The Vedas deal with the three attributes (of Nature); be thou above these three attributes. O Arjuna, free yourself from the pairs of opposites, and ever remain in the quality of Sattva (goodness), freed from (the thought of) acquisition and preservation, and be established in the Self.
In simple words
Krishna tells Arjuna: "Rise above the three forces that pull people around — the pull of comfort, the drive of ambition, and the weight of laziness. Stop worrying about getting and keeping things. Just be steady in who you really are."
Word-by-word meanings
त्रैगुण्यविषयाःdeal with the three attributesवेदाःthe Vedasनिस्त्रैगुण्यःwithout these three attributesभवbeअर्जुनO Arjuna निर्द्वन्द्वः free from the pairs of oppositesनित्यसत्त्वस्थःever remaining in the Sattva (goodness)निर्योगक्षेमःfree from (the thought of) acisition and preservationआत्मवान्established in the Self
2.45 त्रैगुण्यविषयाः deal with the three attributes? वेदाः the Vedas? निस्त्रैगुण्यः without these three attributes? भव be? अर्जुन O Arjuna निर्द्वन्द्वः free from the pairs of opposites? नित्यसत्त्वस्थः ever remaining in the Sattva (goodness)? निर्योगक्षेमः free from (the thought of) acisition and preservation? आत्मवान् established in the Self.Commentary Guna means attribute or ality. It is substance as well as ality. Nature (Prakriti) is made up of three Gunas? viz.? Sattva (purity? light or harmony)? Rajas (passion or motion) and Tamas (darkness or inertia). The pairs of opposites are heat and cold? pleasure and pain? gain and loss? victory and defeat? honour and dishonour? praise and censure. He who is anxious about new acuqisitions or about the preservation of his old possessions cannot have peace of mind. He is ever restless. He cannot concentrate or meditate on the Self. He cannot practise virtue. Therefore? Lord Krishna advises Arjuna that he should be free from the thought of acisition and preservation of things. (Cf.IX.20?21).
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 2.45
The three qualities—sattva, rajas, and tamas—in their various proportions compose all beings. The inner faculties of mind and intellect are themselves expressions of these three qualities. To transcend the three qualities means to transcend the mind itself. Consider a vessel fashioned from an alloy of copper, zinc, and tin: if one were asked to separate these three metals from the vessel, the vessel itself would be destroyed. The Upanishads teach the seeker to go beyond the mind, so that through direct knowledge of one's own nature, one may recognize the Divine. Because many have failed to understand this clear teaching of the Upanishads in its true sense, they have turned away from their own dharma. Therefore, the Gita calls for a spiritual awakening. Here, in other words, the Upanishadic wisdom is conveyed: Arjun, become free from the three qualities. If a physician prescribes a medicine that exists nowhere in the world, that prescription is useless. Similarly, though the teaching to transcend the three qualities for the realization of the Self is noble, if the specific practice by which this is to be accomplished is not clearly explained, that teaching remains hollow. Knowledge, action, and inaction are respectively the characteristics of sattva, rajas, and tamas. In the second line of this verse, the practice of rising above the three qualities and dwelling in infinite bliss is revealed. The teaching of equanimity previously given is here restated in different words.
The dualities of life—pleasure and pain, cold and heat, gain and loss—are opposing and contradictory experiences. To remain equanimous amid all these is to transcend duality, to be free from it. This is the teaching Sri Krishna imparts to Arjun. Among the three qualities, sattva is the subtlest and inherently pure; yet through association with the sorrowful rajas and the deluding tamas, even sattva becomes tainted. Delusion means failing to perceive things as they truly are—a veiling. This causes things to be experienced in distorted forms, called distraction, which results in sorrow. Therefore, to abide in sattva means to dwell in the peace born of discernment. To establish oneself in sattva requires constant, vigilant effort. By "freedom from yoga and kshema," yoga means acquiring what is not yet possessed, and kshema means protecting what has been acquired. All human effort is directed toward yoga and kshema. In these two words lie encompassed the actions of all beings in the world. In other words, yoga and kshema describe all actions driven by ego and self-interest. These two are also the source of human anxieties and distractions. To become free from yoga and kshema means to abandon both, thereby gaining immediate freedom from all worries.
It is easy to teach freedom from duality and from yoga and kshema, but knowledge of truth bears fruit for the seeker only when the practical method for bringing this knowledge into life is also taught. In this verse, such a method is indicated in the words: "Become established in the Self." The suffering and pain arising from duality and from yoga and kshema torment us only when our identification is with the body, mind, and intellect, and when ego and self-interest predominate. The practice of releasing this identification with these non-Self conditions and remaining continuously aware of one's own pure, conscious nature—distinct from them—is the means to become established in the Self, to dwell in one's true nature. When this is perfected, ego is destroyed, and the seeker becomes established in the Self, transcending the three qualities. For such a perfected being, the Vedas have no further purpose. Indeed, it is through the existence of the wise that the authority of the Vedic teachings is established. If the fruits of Vedic rituals are to be renounced, why perform them at all? The answer is...