and foe, relinquishing all undertakings—he is said to have gone beyond the Gunas. 

26. And he who serves Me with an unswerving devotion, he, going beyond the Gunas, is fitted for becoming Brahman. 

27. For I am the abode of Brahman, the Immortal and Immutable, of everlasting Dharma and of Absolute Bliss. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 14:21-27 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 51

9. Sattva attaches to happiness, and Rajas to action, O descendant of Bharata; while Tamas, verily, shrouding discrimination, attaches to miscomprehension. 

10. Sattva arises, O descendant of Bharata, predominating over Rajas and Tamas; and Rajas over Sattva and Tamas; so, Tamas over Sattva and Rajas. 

11. When through every sense in this body, the light of intelligence shines, then it should be known that Sattva is predominant. 

 
12. Greed, activity, the undertaking of actions, unrest, longing—these arise when Rajas is predominant, O bull of the Bhâratas. 

 
13. Darkness, inertness, miscomprehension, and delusion—these arise when Tamas is predominant, O descendant of Kuru. 

 
14. If the embodied one meets death when Sattva is predominant, then he attains to the spotless regions of the worshippers of the Highest. 

15. Meeting death in Rajas he is born among those attached to action; so dying in Tamas, he is born in the wombs of the irrational. 

 
16. The fruit of good action, they say, is Sâttvika and pure; verily, the fruit of Rajas is pain, and ignorance is the fruit of Tamas. 

 
17. From Sattva arises wisdom, and greed from Rajas; miscomprehension, delusion and ignorance arise from Tamas. 

18. The Sattva-abiding go upwards; the Râjasika dwell in the middle; and the Tâmasika, abiding in the function of the lowest Guna, go downwards. 

19. When the seer beholds no agent other than the Gunas and knows That which is higher than the Gunas, he attains to My being. 

 
20. The embodied one having gone beyond these three Gunas out of which the body is evolved, is freed from birth, death, decay and pain, and attains to immortality. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 14:9-20 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 50

The Blessed Lord said: 

1. Again shall I tell you that supreme knowledge which is above all knowledge, having known which all the Munis have attained to high perfection after this life. 

2. They who having devoted themselves to this knowledge, have attained to My Being, are neither born at the time of creation, nor are they troubled at the time of dissolution. 

3. My womb is the great Prakriti; in that I place the germ; from thence, O descendant of Bharata, is the birth of all beings.  

4. Whatever forms are produced, O son of Kunti, in all the wombs, the great Prakriti is their womb, and I the seed-giving Father. 

5. Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas—these Gunas, O mighty-armed, born of Prakriti, bind fast in the body the indestructible embodied one. 

6. Of these Sattva, from its stainlessness luminous and free from evil, binds, O sinless one, by attachment to happiness, and by attachment to knowledge. 

7. Know Rajas to be of the nature of passion, giving rise to thirst and attachment; it binds fast, O son of Kunti, the embodied one, by attachment to action. 

8. And know Tamas to be born of ignorance, stupefying all embodied beings; it binds fast, O descendant of Bharata, by miscomprehension, indolence, and sleep. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 14:1-8 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 49

24. Some by meditation behold the Self in their own intelligence by the purified heart, others by the path of knowledge, others again by Karma Yoga. 

25. Others again not knowing thus, worship as they have heard from others. Even these go beyond death, regarding what they have heard as the Supreme Refuge. 

26. Whatever being is born, the moving or the unmoving, O bull of the Bhâratas, know it to be from the union of Kshetra and Kshetrajna.

27. He sees, who sees the Lord Supreme, existing equally in all beings, deathless in the dying.

28. Since seeing the Lord equally existent everywhere, he injures not Self by self, and so goes to the highest Goal. 

29. He sees, who sees that all actions are done by Prakriti alone and that the Self is actionless. 

30. When he sees the separate existence of all beings inherent in the One, and their expansion from That One alone, he then becomes Brahman. 

31. Being without beginning and devoid of Gunas, this Supreme Self, immutable, O son of Kunti, though existing in the body neither acts nor is affected. 

32. As the all-pervading Akâsha (Aether), because of its subtlety, is not tainted, so the Self existent in the body everywhere is not tainted. 

33. As the one sun illumines all this world, so does He who abides in the Kshetra, O descendant of Bharata, illumine the whole Kshetra. 

34. They who thus with the eye of knowledge perceive the distinction between the Kshetra and the Kshetrajna, and also the emancipation from the Prakriti of beings, they go to the Supreme. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 13:24-34 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 48

12. I shall describe that which has to be known, knowing which one attains to immortality, the beginningless Supreme Brahman. It is called neither being nor non-being. 

13. With hands and feet everywhere, with eyes, heads and mouths everywhere, with ears everywhere in the universe—That exists pervading all. 

14. Shining by the functions of all the senses, yet without the senses; Absolute, yet sustaining all; devoid of Gunas, yet their experiencer. 

15. Without and within all beings; the unmoving and also the moving; because of Its subtlety incomprehensible; It is far and near. 

16. Impartible, yet It exists as if divided in beings: It is to be known as sustaining beings; and devouring, as well as generating them. 

17. The Light even of lights, It is said to be beyond darkness; Knowledge, and the One Thing to be known, the Goal of knowledge, dwelling in the hearts of all. 

18. Thus Kshetra, knowledge, and that which has to be known, have been briefly stated. Knowing this, My devotee is fitted for My state. 

19. Know you that Prakriti and Purusha are both beginningless; and know you also that all modifications and Gunas are born of Prakriti. 

20. In the production of the body and the senses, Prakriti is said to be the cause; in the experience of pleasure and pain, Purusha is said to be the cause. 

21. Purusha seated in Prakriti, experiences the Gunas born of Prakriti; the reason of his birth in good and evil wombs is his attachment to the Gunas. 

22. And the Supreme Purusha in this body is also called the Looker-on, the Permitter, the Supporter, the Experiencer, the Great Lord, and the Highest Self. 

23. He who thus knows the Purusha and Prakriti together with the Gunas, whatever his life, is not born again. 

—Bhagavad Gita, 13:12-23 

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 47

Arjuna said:

Prakriti (Nature/Matter) and Purusha (Spirit), also the Kshetra (Field of the Body) and the knower of the Kshetra, knowledge, and that which ought to be known—these, O Keshava, I desire to learn. 

The Blessed Lord said:

1. This body, O son of Kunti, is called Kshetra, and he who knows it is called Kshetrajna by those who know of them, Kshetra and Kshetrajna. 

2. Me do you also know, O descendant of Bharata, to be Kshetrajna in all Kshetras. The knowledge of Kshetra and Kshetrajna is considered by Me to be the knowledge. 

3. What the Kshetra is, what its properties are, what are its modifications, what effects arise from what causes, and also who He is and what His powers are, that hear from Me in brief. 

4. This truth has been sung by Rishis in many ways, in various distinctive chants, in passages indicative of Brahman, full of reasoning, and convincing. 

5-6. The great Elements, Egoism, Intellect, as also the Unmanifested (Mulâ Prakriti), the ten senses and the one mind, and the five objects of the senses; desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the, aggregate, intelligence, fortitude—the Kshetra has been thus briefly described with its modifications. 

7. Humility, unpretentiousness, non-injury, forbearance, uprightness, service to the teacher, purity, steadiness, self-control; 

8. The renunciation of sense-objects, and also absence of egoism; reflection on the evils of birth, death, old age, sickness and pain; 

9. Non-attachment, non-identification of self with son, wife, home, and the rest, and constant even-mindedness in the occurrence of the desirable and the un-undesirable; 

10. Unswerving devotion to Me by the Yoga of non-separation, resort to sequestered places, distaste for the society of men; 

11. Constant application to spiritual knowledge, understanding of the end of true knowledge: this is declared to be knowledge, and what is opposed to it is ignorance.

—Bhagavad Gita, 13:1-11