The Bhagavad Gita Part Seventeen

ARJUNA:1. Those who forsake the law of the Scriptures and yet offer sacrifice full of faith—what is this condition, Krishna/ is it of Sattva, Rajas, or Tamas—of light, of fire, or of darkness? KRISHNA:2. The faith of men, born of their nature, is if three kinds: of light, of fire and of darkness. Hear now of these. 3. The faith of a man follows his nature, Arjuna. Man is made of faith: as his faith is so he is. 4. Men of light—worship the gods of Light; men of fire worship the gods of power and wealth; men of darkness worship ghosts and spirits of night. 5. There are men selfish and false who moved by their lusts and passions perform terrible austerities not ordained by sacred books: 6. Fools who torture the powers of life in their bodies and me who dwells in them. Know that their mind is darkness. 7. Hear now of three kinds of food, the three kinds of sacrifice, the three kinds of harmony, and three kinds of gifts. 8. Men who are pure like food which is pure: which gives health, mental power, strength and long life; which has taste, is soothing and nourishing, and which makes glad the heart of man. 9. Men of Rajas like food of Rajas: acid and sharp, and salty and dry, and which brings heaviness and sickness and pain. 10. Men of darkness eat food which is stab and tasteless, which is rotten and left over night, impure, unfit for holy offerings.

11. A sacrifice is pure when it is an offering of adoration in harmony with the holy law, with no expectation of a reward, and with the heart saying ‘it is my duty’. 12. But a sacrifice that is done for the sake a reward or for the sake of vainglory is an impure sacrifice of Rajas. 13. And a sacrifice done against the holy law, without faith, and sacred words, and the gifts of food, and the due offering, is a sacrifice of darkness. 14. Reverence for the gods of Light, for the twice-born, for the teachers of Spirit and for the wise; and also purity, righteousness, chastity and non-violence: this is the harmony of the body. 15. Words which give peace, words which are good and beautiful and true, and also the reading of sacred books: this is the harmony of words. 16. Quietness of mind, silence, self-harmony, lovingkindness and a pure heart: this is the harmony of the mind. 17. This threefold harmony is called pure when it is practised with supreme faith with no desire for a reward and with oneness of soul. 18. But false austerity, for the sake of reputation, honour and reverence, is impure: it belongs to Rajas and is unstable and uncertain. 19. When self-control is self-torture, due to dullness of the mind, or when it aims at hurting another, then self-control is of darkness. 20. A gift is pure when it is given from the heart to the right person at the right time and at the right place, and when we expect nothing in return. 21. But when it is given expecting something in return, or for the sake of a future reward, or when it is given unwillingly, the gift is of Rajas, impure. 22. And a gift given to the wrong person, at the wrong time and the wrong place, or a gift which comes not from the heart, and is given with proud contempt, is a gift of darkness.

23. OM, TAT, SAT, Each one of these three words is one word for Brahman, from whom came in the beginning the Brahmins, the Vedas and the Sacrifice. 24. Therefore with the word OM the lovers of Brahman begin all work of sacrifice, gift or self-harmony, done according to the Scriptures. 25. And with the word TAT, and with renunciation of all reward, this same work of sacrifice, gift or self-harmony is being done by those seekers of Infinite Liberty. 26. SAT is what is good and what is true: when therefore a work is well done the end of that work is SAT. 27. Constant faithfulness in sacrifice, gift, or self-harmony is SAT; and also all work consecrated to Brahman. 28. But work done without faith is ASAT, is nothing; sacrifice, gift, or self-harmony done without faith are nothing, both in this world and in the world to come. End of Part Seventeen.