Taught by Swami Sarvapriyananda, this episode is part of a series of talks that unfold the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of the Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of God".

Chapter 14 is devoted to an understanding of the Gunatreya Vibhaga Yoga, or the three qualities/components of Maya. The entire universe is created by a projection of the three gunas - satva, rajas, and tamas. Understanding the science of the three gunas and how we can apply it to our lives is the focus of Chapter 14.

In this episode, Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches chapter 14, verses 11-15, of the Bhagavad Gita. These verses describe what happens when one guna predominates over another. Swami Sarvapriyananda explains how we can observe this in ourselves but notes that the gunas are part of the material world and, as such, are constantly changing within us, whereas Consciousness, which is what we really are, is pure and constant.

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Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 11

सर्वद्वारेषु देहेऽस्मिन्प्रकाश उपजायते |

ज्ञानं यदा तदा विद्याद्विवृद्धं सत्त्वमित्युत || 11||

sarva-dvāreṣhu dehe ’smin prakāśha upajāyate

jñānaṁ yadā tadā vidyād vivṛiddhaṁ sattvam ity uta

⧫ When, through all the sense openings in this body, the light of knowledge radiates, then indeed one should know that satva predominates.

Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 12

लोभ: प्रवृत्तिरारम्भ: कर्मणामशम: स्पृहा |

रजस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे भरतर्षभ || 12||

lobhaḥ pravṛittir ārambhaḥ karmaṇām aśhamaḥ spṛihā

rajasy etāni jāyante vivṛiddhe bharatarṣhabha

⧫ Greed, activity, undertaking of works, restlessness, desire - these prevail, oh best of the Bharatas, when rajas predominates.

Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 13

अप्रकाशोऽप्रवृत्तिश्च प्रमादो मोह एव च |

तमस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे कुरुनन्दन || 13||

aprakāśho ’pravṛittiśh cha pramādo moha eva cha

tamasy etāni jāyante vivṛiddhe kuru-nandana

⧫ Darkness, inactivity, inadvertence, as also delusion, these prevail, oh descendant of Kurus, when tamas predominates.

Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 14

यदा सत्त्वे प्रवृद्धे तु प्रलयं याति देहभृत् |

तदोत्तमविदां लोकानमलान्प्रतिपद्यते || 14||

yadā sattve pravṛiddhe tu pralayaṁ yāti deha-bhṛit

tadottama-vidāṁ lokān amalān pratipadyate

⧫ If the embodied self meets with death when satva is predominant, then it attains the pure spheres of the worshippers of the highest dietes.

Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 15

रजसि प्रलयं गत्वा कर्मसङ्गिषु जायते |

तथा प्रलीनस्तमसि मूढयोनिषु जायते || 15||

rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā karma-saṅgiṣhu jāyate

tathā pralīnas tamasi mūḍha-yoniṣhu jāyate

⧫ If it [sentient beings] meets with death when rajas is predominant, then it is born among those who are attached to work; likewise, when it meets with death when tamas is predominant, then it is born in the wombs of irrational species.

Taught by Swami Sarvapriyananda, this episode is part of a series of talks that unfold the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of the Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of God".

In this episode, Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches chapter 14, verses 6 -10 of the Bhagavad Gita.

Chapter 14 is devoted to an understanding of the Gunatreya Vibhaga Yoga, or the three qualities/components of Maya. The entire universe is created by a projection of the three gunas - satva, rajas, and tamas. Understanding the science of the three gunas and how we can apply it to our lives is the focus of Chapter 14.

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Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 6:

तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् |

सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ || 6||

tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt prakāśhakam anāmayam

sukha-saṅgena badhnāti jñāna-saṅgena chānagha

⧫ Satva, on account of its stainlessness, is luminous and free from evil. Oh, sinless one [Arjuna], it binds the embodied self by attachment to happiness and knowledge

Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 7:

रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् |

तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् || 7||

rajo rāgātmakaṁ viddhi tṛiṣhṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam

tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam

⧫ Know rajas to be of the nature of passion, the source of desire and attachment, oh son of Kunti, it binds fast the embodied self by attachment to action.

Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 8:

तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम् |

प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत || 8||

tamas tv ajñāna-jaṁ viddhi mohanaṁ sarva-dehinām

pramādālasya-nidrābhis tan nibadhnāti bhārata

⧫ But know tamas to be born of ignorance and deluding all embodied beings, it binds fast, oh descendant of Bharata, through inadvertence, laziness, and sleep.

Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 9:

सत्त्वं सुखे सञ्जयति रज: कर्मणि भारत |

ज्ञानमावृत्य तु तम: प्रमादे सञ्जयत्युत || 9||

sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata

jñānam āvṛitya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayaty uta

⧫ Satva binds one to happiness, rajas, oh descendant of Bharata, binds one to work, while tamas, by covering knowledge, binds one to inadvertence

Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 10:

रजस्तमश्चाभिभूय सत्त्वं भवति भारत |

रज: सत्त्वं तमश्चैव तम: सत्त्वं रजस्तथा || 10||

rajas tamaśh chābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata

rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaśh chaiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā

⧫ Satva manifests, oh descendant of Bharata, as overpowering rajas and tamas, rajas manifests overpowering satva and tamas, and likewise tamas manifests overpowering satva and rajas

Taught by Swami Sarvapriyananda, this episode is part of a series of talks that unfold the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of the Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of God".

In this episode, Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches chapter 14, verse 6 of the Bhagavad Gita.

Chapter 14 is devoted to an understanding of the Gunatreya Vibhaga Yoga, or the three qualities/components of Maya. The entire universe is created by a projection of the three gunas - satva, rajas, and tamas. Understanding the science of the three gunas and how we can apply it to our lives is the focus of Chapter 14. Verse 6 addresses the satva component of Maya. Swami Sarvapriyananda explains this in this episode.

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Bhagavad Gita | Chapter 14, Verse 6 | Swami Sarvapriyananda

तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम् |

सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ || 6||

tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt prakāśhakam anāmayam

sukha-saṅgena badhnāti jñāna-saṅgena chānagha

⧫ Of these, Satva, on account of its stainlessness, is luminous and free from evil. Oh sinless one [Arjuna], it binds the embodied self by attachment to happiness and, by attachment to knowledge.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches verses 1-5 from the fourteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. This series of talks unfolds the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of "The Song of God".

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14 Verse 1:

श्रीभगवानुवाच |

परं भूय: प्रवक्ष्यामि ज्ञानानां ज्ञानमुत्तमम् |

यज्ज्ञात्वा मुनय: सर्वे परां सिद्धिमितो गता: || 1||

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha

paraṁ bhūyaḥ pravakṣhyāmi jñānānāṁ jñānam uttamam

yaj jñātvā munayaḥ sarve parāṁ siddhim ito gatāḥ

⧫ The Divine Lord said: I shall once again explain to you the supreme wisdom, the best of all knowledge; by knowing which, all the great saints attained the highest perfection.

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14 Verse 2:

इदं ज्ञानमुपाश्रित्य मम साधर्म्यमागता: |

सर्गेऽपि नोपजायन्ते प्रलये न व्यथन्ति च || 2||

idaṁ jñānam upāśhritya mama sādharmyam āgatāḥ

sarge ’pi nopajāyante pralaye na vyathanti cha

⧫ Those who take refuge in this wisdom will be united with Me. They will not be reborn at the time of creation nor destroyed at the time of dissolution.

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14 Verses 3 & 4:

मम योनिर्महद् ब्रह्म तस्मिन्गर्भं दधाम्यहम् |

सम्भव: सर्वभूतानां ततो भवति भारत || 3||

सर्वयोनिषु कौन्तेय मूर्तय: सम्भवन्ति या: |

तासां ब्रह्म महद्योनिरहं बीजप्रद: पिता || 4

mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadhāmy aham

sambhavaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ tato bhavati bhārata

sarva-yoniṣhu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ

tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā

⧫ The total material substance, prakṛiti, is the womb. I impregnate it with the individual souls, and thus all living beings are born. O son of Kunti, for all species of life that are produced, the material nature is the womb, and I am the seed-giving Father.

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 14 Verse 5:

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणा: प्रकृतिसम्भवा: |

निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् || 5||

sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛiti-sambhavāḥ

nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam

⧫ O mighty-armed Arjun, the material energy consists of three guṇas (modes)—sattva (goodness), rajas (passion), and tamas (ignorance). These modes bind the eternal soul to the perishable body.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches verses 29-34 from the Thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. This series of talks unfolds the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of "The Song of God".

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 29:

प्रकृत्यैव च कर्माणि क्रियमाणानि सर्वश: |

य: पश्यति तथात्मानमकर्तारं स पश्यति ||29||

prakṛityaiva cha karmāṇi kriyamāṇāni sarvaśhaḥ

yaḥ paśhyati tathātmānam akartāraṁ sa paśhyati ||29||

🔴 He is the real seer who perceives that Prakrti (i.e., one's body-mind born of Prakrti) alone is doing all works and that the Atman, the true spiritual self, is the actionless witness.

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 30:

यदा भूतपृथग्भावमेकस्थमनुपश्यति |

तत एव च विस्तारं ब्रह्म सम्पद्यते तदा ||30||

yadā bhūta-pṛithag-bhāvam eka-stham anupaśhyati

tata eva cha vistāraṁ brahma sampadyate tadā ||30||

🔴 When one perceives the manifold objects as centred in the One and as evolved from It as well -- then he attains Brahman.

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 31:

अनादित्वान्निर्गुणत्वात्परमात्मायमव्यय: |

शरीरस्थोऽपि कौन्तेय न करोति न लिप्यते ||31||

anāditvān nirguṇatvāt paramātmāyam avyayaḥ

śharīra-stho ’pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate ||31||

🔴 That highest Self, being the immutable and unoriginated Spirit beyond Nature, is free from all action and stain, though dwelling in the body.

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 32:

यथा सर्वगतं सौक्ष्म्यादाकाशं नोपलिप्यते |

सर्वत्रावस्थितो देहे तथात्मा नोपलिप्यते ||32||

yathā sarva-gataṁ saukṣhmyād ākāśhaṁ nopalipyate

sarvatrāvasthito dehe tathātmā nopalipyate ||32||

🔴 Just as the all-pervading Akasa, because of its subtlety, is not stained by anything, so this Atman, though abiding in all bodies, is never affected by any impurity.

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 33:

यथा प्रकाशयत्येक: कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रवि: |

क्षेत्रं क्षेत्री तथा कृत्स्नं प्रकाशयति भारत ||33||

yathā prakāśhayaty ekaḥ kṛitsnaṁ lokam imaṁ raviḥ

kṣhetraṁ kṣhetrī tathā kṛitsnaṁ prakāśhayati bhārata ||33||

🔴 Just as the single sun illumines the whole universe, so the (One) Indwelling Spirit enlivens all bodies (with self-consciousness)

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 34:

क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञयोरेवमन्तरं ज्ञानचक्षुषा |

भूतप्रकृतिमोक्षं च ये विदुर्यान्ति ते परम् ||34||

kṣhetra-kṣhetrajñayor evam antaraṁ jñāna-chakṣhuṣhā

bhūta-prakṛiti-mokṣhaṁ cha ye vidur yānti te param ||34||

🔴 Whoever perceives by spiritual insight the distinction between Ksetra (Nature) and Ksetrajna (Spirit) as also the freedom of the Spirit from the hold of Nature, they reach the Supreme.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches Verses 26-28 from the Thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. This series of talks unfolds the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of "The Song of God".

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 26:

यावत्सञ्जायते किञ्चित्सत्वं स्थावरजङ्गमम् |

क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञसंयोगात्तद्विद्धि भरतर्षभ ||26||

yāvat sañjāyate kiñchit sattvaṁ sthāvara-jaṅgamam

kṣhetra-kṣhetrajña-sanyogāt tad viddhi bharatarṣhabha ||26||

🔴 O thou the best of the Bharata clan! Whatever there is born - whether moving or unmoving - it has come into being due to the union of Ksetra (body) and Ksetrajna (spirit).

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 27:

समं सर्वेषु भूतेषु तिष्ठन्तं परमेश्वरम् |

विनश्यत्स्वविनश्यन्तं य: पश्यति स पश्यति ||27||

samaṁ sarveṣhu bhūteṣhu tiṣhṭhantaṁ parameśhvaram

vinaśhyatsv avinaśhyantaṁ yaḥ paśhyati sa paśhyati ||27||

🔴 He really sees who perceives the Supreme Lord alike in everything -- as the Imperishable Substance abiding amidst perishing phenomena.

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 28:

समं पश्यन्हि सर्वत्र समवस्थितमीश्वरम् |

न हिनस्त्यात्मनात्मानं ततो याति परां गतिम् || 28||

samaṁ paśhyan hi sarvatra samavasthitam īśhvaram

na hinasty ātmanātmānaṁ tato yāti parāṁ gatim || 28||

🔴 For, he who perceives the Lord's presence alike everywhere no longer works against his own spiritual well-being (by mistaking the ego for the true spiritual Self as men in ignorance do). He therefore attains to the Supreme Goal.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches Verses 22-23 from the Thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. This series of talks unfolds the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of "The Song of God".

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 24:

ध्यानेनात्मनि पश्यन्ति केचिदात्मानमात्मना |

अन्ये साङ् ख्येन योगेन कर्मयोगेन चापरे ||24||

dhyānenātmani paśhyanti kechid ātmānam ātmanā

anye sānkhyena yogena karma-yogena chāpare ||24||

🔴 There are some who perceive the Atman within themselves by the practice of meditation with a purified mind. There are also others who approach Him through the discipline of knowledge or of work.

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 25:

अन्ये त्वेवमजानन्त: श्रुत्वान्येभ्य उपासते |

तेऽपि चातितरन्त्येव मृत्युं श्रुतिपरायणा: ||25||

anye tv evam ajānantaḥ śhrutvānyebhya upāsate

te ’pi chātitaranty eva mṛityuṁ śhruti-parāyaṇāḥ ||25||

🔴 There are still others, who, being unfit to follow the disciplines described before -- for they lack the knowledge of the Yoga Sastra and the Vedas--, adopt forms of worship (devotional disciplines) under instruction from teachers or elders. Full of faith in these instructions heard, and following them sincerely as their only refuge, they too certainly overcome the cycle of births and deaths.

Swami Sarvapriyananda teaches Verses 22-23 from the Thirteenth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. This series of talks unfolds the highest truths of Vedanta through the study of "The Song of God".

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 22:

उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वर: |

परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुष: पर: ||22||

Upadraṣhṭānumantā cha bhartā bhoktā maheśhvaraḥ

paramātmeti chāpy ukto dehe ’smin puruṣhaḥ paraḥ ||22||

🔴 In this body there is also the Transcendent and the Supreme Spirit, who is described as the Supreme Self and Sovereign Lord, the unconcerned Witness, the Sanctioner, the Supporter, and the Enjoyer.

🔆 Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 13 Verse 23:

य एवं वेत्ति पुरुषं प्रकृतिं च गुणै: सह |

सर्वथा वर्तमानोऽपि न स भूयोऽभिजायते ||23||

Ya evaṁ vetti puruṣhaṁ prakṛitiṁ cha guṇaiḥ saha

sarvathā vartamāno ’pi na sa bhūyo ’bhijāyate ||23||

🔴 Whoever thus knows the Purusa (Spirit) and Prakriti (Nature) along with its effects, will never be born again, whatever be his mode of living.