By the delusion of the pairs of opposites arising from desire and aversion, O Bharata, all beings are subject to delusion at birth, O Parantapa.
In simple words
Krishna explains why people are confused from the start: "From the moment of birth, every being is caught in the illusion of opposites — good and bad, pleasure and pain, like and dislike. This confusion comes from desire and aversion."
Word-by-word meanings
इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेनarisen from desire and aversionद्वन्द्वमोहेनby the delusion of the pairs of oppositesभारतO Bharataसर्वभूतानिall beingsसंमोहम्to delusionसर्गेat birthयान्तिare subjectपरन्तपO Parantapa (scorcher of the foes)
7.27 इच्छाद्वेषसमुत्थेन arisen from desire and aversion? द्वन्द्वमोहेन by the delusion of the pairs of opposites? भारत O Bharata? सर्वभूतानि all beings? संमोहम् to delusion? सर्गे at birth? यान्ति are subject? परन्तप O Parantapa (scorcher of the foes).Commentary Where there is pleasure there is Raga or attachment where there is pain there is Dvesha or aversion. There is the instinct in man to preserve his body. Man wishes to attain those objects which help the preservation of the body. He wishes to get rid of those objects which give pain to the body and the mind. On account of delusion caused by the pairs of opposites? desire and aversion spring up and man cannot get the knowledge of the things as they are? even of this external universe of senseexperience and it needs no saying that in a man whose intellect is overwhelmed by desire and aversion there cannot arise the transcendental knowledge of the innermost Self.Raga (attraction) and Dvesha (repulsion)? pleasure and pain? heat and cold? happiness and misery? joy and sorrow? success and failure? censure and priase? honour and dishonour are the Dvandvas or the pairs of opposites. Desire and aversion (or attraction and repulsion) induce delusion in all beings and serve as obstacles to the dawn of the knowledge of the Self.He whose intellect is obscured by the delusion caused by the pairs of opposites is not able to realise I am the Self. Therefore he does not adore Me as the Self.He who is a victim of RagaDvesha loses the power of discrimination. He wishes that pleasant objects should last for ever and that disagreeable or unpleasant objects should disappear immediately. How could this be Objects that are conditioned in time? space and causation will perish. That which is agreeable and pleasant now will become disagreeable and unpleasant after some time. The mind is ever fluctuating. It demands variety and gets disgusted with monotony.
Commentaries
Contemporary scholarly and practical interpretations for modern seekers.
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.
Modern
# BG 7.27
In this verse, a profoundly scientific and subtle philosophical truth is revealed. In explaining why and how the individual soul fails to recognize its own pure nature, Lord Sri Krishna presents the fundamental principles that modern biologists have discovered through their research into the evolution of life. Governed by the most powerful natural instinct of self-preservation, humanity strives to exist in this world. This instinct of security expresses itself in the intellect as desires for those things through which one hopes to make one's worldly life happy and prosperous.
The longing to obtain a desired object is called desire. When something or someone becomes an obstacle to the fulfillment of this desire, the mind's reaction toward it manifests as aversion or anger. In the struggle between these two forces—desire and aversion—the unfortunate soul is torn asunder and experiences the unbearable suffering of one on the threshold of death. Naturally, such a person remains constantly engaged in moving toward the beloved and withdrawing from the despised. Soon that person becomes exhausted, overwhelmed, and utterly confused. The mental disturbances that arise grow daily, increasing restlessness. As a result of these disturbances veiling the mind, one cannot perceive one's true nature.
Therefore, the only means to direct realization of the atman is to discipline the mind and gain complete mastery over its disturbances. All the spiritual practices taught in the world's religions—whether action-centered, devotion-centered, or knowledge-centered—have but one purpose: to completely pacify the mind. The moment of supreme peace is the moment of self-realization, self-illumination, and union with the atman.
Yet it is unfortunate that all beings are born into delusion. In a voice filled with divine compassion, Lord Sri Krishna states this truth. This is not humanity's despairing surrender to painful karma, as if one were rendered powerless from birth to attain liberation. Unlike Christianity, Krishna dharma does not regard any person as a child of sin. The Lord of Yamuna's groves, the unconquerable optimist, the messenger of hope, the world-teacher Sri Krishna here expresses merely a philosophical truth: that any person, through their own unfulfilled desires and hidden cravings, creates for themselves the tragedy of being born in a particular body and circumstance.
To gain freedom from this web of delusion and to attain true knowledge is life's sacred goal. The Gita is a poem composed by the Lord that liberates those trapped in false knowledge from the maze of confusion and leads them to dwell in supreme bliss. To reveal the qualities of those who seek truth, the Lord continues: