Bhagavad Gita · 18.22 · Yoga through the Perfection of Renunciation and Surrender·22 of 78
यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम्।अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥
yat tu kṛitsna-vad ekasmin kārye saktam
ahaitukam atattvārtha-vad alpaṁ cha tat tāmasam udāhṛitam
Sanskrit recitation
What makes an action · 18.13–18.28 · Teaching
Translation
But that which clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, without reason, without any foundation in Truth, and is trivial—that is declared to be Tamasic.
Meaning
The knowledge which regards that each and every object or being exists by itself and is perfect by itself, is Tamasic.One single effect Such as the body, thinking it to be the Self, or an idol, taking it for God, and thinking that there is nothing higher than that.The naked Jains consider that the soul which dwells in the body is of the same size as that of the body. Some regard that Isvara is a mere piece of stone or wood. Such knowledge is really not based on reason. It does not see things in their true light. It is narrow (Alpam) as it is not founded on reason. It produces very small results too. It extends over a limited area and is not allcomprehensive. This knowledge is said to be Tamasic, as it is found in Tamasic persons who are devoid of the power of discrimination.
After Swami Sivananda
What makes an action· 18.13–18.28→
Teachers usually read this idea across several verses together, one shared reflection covers the whole unit.
- 18.13Learn from Me, O mighty-armed Arjuna, these five causes, as declared in the Sankhya system, for the accomplishment of all actions.
- 18.14The body, the doer, the various senses, the different functions of various kinds, and the presiding deity—the fifth.
- 18.15Whatever action a person performs with their body, speech, and mind, whether right or wrong, these five are its causes.
- 18.16Now, such being the case, verily he who, owing to an untrained understanding, looks upon his Self, which is isolated, as the agent, he of perverted intelligence does not see.
- 18.17He who is free from the egoistic notion, whose intelligence is not tainted by good or evil, though he slays these people, he does not slay, nor is he bound by the action.
- 18.18Knowledge, the knowable, and the knower form the threefold impulse for action; the organ, the action, and the agent form the threefold basis of action.
- 18.19Knowledge, action, and actor are declared in the science of the Gunas (Sankhya philosophy) to be of three kinds only, according to the distinction of the Gunas. Of these, hear duly.
- 18.20That by which one sees the indestructible Reality in all beings, not separate in any of them—know that knowledge to be Sattvic.
- 18.21But that knowledge which sees in all beings various entities of distinct kinds as being distinct from one another, know thou that knowledge to be Rajasic.
18.22But that which clings to one single effect as if it were the whole, without reason, without any foundation in Truth, and is trivial—that is declared to be Tamasic.
- 18.23An action that is ordained, free from attachment, done without love or hatred, and without desire for reward is declared to be Sattvic.
- 18.24But that action which is done by one longing for the fulfillment of desires or gain with egotism or with much effort is declared to be Rajasic (passionate).
- 18.25That action which is undertaken from delusion, without regard for the consequences, loss, injury, and one's own ability, is declared to be Tamasic (dark).
- 18.26An agent who is free from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with firmness and enthusiasm, and unaffected by success or failure, is considered to be of a Sattvic (pure) nature.
- 18.27Passionate, desiring to obtain the reward of their actions, greedy, cruel, impure, moved by joy and sorrow, such an agent is said to be Rajasic.
- 18.28Unsteady, vulgar, inflexible, deceitful, malicious, lazy, despondent, and procrastinating—such an agent is called Tamasic.
Word-by-word→
- yat
- which
- tu
- but
- kṛitsna-vat
- as if it encompasses the whole
- ekasmin
- in single
- kārye
- action
- saktam
- engrossed
- ahaitukam
- without a reason
- atattva-artha-vat
- not based on truth
- alpam
- fragmental
- cha
- and
- tat
- that
- tāmasam
- in the mode of ignorance
- udāhṛitam
- is said to be
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