Chapter 3 Shloka 29

प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढा: सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु।

तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत्।।२९।।

Those who are deluded by the qualities of Prakriti

become attached to the actions

that are controlled by the gunas.

The man of wisdom who knows better,

must not agitate such people of blighted intellect.

Chapter 3 Shloka 29

प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढा: सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु।

तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत्।।२९।।

Those who are deluded by the qualities of Prakriti become attached to the actions that are controlled by the gunas. The man of wisdom who knows better, must not agitate such people of blighted intellect.

Here Bhagwan Krishna is once again warning the gyanis or men of wisdom, not to unsettle the mind of the common man:

1. Persons who are under the influence of gunas.

2. Those who are deluded by the gunas.

3. Those whose intellect is overpowered by the gunas.

4. Those who may be foolish, since they do not see the difference between the Real and the unreal.

5. Those who consider the impossible to be possible.

6. Those who consider illusion to be the Truth.

7. They who cannot differentiate between vidya or knowledge and avidya which is not true knowledge.

The knowledgeable man of wisdom must not unsettle the minds of such people.

It behoves such a man of wisdom:

a) To persevere in the service of all men even whilst abiding in his true Self.

b) To teach them to fulfill their own desires in a manner conforming to the Truth.

c) To furnish practical proof of how life must be lived in a detached manner.

d) To remain uninfluenced by the gunas of the ignorant even whilst living among them.

There must be no rejection of their vices nor attraction to their virtues. Nor must he hold them responsible or make them experience guilt for their attributes.

Knowing that qualities can influence each other, he does not try to unsettle the others’ understanding through preaching. If however such an Atmavaan who has transcended the intellect that connived with the body persevered in serving others, the people he serves might gain experience of his internal silence and proceed to emulate his qualities. It is possible then that some of them would aspire to attain the same attitude of detached selflessness.

Little one!

1. Sadhana is not merely the renunciation of certain qualities. It changes one’s direction of thinking.

2. It diverts one from selfish identification with the body.

3. It annihilates one’s erroneous sense of doership.

4. It is ego abnegatory.

5. It eradicates the blindness of moha and grants one the ‘eyes’ of the discerning intellect.

6. It directs one towards truthful living.

It destroys the false world created by the mind. Blindness lies in moha, thoughts of ‘me’ and ‘mine’, ego and attachment to objects. When one watches oneself with a discerning intellect, the impurities of the mind are burnt off.

Little one! You must have heard it said often that when the glance of an illuminated soul falls upon you, your sins are washed away. The discerning intellect of Truth is that ‘illuminated intellect’ which can wash away one’s impurities and ignorance. If you can distance yourself from your body and see yourself even for a moment, your attachments will wither and burn.

What one must understand is that all these are an expansion of the arena of gunas. One’s attraction towards sadhana is also dependent on the qualities. The man of wisdom, knowing this, does not unsettle the minds of the ignorant.