After bhakti yoga, which is the path of devotion, Lord Krishna talks about the yoga of discrimination between the field and the knower of the field. This body is the field and that which resides in the body, knows the body is separate. When you understand the difference between these two–the body and the one who resides in the body–then you will get excellence in life.

śhrī-bhagavān uvācha

paraṁ bhūyaḥ pravakṣhyāmi jñānānāṁ jñānam uttamam

yaj jñātvā munayaḥ sarve parāṁ siddhim ito gatāḥ (14.1)

idaṁ jñānam upāśhritya mama sādharmyam āgatāḥ

sarge ’pi nopajāyante pralaye na vyathanti cha (14.2)

Now, after that in the 14th chapter, Lord Krishna talks about the ultimate knowledge. In knowledge, I am giving you the ultimate knowledge. You are worthy of receiving this knowledge.

Why doesn’t he give this knowledge earlier? The question arises that the ultimate knowledge should have been given right in the beginning. After giving knowledge about karma (action) yoga, gyaan (knowledge) yoga, and more at the end Lord Krishna says that I will give you the ultimate knowledge now. You cannot give this knowledge till one reaches the state of a Muni. Even if someone becomes a muni, they need this knowledge. Muni are those who have control over all their senses, those who don’t want anything. If they don’t attain this knowledge, then they will not attain liberation.

Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, “I am giving you this ultimate knowledge now because you are a devotee. You are worthy of receiving this knowledge.”

No one wants to take knowledge if it doesn’t have any benefit. For example, if you want to study for attaining a degree such as B. Com, won’t you first ask ‘What will I get if I study B. Com?’ You become an engineer, because after becoming an engineer you can get a job in that field.

Here, why should one attain this knowledge? Lord Krishna says, “You’ll attain param siddhi (the highest perfection). Param siddhi means you’ll become skillful in everything, Arjun. Then nothing can shake you. Neither when there is flood, nor when the heavens fall at your feet, you will not be shaken. Neither in happiness nor in sorrow, can anything shake you because you are going to rise above both and attain a state that is beyond happiness and sorrow. The ultimate knowledge is that attaining which nothing can shake you. Attain such perfection in life. Taking the support of this knowledge, you’ll come close to me. Then nothing can shake you and no one can take the smile away from your face.”

mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadhāmy aham

sambhavaḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ tato bhavati bhārata (14.3)

sarva-yoniṣhu kaunteya mūrtayaḥ sambhavanti yāḥ

tāsāṁ brahma mahad yonir ahaṁ bīja-pradaḥ pitā (14.4)

This whole creation is Bramha . Bramha is that which had both consciousness and inertia. The meeting of consciousness and inertia is the Prakruti (nature). The objects that do not move appear to be inert. Beings that walk and move appear to have consciousness. In reality nothing is inert, everything has consciousness but some objects appear to be inert.

When you see any being in this world, I am giver of the seed for that being. It is because of me that the birds chirp. It is because of me that human beings stand, sit, talk, exhibit anger. Whatever a human being does, it is because of me only. I have given them that. All those who have taken birth on this planet, they are born out of me only. Understand this. This Bramha is the womb and I am the seed-giving father.

What is that prana? Any person you see or hear, whether they are a friend, enemy, loved one, there is prana in all of them. Where does this prana come from, to whom does it belong? Prana is there in a goat, in an elephant, horse, plants, human beings. The prana that is there in all of them consider it to one prana that is flowing through all. Then see what a big change takes place. Your mind immediately moves away from craving and aversion. There is only one prana, everything else is empty. Have you seen serial bulbs? Different colored bulbs hang from a single wire. There is a single wire, single switch, single plug point. If you turn on the switch, all the bulbs glow. Each bulb appears to be separate but the electricity that runs through them is one. Similarly, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna, “I am the prana in all these living beings. Wherever you see a prani (living being), I am the prana in that prani. I take different forms and appear in front of you. You can see all living beings as different but I am the prana that flows through all of them. Know this. Wake up. If you see from this perspective for even a second, then you will not be shaken by any situation or circumstance."

sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛiti-sambhavāḥ

nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam (14.5)

Why is there so much diversity in prakruti (nature)? If you ask this question, I’ll say that prakruti has three gunas (qualities). Prakruti cannot be sustained without these gunas. This prakruti is made of three gunas that is why you see things as different. The three gunas are Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. These 3 gunas have bound the free soul. In a traffic signal there are lights of three different colors: red, yellow, and green. But the current that is running through all three of them is one and the same. When you see red light, you stop. When you see yellow, you get ready. When you see green, you move. Similarly, there are three gunas in Prakruti. These gunas are there within everyone. These different gunas dominate in people at different times. He will describe more about this.

tatra sattvaṁ nirmalatvāt prakāśhakam anāmayam
sukha-saṅgena badhnāti jñāna-saṅgena chānagha (14.6)

Anagha is a very beautiful word. Agha means sin. Anagha means that which is free from sin. What is sin? Any negative emotion that gets stuck in our heart and takes root is called agha. This hurts. It hurts not others, but you. If you have any hatred in your heart against someone, it may or may not hurt another person. But from within it scratches your soul, it eats your consciousness. Keeping hatred against someone in your heart is worse than cancer. Agha is that thing which causes the wounds, that is sin. Anagha means he who does not have any hatred towards anyone. He is sinless. He is anagha. Arjuna was such a person. That is why the Lord says, “You are Anagha. That is why you are worthy of receiving this knowledge.”

What is Sattva? Sattva brings purity . When Sattva dominates, you feel pure. You’ll experience light and happiness . Whenever you experience real happiness in life - not the momentary happiness one gets from drinking alcohol – then clarity dawns in the intellect, the intellect is clear, everything appears to be clear. You don’t get deluded. When does this happen? When Sattva guna dominates in you. This happiness is free from vikaara (defects). Sometimes in life you get happiness that also has vikaaras. For example when you hear that your enemy has suffered a loss, you feel very happy. This happiness has vikaara in it. This is not the indicator of Sattva.

Sattvik happiness is that which doesn’t have any vikaara. That is the meaning of anaamaya. Sattva guna binds you to happiness and creates a thirst for knowledge. Here he is not talking about pride. He says that when you have interest in knowledge and when your happiness is free from vikaaras, then know that Sattva guna is dominating.

rajo rāgātmakaṁ viddhi tṛiṣhṇā-saṅga-samudbhavam
tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam (14.7)

What are the indications of Rajo guna? Many desires arise in you, such as desire for position, status, money, respect. Rajo guna is the cause for all these desires. When rajo guna dominates, it does not allow you to sit peacefully. It causes restlessness. Even while you are sitting, you will shake your hands and feet. This is the indication of rajo guna. What does this do? It binds you to karma (action). You have to keep doing some action.

When rajo guna is dominant, you become extremely happy or extremely sad. You will not remain centered. Either you are jumping with joy or you are drowning in sorrow. This is an indicator of rajo guna. Rajo guna binds you to karma (action): do some action and keep doing some action.

Lord Krishna is not saying that this is wrong or bad. He is just saying that these are the signs of rajo guna.

tamas tv ajñāna-jaṁ viddhi mohanaṁ sarva-dehinām

pramādālasya-nidrābhis tan nibadhnāti bhārata (14.8)

What are the signs of Tamo guna?

· Alasya (laziness): Oh! I don’t want to do anything.

· Pramada: Pramada is doing something in spite of knowing that you should not be doing it. Even though you have the knowledge that you should not be doing an action, if you still continue that is pramada.

· Nidra: Is being sleepy all the time. Lying down the entire day. After drinking tea and having breakfast, they go back to sleep. Then they get up at lunch time. After eating lunch, they have to sleep for two hours. In the evening, they walk with a hazy mind. They don’t do anything. They just see when they can sleep again. Then again they sleep by 8 or 9 PM. This requirement of too much sleep is an indicator of tamo guna.

These are the three indicators of tamo guna. Tamas binds you to these three.

Tamo guna exists within you to some extent. If there is no tamo guna in you, you won’t be able to sleep. Your body won’t be able to sustain itself. As long as you have the body, you must have some amount of Tamo guna. Otherwise the body won’t last.

But when Tamo guna increases then tamo guna binds you to these three and binds you to ignorance. Ignorance is not knowing a thing as it is but knowing it incorrectly. Taking everything in the wrong way is ignorance. If someone praises you, you may feel like they are taunting you. If someone says you are wearing good clothes today, you think that they are saying it to insult you. From your perspective if you feel that everyone is taunting you, saying bad things about you, staying stuck in this kind of ignorance is the quality of tamo guna.

sattvaṁ sukhe sañjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata

jñānam āvṛitya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayaty uta (14.9)

rajas tamaśh chābhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata
rajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaśh chaiva tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā (14.10)

Prakruti (nature) has these three gunas. Neither have craving nor aversion towards these three gunas. The gunas have their work and they will continue to do that. One of the three gunas will dominate at a time.

When sattva guna dominates, you’ll experience lightness, happiness, contentment in life. Or whenever you are very happy in life, know that sattva guna has increased, sattva guna has won.

How do we increase sattva guna? We’ll talk about this later.

Similarly when rajo guna dominates in life, you’ll keep doing some action. You’ll experience restlessness, sadness, instability.

When Tamo guna dominates in life, you’ll feel extremely sleepy or you’ll do something in spite of knowing that you should not be doing it (pramada). You’ll take everything in the wrong way. No one appears to be fine. Have you noticed that those who get into depression they are in pramada. Those who are depressed, they sleep a lot. They don’t take any action. If you see in one way, depressed people cannot harm the world in any way because they don’t do anything; they just lie around. When Tamo guna dominates, it binds you to ignorance.

When rajo guna increases, we are bound to action (karma), but that takes us to sadness.

When sattva guna increases, it takes us to happiness.

When tamo guna increases, it takes us to ignorance and makes us sink in pramada.

This is the impact and indications of the three gunas.

sarva-dvāreṣhu dehe ’smin prakāśha upajāyate
jñānaṁ yadā tadā vidyād vivṛiddhaṁ sattvam ity uta (14.11)

lobhaḥ pravṛittir ārambhaḥ karmaṇām aśhamaḥ spṛihā
rajasy etāni jāyante vivṛiddhe bharatarṣhabha (14.12)

When rajo guna increases, it takes you toward indulgence. Indulging in eating, drinking, watching movies and porn. Rajo guna drags people into all this. It does not bring contentment. No matter how much ever you indulge, you’re not satisfied. You’ll want to indulge more. This is an indicator of rajo guna. When there is an increase in rajo guna, then greed also increases. There are different kinds of greed. One kind is greed for money. Don’t think that greed for money is the only type of greed. There is greed for respect as well. Everyone should respect me. Everyone should praise my work. People should think that I am someone important. These are different types of greed induced by action (karma).

We make an identity for ourselves. That I’m like this. I’m from this family. I am well educated. We hold on to that identity and take pride in that identity. This is the second doorway to sorrow. This brings sorrow. Any type of greed and pride binds you to karma. At that time know that rajo guna is dominating.

aprakāśho ’pravṛittiśh cha pramādo moha eva cha
tamasy etāni jāyante vivṛiddhe kuru-nandana (14.13)

That which we must do is kartavya (duty). Being dutiful is an important part of life. We must do our duty. When Tamo guna dominates, people don’t do their duties. They don’t wear clothes properly; they don’t wash clothes properly, and don’t have a bath. What do people do when they get depressed? They do nothing. They don’t even do their own work. When Tamo guna dominates, then you’ll see this sort of behavior. And they are constantly involved in pramada. Even if they do something, that effort does not produce any good useful results.

Know the indicators for each guna. If we’re sad, it is not because of someone else. We ourselves are the only reason for our own sorrow. Whether we get sorrow or insults from anywhere, it is because of our own self. When rajo guna dominates, then sorrow manifests in life. That’s why our ancestors used to pray to their Guru, ‘May sattva dominate, may sattva increase in life.’

When sattva guna dominates in life, there will be a little rajo guna and a little tamo guna. When sattva guna dominates over rajo guna and rajo guna dominates over tamo guna, then there is happiness in life. If we let it go and let tamo guna increase in life, then we are working toward our own downfall. That is why we are our own enemy, and we are our own friend. It is your own mind than can uplift you and it is your own mind that can cause your downfall. Why? Because if you make a small slip-up, tamo guna will start increasing and if you let it reign without keeping a check on it, then it causes your downfall.

That’s why we have such a system in India to go to a Guru, elders such as mother and father, respected people, saints, to do Satsang. Why? So that tamo guna does not increase, and rajo guna stays within limits, and so that sattva may dominate in life.

How well rooted you are, shows how established you are in sattva guna. The more you’re established in sattva guna, you’ll have that much more growth and strength.

yadā sattve pravṛiddhe tu pralayaṁ yāti deha-bhṛit
tadottama-vidāṁ lokān amalān pratipadyate (14.14)

rajasi pralayaṁ gatvā karma-saṅgiṣhu jāyate
tathā pralīnas tamasi mūḍha-yoniṣhu jāyate (14.15)

He has spoken about the influence of gunas on our life, now he talks about what happens at the end of life. Whatever we do throughout our life, at the last moment also the same thing happens. And whatever we do in the last moments of our life that decides what will happen in our next birth. Depending on how we die in this birth, that decides our next birth. If someone keeps thinking about a poultry farm till the moment of death, if someone dies thinking about chicken, then his next birth will definitely happen there for sure. This consciousness is like a mirror. Whatever impression is left on this mirror in the last moments of life, that becomes a photograph. When the consciousness is powerless, it acts as a mirror. Otherwise it is like a camera. The next birth will be based on the photograph it has taken. So keep the consciousness like a clear mirror. Let nothing get stuck to it. Then what happens? When one leaves the body while sattva guna is dominant, they attain heaven.

If one dies while rajo guna is dominant, they take different births and are bound to karma.

If one dies while tamo guna is dominant, they take birth as animal, bird, and tree. This is called moodh yoni.

karmaṇaḥ sukṛitasyāhuḥ sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam
rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam (14.16)

Don’t think that sattva means just being there and not doing anything. A selfless act is called sattvic karma. Any action that one does for everyone’s benefit or for the progress of one’s soul, that is called sattvic karma. The fruit of sattvic karma is happiness.

The fruit of rajasic karma is sorrow. Rajasic karma is one where you get attached to your karma (action) or position. Just because one person wasn’t willing to leave their position, the whole country descends into war. Look at what’s happening in Syria, Egypt, Libya. One person is holding onto their position. By this even they are getting sorrow and others are also getting sorrow. This is rajasic.

The fruit of tamo guna is ignorance (lack of knowledge). This is quite clear. If you look around and look within, you’ll see this.