Bg 17.1
arjuna uvāca
ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ
Bg 17.2
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā
sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṁ śṛṇu
Bg 17.3
sattvānurūpā sarvasya śraddhā bhavati bhārata
śraddhā-mayo ’yaṁ puruṣo yo yac-chraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ
Bg 17.4
yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi rājasāḥ
pretān bhūta-gaṇāṁś cānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ
Translation
Arjuna said: 1. Those who, setting aside the ordinances of the scriptures, perform sacrifice with faith, what is their condition, O Krishna? Is it SATTWA, RAJAS or TAMAS?
The Blessed Lord said: 2. Three-fold is the faith of the embodied, which is inherent in their nature --- the SATTWIC (pure) , the RAJASIC (passionate) and the TAMASIC (dull, dark) . Thus thou hear of it.
3. The faith of each is in accordance with his nature, O Bharata. Man consists of his faith; as a man's faith is, so is he.
4. The SATTWIC , or "pure" men, worship the gods (DEVAS) ; the RAJASIC or the "passionate, " the YAKSHAS and the RAKSHASAS; the others --- TAMASIC people, or the "dark or dull" folk, worship the ghosts (PRETAS) and the hosts of BHUTAS, or the nature/spirits.
Commentary
In the very opening stanza, Arjuna takes up the discussion where it was left in the previous chapter and gives it a definite push forward, making Krishna expound exhaustively the most profitable and dynamic way of spiritual life, clearly distinguishing it from the unprofitable and self-dissipating channels of misconceived spiritual endeavours.
SETTING ASIDE THE ORDINANCES OF THE SHASTRA --- The injunctions of scriptural texts are not generally available for all people, and even when they are made available, very few will have the intellectual capacity to understand them. In the excitement of life's activities around, and the confusions and anxieties within, very few of us can hope to plan the "paths" of our life according to the Shastra-provided blue-print. But a sincere seeker might have a great 'faith' in the Higher way-of-life and a deep devotion to the ideals preached and propounded generally by all the scriptures of the world. Hence this question.
PERFORM ACTIONS (Yajantah) --- The term (Yajna) used here need not be understood as indicating the Vedic sacrifices and ritualistic performances only. The Geeta is quite a complete scripture, and as such, it has its own definitions of terms. The term Yajna has been earlier (in Chapter III) defined to include all selfless co-operative endeavours of every individual in a society, undertaken to bring forth to manifestation, the latent wealth and prosperity that are in that community. Therefore, all acts done by an individual during his life, in a spirit of selfless dedication to the general well-being can come under this term. Without knowing the serene harmony that throbs behind life, can one, who is striving hard in the world in a spirit of detachment and selflessness, hope to avoid agitations? What would be his condition (Nishtha)? And in a parenthetical clause Arjuna adds what he wants to know: "whether such actions of men fall under the category of 'unactivity' (Sattwa), or of 'activity' (Rajas), or of 'inactivity' (Tamas)."
As a preface to his discourse, the Lord says that 'faith' (Shraddhaa) itself is of three kinds: the divine, the undivine, and the diabolic. Shraddhaa determines the texture of our impressions (vasanas) in us, which, in their turn, command our view-of-life. Our desires, thoughts, and actions are charted by our view-of-life. Naturally, an individual's physical activities, psychological behaviours, and intellectual make-up are all ordered by the type of Shraddhaa he has come to maintain in himself. And, if the Shraddhaa is of the wrong type, the entire expression of his personality, in all walks of life and in every field of endeavour, can only be ugly. As his inner disposition, so will be the man. The more an individual identifies himself with his physical sheath, the more crystallised becomes his ego, under the influence of his inner disposition. The temperaments that rule the behaviours of the human are three in number, the 'Good' (Sattwic), the 'Passionate' (Rajasic) and the 'Dull' (Tamasic).
WHY SHOULD WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THESE TEMPERAMENTS AT ALL, AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE TYPES OF FAITH AND THEIR PLAY IN LIFE? THESE ARE EXPLAINED IN THE FOLLOWING:
ACCORDING TO ONE'S OWN NATURE (SATTWAANUROOPA) --- The type of faith that feeds and nourishes each bosom is, we notice, vastly different from that of another. The more we observe the differences the more we are led to inquire why it should be so. The Lord, in the Geeta, explains that the 'faith' in each heart is ordered by its own nature. It is very difficult to say whether 'FAITH' prescribes the nature or the nature prescribes the 'FAITH'; each is intimately wedded to the other, each obeys the other most faithfully, indeed.
However, the Geeta declares that it is the nature in an individual that rules his 'FAITH;' although, if FAITH can be broken and remoulded, as it can be, sometimes, at the irresistible compulsion of painful experiences, the nature of that one does faithfully obey the new Shraddhaa. But, generally speaking, the 'FAITH' in each man takes the hue and quality from the stuff of his being --- the predominant temperament in him. The essence of 'FAITH' lies in the secret energy of the ego with which it holds on to its convictions, to reach a definite, chosen end, by well-thought-out and entirely self-planned means.
Man's potentiality determines his 'FAITH' to a given end, and this 'FAITH' then reacts upon his potentiality, determining his future course, and moulds the being in the man. Both act and react upon each other. That the nature of man is determined by the preponderance of any one of the gunas over the others, has been already discussed (XIV-10). As a result of previous conservation of a particular tendency, one of the 'qualities' gains a preponderance over the other two, even from one's childhood. This is indicated here by the term Sattwa, according to which (Anuroopa) is the 'FAITH' entertained by the individual.
SHRADDHAA IS THE INDIVIDUAL --- Man is constituted of and exists in his Shraddhaa. Each devotee ultimately reaches the seat of his devotion, if he consistently, and with sufficient intensity, devotes himself to its attainment (VII-20 to 23).
AS A MAN'S FAITH SO IS HE (Yo yat Shraddhaah sa eva sah) --- Man is verily what his FAITH is. The type of personality and its effectiveness or otherwise are all determined by the 'FAITH' under which it functions. That the achievement of life, is ever coloured by the type of 'FAITH' with which the individual pursues his activities, is very well known and realised by all men of action. In the very language of the Geeta this idea is already explained in an earlier chapter (IX-23).
SATTWIC MEN WORSHIP DEVAS --- Every man in life brings his entire devotion and offers it at one altar or another, and seeks fulfilment from the benefits that accrue from the invocations. In scriptural language this is called WORSHIP. This need not indicate only the ritualistic worship of some God or deity. The term WORSHIP here embraces a wider implication. Every one of us is a WORSHIPPER at some altar chosen by him; even atheists are worshippers... perhaps they devote themselves to the alter of sense-objects, or of wealth, or of power. In this ampler meaning, if we are to read the stanza, the meaning becomes very clear indeed. Men of Sattwic temperament, because of their serene composure and tranquil disposition, seek their fulfilment at an altar of divinity indicating the Higher impulses and the nobler qualities of their being. Naturally, they seek and come to adore such a divine Godly altar.
YAKSHAS AND RAKSHASAS BY THE RAJASIC --- Men of 'passionate nature' (Rajas) are those who have extreme ambition and are constantly restless in their self-chosen fields of activity. They are said to be worshipping and pro-pitiating demi-gods (Yakshas and Rakshasas). The idea here is that the choice of the altar will depend upon the silent demands of the heart of the devotee. One will never go to a bookstall to purchase some dress. So too, the active and the passionate type of men can feel an admiration for, and can appreciate, only an equally active and passionate (Rajasic) demi-god or deity.
THE TAMASIC MEN (WORSHIP) THE PRETAS AND BHUTAS --- The dead 'spirits' and such other low and vicious powers are invoked by the men of 'inactivity' (Tamas) for the satisfaction of some of their low urges for vicious sense-gratifications. Men of low moral calibre and false education, generally, would try to fulfil their pernicious ambitions with the help of the wretched vengeful scum of the society (Pretas, Bhutas), who, though physically alive, are dead to all sweetness and goodness in life. These hired goondas (thugs), generally chosen from professional jail-birds, are the fit powers to be invoked in order that low and criminal ambitions of the Tamasic can be fulfilled.
The same import has been brought out in many earlier stanzas (VII-20 to 23; IX-23 to 25). The modern man would be rather curious to know whether there really exist such powers and deities as pretas and bhutas. It is in fact immaterial for the purpose of studying this portion of the Geeta whether such powers REALLY exist or not. They are indicative of certain types of powers which are available in this world of ours.
"The help gained from good friends," the "protection invoked from the rich and the powerful," and the "enormous strength gathered from the low thoughtless men of criminal intentions" --- these are the different types of 'altars' at which men of serenity (Sattwic), of ambition (Rajasic), of heedlessness (Tamasic), generally seek their individual satisfaction. From the nature of a man's field-of-activity, we can, to a large extent, understand to what type he belongs.
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
arjuna uvāca
ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ
Bg 17.2
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā
sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṁ śṛṇu
Bg 17.3
sattvānurūpā sarvasya śraddhā bhavati bhārata
śraddhā-mayo ’yaṁ puruṣo yo yac-chraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ
Bg 17.4
yajante sāttvikā devān yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi rājasāḥ
pretān bhūta-gaṇāṁś cānye yajante tāmasā janāḥ
Translation
Arjuna said: 1. Those who, setting aside the ordinances of the scriptures, perform sacrifice with faith, what is their condition, O Krishna? Is it SATTWA, RAJAS or TAMAS?
The Blessed Lord said: 2. Three-fold is the faith of the embodied, which is inherent in their nature --- the SATTWIC (pure) , the RAJASIC (passionate) and the TAMASIC (dull, dark) . Thus thou hear of it.
3. The faith of each is in accordance with his nature, O Bharata. Man consists of his faith; as a man's faith is, so is he.
4. The SATTWIC , or "pure" men, worship the gods (DEVAS) ; the RAJASIC or the "passionate, " the YAKSHAS and the RAKSHASAS; the others --- TAMASIC people, or the "dark or dull" folk, worship the ghosts (PRETAS) and the hosts of BHUTAS, or the nature/spirits.
Commentary
In the very opening stanza, Arjuna takes up the discussion where it was left in the previous chapter and gives it a definite push forward, making Krishna expound exhaustively the most profitable and dynamic way of spiritual life, clearly distinguishing it from the unprofitable and self-dissipating channels of misconceived spiritual endeavours.
SETTING ASIDE THE ORDINANCES OF THE SHASTRA --- The injunctions of scriptural texts are not generally available for all people, and even when they are made available, very few will have the intellectual capacity to understand them. In the excitement of life's activities around, and the confusions and anxieties within, very few of us can hope to plan the "paths" of our life according to the Shastra-provided blue-print. But a sincere seeker might have a great 'faith' in the Higher way-of-life and a deep devotion to the ideals preached and propounded generally by all the scriptures of the world. Hence this question.
PERFORM ACTIONS (Yajantah) --- The term (Yajna) used here need not be understood as indicating the Vedic sacrifices and ritualistic performances only. The Geeta is quite a complete scripture, and as such, it has its own definitions of terms. The term Yajna has been earlier (in Chapter III) defined to include all selfless co-operative endeavours of every individual in a society, undertaken to bring forth to manifestation, the latent wealth and prosperity that are in that community. Therefore, all acts done by an individual during his life, in a spirit of selfless dedication to the general well-being can come under this term. Without knowing the serene harmony that throbs behind life, can one, who is striving hard in the world in a spirit of detachment and selflessness, hope to avoid agitations? What would be his condition (Nishtha)? And in a parenthetical clause Arjuna adds what he wants to know: "whether such actions of men fall under the category of 'unactivity' (Sattwa), or of 'activity' (Rajas), or of 'inactivity' (Tamas)."
As a preface to his discourse, the Lord says that 'faith' (Shraddhaa) itself is of three kinds: the divine, the undivine, and the diabolic. Shraddhaa determines the texture of our impressions (vasanas) in us, which, in their turn, command our view-of-life. Our desires, thoughts, and actions are charted by our view-of-life. Naturally, an individual's physical activities, psychological behaviours, and intellectual make-up are all ordered by the type of Shraddhaa he has come to maintain in himself. And, if the Shraddhaa is of the wrong type, the entire expression of his personality, in all walks of life and in every field of endeavour, can only be ugly. As his inner disposition, so will be the man. The more an individual identifies himself with his physical sheath, the more crystallised becomes his ego, under the influence of his inner disposition. The temperaments that rule the behaviours of the human are three in number, the 'Good' (Sattwic), the 'Passionate' (Rajasic) and the 'Dull' (Tamasic).
WHY SHOULD WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THESE TEMPERAMENTS AT ALL, AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE TYPES OF FAITH AND THEIR PLAY IN LIFE? THESE ARE EXPLAINED IN THE FOLLOWING:
ACCORDING TO ONE'S OWN NATURE (SATTWAANUROOPA) --- The type of faith that feeds and nourishes each bosom is, we notice, vastly different from that of another. The more we observe the differences the more we are led to inquire why it should be so. The Lord, in the Geeta, explains that the 'faith' in each heart is ordered by its own nature. It is very difficult to say whether 'FAITH' prescribes the nature or the nature prescribes the 'FAITH'; each is intimately wedded to the other, each obeys the other most faithfully, indeed.
However, the Geeta declares that it is the nature in an individual that rules his 'FAITH;' although, if FAITH can be broken and remoulded, as it can be, sometimes, at the irresistible compulsion of painful experiences, the nature of that one does faithfully obey the new Shraddhaa. But, generally speaking, the 'FAITH' in each man takes the hue and quality from the stuff of his being --- the predominant temperament in him. The essence of 'FAITH' lies in the secret energy of the ego with which it holds on to its convictions, to reach a definite, chosen end, by well-thought-out and entirely self-planned means.
Man's potentiality determines his 'FAITH' to a given end, and this 'FAITH' then reacts upon his potentiality, determining his future course, and moulds the being in the man. Both act and react upon each other. That the nature of man is determined by the preponderance of any one of the gunas over the others, has been already discussed (XIV-10). As a result of previous conservation of a particular tendency, one of the 'qualities' gains a preponderance over the other two, even from one's childhood. This is indicated here by the term Sattwa, according to which (Anuroopa) is the 'FAITH' entertained by the individual.
SHRADDHAA IS THE INDIVIDUAL --- Man is constituted of and exists in his Shraddhaa. Each devotee ultimately reaches the seat of his devotion, if he consistently, and with sufficient intensity, devotes himself to its attainment (VII-20 to 23).
AS A MAN'S FAITH SO IS HE (Yo yat Shraddhaah sa eva sah) --- Man is verily what his FAITH is. The type of personality and its effectiveness or otherwise are all determined by the 'FAITH' under which it functions. That the achievement of life, is ever coloured by the type of 'FAITH' with which the individual pursues his activities, is very well known and realised by all men of action. In the very language of the Geeta this idea is already explained in an earlier chapter (IX-23).
SATTWIC MEN WORSHIP DEVAS --- Every man in life brings his entire devotion and offers it at one altar or another, and seeks fulfilment from the benefits that accrue from the invocations. In scriptural language this is called WORSHIP. This need not indicate only the ritualistic worship of some God or deity. The term WORSHIP here embraces a wider implication. Every one of us is a WORSHIPPER at some altar chosen by him; even atheists are worshippers... perhaps they devote themselves to the alter of sense-objects, or of wealth, or of power. In this ampler meaning, if we are to read the stanza, the meaning becomes very clear indeed. Men of Sattwic temperament, because of their serene composure and tranquil disposition, seek their fulfilment at an altar of divinity indicating the Higher impulses and the nobler qualities of their being. Naturally, they seek and come to adore such a divine Godly altar.
YAKSHAS AND RAKSHASAS BY THE RAJASIC --- Men of 'passionate nature' (Rajas) are those who have extreme ambition and are constantly restless in their self-chosen fields of activity. They are said to be worshipping and pro-pitiating demi-gods (Yakshas and Rakshasas). The idea here is that the choice of the altar will depend upon the silent demands of the heart of the devotee. One will never go to a bookstall to purchase some dress. So too, the active and the passionate type of men can feel an admiration for, and can appreciate, only an equally active and passionate (Rajasic) demi-god or deity.
THE TAMASIC MEN (WORSHIP) THE PRETAS AND BHUTAS --- The dead 'spirits' and such other low and vicious powers are invoked by the men of 'inactivity' (Tamas) for the satisfaction of some of their low urges for vicious sense-gratifications. Men of low moral calibre and false education, generally, would try to fulfil their pernicious ambitions with the help of the wretched vengeful scum of the society (Pretas, Bhutas), who, though physically alive, are dead to all sweetness and goodness in life. These hired goondas (thugs), generally chosen from professional jail-birds, are the fit powers to be invoked in order that low and criminal ambitions of the Tamasic can be fulfilled.
The same import has been brought out in many earlier stanzas (VII-20 to 23; IX-23 to 25). The modern man would be rather curious to know whether there really exist such powers and deities as pretas and bhutas. It is in fact immaterial for the purpose of studying this portion of the Geeta whether such powers REALLY exist or not. They are indicative of certain types of powers which are available in this world of ours.
"The help gained from good friends," the "protection invoked from the rich and the powerful," and the "enormous strength gathered from the low thoughtless men of criminal intentions" --- these are the different types of 'altars' at which men of serenity (Sattwic), of ambition (Rajasic), of heedlessness (Tamasic), generally seek their individual satisfaction. From the nature of a man's field-of-activity, we can, to a large extent, understand to what type he belongs.
Sources: vedabase.com; The Holy Geeta
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