Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 17 (BG 14.17) — Meaning, Translation & Commentary

From the three gunas, knowledge arises from sattva. The atman, being consciousness itself, is naturally free from all objects of perception. Therefore, the question of the atman knowing any particular object does not arise. However, the intellect of the inner instrument, endowed with consciousness, illuminates objects of perception. When the inner instrument is pure and tranquil—that is, sattvic in nature—its capacity for knowledge becomes greater. Only through such a purified mind can there be direct, immediate experience of the atman, which is eternally pure, wise, and liberated. From rajas arise greed and the countless selfish tendencies born of it, along with mental agitation and distraction. From tamas arise heedlessness, delusion, and ignorance. Ignorance is the failure to know an object in any way whatsoever. Delusion, on the other hand, is the absence of discrimination between two things or two actions. The inability to discern between dharma and adharma, truth and falsehood, atman and anatman—this is delusion. Heedlessness is the lack of care in any action, or understanding a thing in a mistaken way. Because of this, a person imagines happiness in the external world and continues to wander in pursuit of it. Can even a single vessel of sweet water be obtained from the entire ocean? Certainly not. Yet a person dominated by tamas continues to strive for it, and when suffering comes, he blames the world. All of this is the work of tamas. Now it is said further—