Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 22 (BG 14.22)

জীবন্ত গীতা

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कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते

You have the right to act...

Preparing your translation...

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते

You have the right to act...

প্রথম পাতা

প্রথম পাতা জ্ঞান পাঠ্যক্রম সম্প্রদায়টুকে রাখা সেটিংস

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 22 — Meaning & Commentary | Live Gita

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श्रीभगवानुवाच |
प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव |
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति ||१४-२२||

śrībhagavānuvāca . prakāśaṃ ca pravṛttiṃ ca mohameva ca pāṇḍava . na dveṣṭi sampravṛttāni na nivṛttāni kāṅkṣati ||14-22||

The Blessed Lord said When light, activity and delusion are present, he hates them not, nor does he long for them when they are absent.

In simple words

Krishna answers: "When clarity, activity, or confusion are present — this person doesn't resist them. And when they fade — this person doesn't chase after them."

Word-by-word meanings

प्रकाशम्lightचandप्रवृत्तिम्activityचandमोहम्delusionएवevenचandपाण्डवO Arjunaनnotद्वेष्टिhatesसम्प्रवृत्तानि(when) gone forthनnotनिवृत्तानिwhen absentकाङ्क्षतिlongs

Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Sivananda

14.22 प्रकाशम् light? च and? प्रवृत्तिम् activity? च and? मोहम् delusion? एव even? च and? पाण्डव O Arjuna? न not? द्वेष्टि hates? सम्प्रवृत्तानि (when) gone forth? न not? निवृत्तानि when absent? काङ्क्षति longs.Commentary This is the answer to Arjunas first estion. Light is the effect of Sattva? activity of Rajas and delusion of Tamas. The liberated sage does not hate them when they are present. When Sattva shines he is not carried away by pride. He does not think? I am a vey learned man. When the impulse for action is awakened in the body or when there is a divine call for him to do work for the solidarity of the world (Lokasangraha) he does not hate any action and he does not regret it after the action is accomplished. He feels no remorse while performing actions. The work is like the play of a child. While inertia increases in him? he is not deluded by infatuation.Only an ignorant man thinks Tamas has entered into me. I am deluded. I am under the influence of heedlessness? torpor? sloth? laziness and indolence. Now I am under the influence of Rajas. I am forced to do activities. This is painful. I have fallen from my true nature. This gives me a lot of pain. Now Sattva predominates in me. I am attached to happiness and knowledge. I am proud of my learning and better status.The liberated sage who has transcended the Gunas does not thus hate them when they are present.A man of Sattva or Rajas or Tamas longs for light? action or inertia which first manifested themselves and disappeared. But a liberated sage or one who has gone beyond the three alities does not at all long for these states which have vanished. This mark or characteristic is an internal mental state. It cannot be perceived or detected by others. It can be felt by ones own self alone. If one is endowed with clairvoyant vision or the inner eye of intuition? he can directly behold the longins that arise in the mind of another man.In the following three verses the Lord gives His answer to Arjunas second estion What is the conduct of the sage who has crossed over the Gunas

Swami Chinmayananda

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

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Commentaries

Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.

Swami Sivananda

Swami Chinmayananda

The three gunas and their modifications can only affect those conditions and objects that are their own creations. They have no power over the atman, which lies beyond them. Therefore, even after the dawn of self-knowledge, these conditions continue to function as before, and the gunas may continue to exert their influence upon them. Yet the wise one does not identify with them in any way. To remain ever established in equanimity amid all circumstances is the hallmark of the realized soul, and this is the very essence of perfection. Illumination, activity, and delusion are respectively the functions of sattva, rajas, and tamas. Here the three gunas are indicated through their effects. Generally, the ignorant person harbors aversion when the effects of rajas—distraction—or tamas—sleep and negligence—become prominent in the mind, and feels affection when the effects of sattva—knowledge, happiness, and peace—arise. When sattva recedes, such a person yearns for it and remains consumed with longing. The root cause of all this is identification with the three gunas, born of ignorance. The state of the wise one differs entirely from that of the ignorant. The wise one knows that the atman, the witness of the three gunas, remains forever untouched and unattached to those gunas and their effects. Therefore, when rajas and tamas become active, the wise one neither harbors aversion toward them nor desires the activity of sattva. Their peace and happiness do not depend upon the presence or absence of these gunas. Just as a wealthy person of vast riches is unaffected whether twenty-five paise come to them or not—they may even bend down to pick up such a coin, yet without the exultation that a poor person would feel in the same circumstance—so too the wise one remains unmoved. Thus, the person who has abandoned identification with all conditions and dwells absorbed in the realization of the atman is called transcendent of the three gunas, or liberated. The sorrows of the world can never shake such a one. Now we shall describe the conduct of such a wise and realized person.

This interpretation draws on a specific tradition and may not represent the view of any single school. For authoritative guidance within a specific tradition, seek a qualified teacher.

Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 22 (BG 14.22) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

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