Bhagavad Gita Chapter 18, Verse 38

Chapter 18 – Moksha Sanyasa Yoga · Speaker: Krishna

Sanskrit verse

विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगाद्यत्तदग्रेऽमृतोपमम् ।
परिणामे विषमिव तत्सुखं राजसं स्मृतम् ॥

Transliteration

viṣayendriyasaṃyogādyattadagre.amṛtopamam .
pariṇāme viṣamiva tatsukhaṃ rājasaṃ smṛtam ॥

Meaning

That happiness which arises from the contact of the senses with their objects, which at first is like nectar but in the end is like poison, is held to be rajasic.

Word meanings

विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगात् – from the contact of senses with their objects
यत् – which
तत् – that
अग्रे – at first
अमृतोपमम् – like nectar
परिणामे – in the end
विषम् इव – like poison
तत् – that
सुखम् – happiness
राजसम् – rajasic
स्मृतम् – is held to be

Anvaya (word order)

विषयेन्द्रियसंयोगात् यत् तत् अग्रे अमृतोपमं परिणामे विषम् इव, तत् सुखं राजसं स्मृतम् ।

Explanation

Rajasic happiness is the exact reverse of sattvic happiness. Sattvic happiness is poison at first and nectar in the end; rajasic happiness is nectar at first and poison in the end. Its source is vishayendriya-samyoga, the contact of the senses with their objects. The tongue with tasty food, the eyes with beautiful sights, the ears with sweet music, the skin with pleasant touch — the immediate pleasure arising from these is rajasic happiness.

At first it seems amritopama, like nectar. That is why it is so attractive and why a person runs after it again and again. But its result is like poison. Overeating brings disease, unrestrained indulgence drains vitality, craving keeps growing and satisfaction never arrives. Shankara notes that such happiness wastes strength, vigour, beauty, intelligence, wealth and enthusiasm, and through the unrighteousness it breeds, brings further sorrow later.

Rajasic happiness has another feature: it depends on external objects. While the object is present, there is pleasure; when it goes, the pleasure goes. Such happiness makes a person dependent. Sattvic happiness, by contrast, comes from within and is free.

The Gita does not wholly forbid sensory pleasures; restrained enjoyment in harmony with dharma is a natural part of life. But it warns that making them the goal of life is mistaking poison for nectar. In Chapter 5 (5.22) Krishna said that pleasures born of contact are wombs of sorrow, having beginning and end, and so the wise do not delight in them.

Context

The previous verse described sattvic happiness. This verse describes rajasic happiness. The next verse (18.39) describes tamasic happiness.

Life lesson

When something tastes sweet immediately, consider its long-term outcome too. Enjoy sensory pleasures with restraint, but do not make them the aim of life. Happiness that depends on outside things makes you dependent.

Key terms

Rajasic sukha: Pleasure from sense contact, sweet at first but bitter in the end
Vishayendriya-samyoga: Contact of the senses with their objects
Preyas: That which is pleasant now but harmful later