Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 22

Chapter 14 – Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

श्रीभगवानुवाच ।
प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव ।
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति ॥

Transliteration

śrībhagavānuvāca .
prakāśaṃ ca pravṛttiṃ ca mohameva ca pāṇḍava .
na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati ॥

Meaning

The Blessed Lord said: O Pandava, he does not hate illumination, activity or delusion when they arise, nor does he long for them when they cease.

Word meanings

श्रीभगवान् उवाच – the Blessed Lord said
प्रकाशम् – illumination (the work of sattva)
च – and
प्रवृत्तिम् – activity (the work of rajas)
च – and
मोहम् – delusion (the work of tamas)
एव च – also
पाण्डव – O son of Pandu
न द्वेष्टि – does not hate
सम्प्रवृत्तानि – when they are present
न – not
निवृत्तानि – when they have ceased
काङ्क्षति – longs for

Anvaya (word order)

श्रीभगवान् उवाच — पाण्डव, (यः) प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहम् एव च सम्प्रवृत्तानि न द्वेष्टि, निवृत्तानि न काङ्क्षति ।

Explanation

Here Krishna begins to answer Arjuna's first question, the marks of one beyond the gunas. Notice that He gives inner rather than outer signs. Such a person is recognised not by dress, place or activities but by his attitude towards the gunas.

Krishna names one representative effect of each guna: illumination for sattva, activity for rajas and delusion for tamas, as described in verses 11 to 13. These three continue to come and go even in the life of one beyond the gunas, for as long as the body lasts, nature's qualities keep working. The sage too feels sleepy and tired, feels the urge to act, and has moments of great clarity.

The difference is simply that he neither hates them nor longs for them. When dullness or lethargy comes, he does not fight it in agitation; when clarity and light depart, he does not pine for them. The ordinary person, even the ordinary seeker, wants to grasp sattva and push tamas away. The one beyond the gunas is free of both impulses. He knows these are the changing seasons of nature, while he himself, like the sky, remains untouched by them all.

Shankara observes that this mark is atma-samvedya, knowable only to oneself. No one else can see whether aversion or longing is present in another's mind. The sign is therefore a tool for self-examination, not for judging others.

The teaching is valuable for every seeker. Feeling irritated when meditation does not go well, and craving to repeat a good meditation, are both forms of bondage to the gunas. Easy acceptance and witness-awareness point towards the state beyond them.

The verse recalls the person of steady wisdom of Chapter 2, who neither rejoices on meeting good nor hates on meeting ill (2.57). Everywhere the Gita's ideal is the same: equanimity.

Context

In the previous verse Arjuna asked about the marks, conduct and means of the one beyond the gunas. Here Krishna begins His answer with the inner marks. Verses 23 to 25 describe the conduct and equanimity of such a person, and verse 26 gives the means.

Life lesson

States of mind such as clarity, busyness and dullness will keep coming and going. Instead of fighting or clutching them, learn to watch them calmly; that is the beginning of inner freedom.

Key terms

Prakasha, pravritti, moha: Illumination, activity and delusion — representative effects of sattva, rajas and tamas
Dvesha: Aversion, the urge to push a state away
Kanksha: Longing, the urge to obtain a state