श्री भगवानुवाच
त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा।
सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां श्रृणु।।17.2।।
।।17.2।।श्रीभगवान् बोले -- मनुष्योंकी वह स्वभावसे उत्पन्न हुई श्रद्धा सात्त्विकी तथा राजसी और तामसी -- ऐसे तीन तरहकी ही होती है? उसको तुम मेरेसे सुनो।
।।17.2।। श्री भगवान् ने कहा -- देहधारियों (मनुष्यों) की वह स्वाभाविक (ज्ञानरहित) श्रद्धा तीन प्रकार की सात्त्विक? राजसिक और तामसिक होती हैं? उसे तुम मुझसे सुनो।।
।।17.2।। व्याख्या -- [अर्जुनने निष्ठाको जाननेके लिये प्रश्न किया था? पर भगवान् उसका उत्तर श्रद्धाको लेकर देते हैं क्योंकि श्रद्धाके अनुसार ही निष्ठा होती है।]त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा -- श्रद्धा तीन तरहकी होती है। वह श्रद्धा कौनसी है सङ्गजा है? शास्त्रजा है या स्वभावजा है तो कहते हैं कि वह स्वभावजा है -- सा स्वभावजा अर्थात् स्वभावसे पैदा हुई स्वतःसिद्ध श्रद्धा है। वह न तो सङ्गसे पैदा हुई है और न शास्त्रोंसे पैदा हुई है। वे स्वाभाविक इस प्रवाहमें बह रहे हैं और देवता आदिका पूजन करते जा रहे हैं।सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां श्रृणु -- वह स्वभावजा श्रद्धा तीन प्रकारकी होती है -- सात्त्विकी? राजसी और तामसी। उन तीनोंको अलगअलग सुनो।पीछेके श्लोकमें सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः पदोंमें आहो अव्यय देनेका तात्पर्य यह था कि अर्जुनकी दृष्टिमें सत्त्वम् से दैवीसम्पत्ति और रजस्तमः से आसुरीसम्पत्ति -- ये दो ही विभाग हैं और भगवान् भी बन्धनकी दृष्टिसे राजसीतामसी दोनोंको आसुरीसम्पत्ति ही मानते हैं -- निबन्धायासुरीमता (16। 5)। परंतु बन्धनकी दृष्टिसे राजसी और तामसी एक होते हुए भी दोनोंके बन्धनमें भेद है। राजस मनुष्य सकामभावसे शास्त्रविहित कर्म भी करते हैं अतः वे स्वर्गादि ऊँचे लोकोंमें जाकर और वहाँके भोगोंको भोगकर पुण्य क्षीण होनेपर फिर मृत्युलोकमें लौट आते हैं -- क्षीणे पुण्ये मर्त्यलोकं विशन्ति (गीता 9। 21)। परन्तु तामस मनुष्य शास्त्रविहित कर्म नहीं करते अतः वे कामना और मूढ़ताके कारण अधम गतिमें जाते हैं -- अधो गच्छन्ति तामसाः (गीता 14। 18)। इस प्रकार राजस और तामस -- दोनों ही मनुष्योंका बन्धन बना रहता है। दोनोंके बन्धनमें भेदकी दृष्टिसे ही भगवान् आसुरीसम्पदावालोंकी श्रद्धाके राजसी और तामसी -- दो भेद करते हैं और सात्त्विकी? राजसी और तामसी -- तीनों श्रद्धाओंको अलगअलग सुननेके लिये कहते हैं। सम्बन्ध -- पूर्वश्लोकमें वर्णित स्वभावजा श्रद्धाके तीन भेद क्यों होते हैं -- इसे भगवान् आगेके श्लोकमें बताते हैं।
।।17.2।। अपने मुख्य प्रवचन के पूर्व आमुख रूप में? भगवान् कहते हैं कि श्रद्धा तीन प्रकार की होती हैं सात्त्विकी? राजसी और तामसी। श्रद्धा के अनुसार हमारी वासनाएं होती हैं और वे ही जीवन विषयक हमारे दृष्टिकोण को निश्चित करती हैं। हमारे समस्त विचार? भावनाएं और कर्म हमारे दृष्टिकोण के अनुरूप ही होते हैं। अत स्वाभाविक ही है कि मनुष्य के शारीरिक कर्म? मानसिक व्यवहार और बौद्धिक संरचनाएं सब उसकी श्रद्धा से निश्चित होते हैं। इसलिए प्रत्येक व्यक्ति अपनी श्रद्धा के अनुरूप होता है? यह नियम है। जो मनुष्य अपनी देह के साथ जितना अधिक तादात्म्य करेगा उतना ही अधिक स्थूल और दृढ़ उसका अभिमान या अहंकार होगा। यह सब सत्त्व? रज और तम इन गुणों के न्यूनाधिक्य पर निर्भर करता है।श्रद्धा के समझने के लिए इन तीन गुणों के सन्दर्भ का क्या औचित्य है इस पर कहते हैं
17.2 The Blessed Lord said That faith of the embodied beings, born of their own nature, is threefold-born of sattva, rajas and tamas. Hear about it.
17.2 The Blessed Lord said Threefold is the faith of the embodied, which is inherent in their nature the Sattvic (pure), the Rajasic (passionate) and the Tamasic (dark). Do thou hear of it.
17.2. The Bhagavat said The faith of the embodied persons is born of their nature and is of three kinds [viz৷৷] that which is made of the Sattva ; that which is made of the Rajas ; and that which is made of the Tamas. Listen about them.
17.2 त्रिविधा threefold? भवति is? श्रद्धा faith? देहिनाम् of the embodied? सा that (faith)? स्वभावजा (is) inherent in (their) nature? सात्त्विकी Sattvic (pure)? राजसी Rajasic (passionate)? च and? एव even? तामसी Tamasic (dark)? च and? इति thus? ताम् it? श्रृणु hear (thou).Commentary The whole world is made up? as if were? of faith. Faith assumes a threefold aspect under the influence of the three alities. When Sattva is strongly developed? when there is a preponderance of Sattva or purity in a man? it is easy for him to attain Selfrealisation or the knowledge of the Self. If Rajas is predominant? the faith becomes the handmaid of activity. If Tamas or inertia prevails? faith is annihilated.Those who are endowed with Sattvic faith aim at the attainment of liberation. Those who are endowed with Rajasic faith run after inferior duties or worldly activities. Those whose faith is Tamasic are cruel. They kill animals for sacrifice. They invoke the spirits and talk with ghosts. When faith is joined to Sattva? it leads to salvation. When Rajas preponderates? it colours the faith and leads to various activities. When Tamas predominates? the faith results in darkness.Faith acires different alities when it is in company with the mind of man. Mind is a thing of many colours. Just as the water of the Ganga is contaminated by being put in a vessel where lior had been kept? so also a virtuous person is spoiled by bad company or constant association with evil persons. The three Gunas or attributes colour the faith of a man. The mind of a man is governed by the preponderating attribute or ality which manifests itself when the other two alities are suppressed. Faith takes a threefold aspect in accordance with the inherent nature or tendencies of the man. The inclinations of men are moulded according to their ality or inherent nature born of their past Samskaras.As is the tendency? so is the desire as is the desire? so is the action as is the action? so is the birth into another being after death. The body is like the seed of the tree? a perpetual chain. Seed perishes in developing into a tree and the tree again produces the seed. This process or cycle continues eternally. Even so man takes a body? does actions? develops tendencies? dies and puts,on a new body in accordance with the nature or tendencies. This continues till he gets knowledge of the Self by transcending the three Gunas? when ignorance? the root cause of birth and death? is destroyed.Faith is born of the individual nature? i.e.? the Samskaras or the latent impressions of virtuous and vicious actions which were performed in the past births and which manifested themselves at the time of death. In the subconscious mind or the Chitta there is a reservoir of past impressions which are revived through the operation of memory.Sattvic Faith in the worship of gods? which is an effect of Sattva.Rajasic Faith in the worship of the Yakshas and Rakshasas? which is an effect of Rajas.Tamasic Faith in the worship of the disembodied spirits and ghosts? which is an effect of Tamas.Faith is the main support of life. It is not mere intellectual belief or blind acceptance of pet dogmas or doctrines. You must understand clearly its characteristics? just as you recognise a tree from the fruits? the mind of a man from his speech? and the actions of previous birth from worldly pleasures and pains.Svabhavaja Inherent in their nature born of past Samskaras.Tam Of it? referring to the threefold faith.
17.2 Sa, that; sraddha, faith, the state about which you ask; dehinam, of the embodied beings; svabhavaja, born of their own nature-by svabhava (nature) is meant that latent impression of virtuous acts etc. acired in the past lives, which becomes manifest at the time of death; what arises out of that is svabhavaja-; is trividha, threefold, of three kinds; sattviki, born of sattva, and related to worship of gods, etc.; rajasi, born of rajas, concerning worship of Yaksas (a class of demi-gods, Kubera and others), Raksas (ogres, Nairrti and others); and tamasi, born of tamas, concerning worship of ghosts, goblins and others. Thus it is of three kinds. Srnu, hear; tam, about it, that faith, as it is being stated. That (faith) is threefold as follows:
17.2 Trividha etc. Here the ideas is this :- What is termed scripture is indeed the one which is not created by the intellect soiled by any partisan spirit; further it is of the form of the firmness of the recollection; and it is firmly recollected because of the sovereign freedom of the awareness; likewise it is also of the nature of fruit etc., i.e. the nature of the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate purport of speech, a flow of the pure Self-Consciousness; because of its free course, it starts from the internal nature of awareness and goes as for as the external flow, beginning from the subtlest hymn (Om), down to the series of popular saying well-known in the worldly activities. What [the sage] says - Also the [injunctions based on] remembrance and the virtuous conduct of the knowers of that [constitute authority]. (Gautamadharmasutra, I, 2). That scripture, by its own nature, distinguishes what is to be done and what is not to be done, in order to teach what is beneficial and what is not beneficial. [Further], he whose heart is very tender by nature, because of the excess of the Sattva (i.e., godness) - in whatever way he behaves, that has certainly a scriptural authority. But other person who is made dirty by the Rajas or the Tamas (i.e., desire and ignorance) does not act rightly, even while performing what is enjoined in the scriptures. For, he does not follow the purport (the spirit) of the scripture in its entity. The scripture (or what is enjoined in the scripture) bears fruits only in the case of men of the Sattva (goodness) This has been declared by the scripture itself as : He [alone] enjoys the fruit of the scripture (or holy bathing place) whose arms and feet and also mind, learning, austerity and conduct are controlled properly. (MB, Aranyaka, Ch. 80, verse 30). Any other person does not enjoy [the fruit], because the rmains unsubdued [in his mind]. Therefore, what is prescribed in the scripture bears fruit in the case of those who have abandoned desire, anger and delusion. This is the purport of the present chapter; and it is being elaborated [throughout]. But it is not explained [in every place by us (Ag.), because the idea is clear enough. But [the concerned verses] are simply written only to remove doubts regarding the readings [of the passages concerned].
17.2 The Lord said Threefold is the faith among all embodied beings. And it arises from their inborn nature. What is called Svabhava is the state unie to ones own nature. It is the special taste or predilection caused by previous subtle impressions, Vasanas. To whatever ones predilection is directed, there faith is born in respect of it. For faith is zeal or eagerness about any means in the belief that it is the way of action to achieve ones own desired object. Vasana (subtle impression), Ruci (taste) and Sraddha (faith) are the alities of the self born from its association with the Gunas. The Sattva and the other Gunas are the alities of the body, the senses, the internal organs and sense-objects. They bring about their alities in the self associated with them. These are the Vasanas. These Gunas can be described only by their effects. These (i.e., Vasanas etc.) originate from experiences with the body etc., having origination in Sattva and other Gunas. Thus faith is threefold as marked by Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Listen about this faith.
O Arjuna, first hear from me the situation of those who worship without giving up the rules of scripture. After that I will speak to you about the condition of those who give up the rules of scripture. Hear about the three types of faith which arise from svabhavah – particular impressions from previous experiences.
The sraddha or faith in the Supreme Lord of one who acts in accordance with the ordinances and injunctions of the Vedic scriptures is always situated in sattva guna the mode of goodness. The sraddha existing in the other two modes of raja guna the mode of passion and tama guna the mode of ignorance are the results of ones nature by the impressions lingering in their consciousness from past life activities in such modes. Only absolute knowledge from the Vedic scriptures duly instructed by the Vaisnava spiritual master has the potency to affect change in the nature of a jiva or embodied being. But those in raja guna and tama guna who have no faith in the Vedic scriptures or who have no interest in the Vedic scriptures will not be able to change their natures to sattva guna by any other process. Hence their faith arises from whatever characteristics they possessed in the previous life and this manifests in their actions.
The gunas or three modes of material nature are sattva guna the mode of goodnes, raja guna the mode of passion and tama guna the mode of ignorance. They are singularly inherent within the faith of all mankind and they conform to the characteristics and disposition particular to each jiva or embodied being. The impressions from past life incarnations arise as tendencies pursued in a present life correspondent to ones mood and taste and from that mood and taste ones faith arises. Displays of enthusiasm are indications of faith where underlying is the belief that the effort will be successfully fulfilled. Tendency, taste and faith are actually properties of the atma or immortal soul; but they are only evoked when the atma happens by chance to come in contact with the gunas. It has been deduced that when there is tranquillity in the mind there is control of the senses and peacefulness of the body and such effect manifests the chance contact between the atma and the gunas resulting in sattva guna. Agitation of the mind, unbridled senses and over indulgence of the body results in raja and tama guna. Thus effectively the experiences from past lives manifest into one of the three gunas.
The gunas or three modes of material nature are sattva guna the mode of goodnes, raja guna the mode of passion and tama guna the mode of ignorance. They are singularly inherent within the faith of all mankind and they conform to the characteristics and disposition particular to each jiva or embodied being. The impressions from past life incarnations arise as tendencies pursued in a present life correspondent to ones mood and taste and from that mood and taste ones faith arises. Displays of enthusiasm are indications of faith where underlying is the belief that the effort will be successfully fulfilled. Tendency, taste and faith are actually properties of the atma or immortal soul; but they are only evoked when the atma happens by chance to come in contact with the gunas. It has been deduced that when there is tranquillity in the mind there is control of the senses and peacefulness of the body and such effect manifests the chance contact between the atma and the gunas resulting in sattva guna. Agitation of the mind, unbridled senses and over indulgence of the body results in raja and tama guna. Thus effectively the experiences from past lives manifest into one of the three gunas.
Sri Bhagavaan Uvaacha: Trividhaa bhavati shraddhaa dehinaam saa swabhaavajaa; Saattwikee raajasee chaiva taamasee cheti taam shrinu.
śhrī-bhagavān uvācha—the Supreme Personality said; tri-vidhā—of three kinds; bhavati—is; śhraddhā—faith; dehinām—embodied beings; sā—which; sva-bhāva-jā—born of one’s innate nature; sāttvikī—of the mode of goodness; rājasī—of the mode of passion; cha—and; eva—certainly; tāmasī—of the mode of ignorance; cha—and; iti—thus; tām—about this; śhṛiṇu—hear
