Chapter XXIII

The three Gunas, Sathwa, Rajas and Thamas, undergo various permutations and combinations and modifications and become manifested as all this creation, this universe, this Prakrithi. Therefore, this Prakrithi is subject to changes; it is not fixed, true. But the Atma is Chaithanya which is Thejorupam, sheer effulgence; and so it is not subject to blemishes or modifications. The body is Prakrithi; Buddhi and Manas are also Prakrithi; for this reason, they too differ according to the degree of excess or deficiency of one or other of the Gunas.

Sathwaguna is steady, pure, unselfish, light; so those who have this characteristic will have no wish or want; they will be fit for the knowledge of Atma. Those with Rajoguna will be engaged in acts tarnished with a tinge of ego. They may have the urge to do service to others, but that urge will drive them on to win fame and take pride in their achievements. They will yearn for their own good, along with the good of others. Those who are endowed with Thamoguna are overcome by the darkness of ignorance and so they grope about, not knowing what is right and what is wrong.

Any one of these three Gunas makes the person unfit for the realisation of the highest reality, which liberates the individual and merges him in the universal. Since the person is embedded in Prakrithi, he fondly believes himself to be experiencing the Gunas which form Prakrithi. But this is an illusion. To destroy this illusion, inquiry into the nature and characteristics of the Kshethra or Prakrithi has become necessary. For the beginner, the Sadhaka, inquiry into knowledge and the known are essential; but the Jnani has to pay more attention to these Gunas. The known is the reality, the experience of the divine bliss of all.

Arjuna listened attentively to all this and at the end he asked, "O Lord! What are the qualities that a Jnani should possess?" Krishna replied, "Partha! He must have the twenty virtues in ample measure. You might ask what they are. I shall tell you about them; listen. But do not conclude that the goal can be reached when you have them all. The goal is immortality, Amrithathwam. That can be reached only by Brahmsaakshathkaara, experiencing Brahmam, as Sarvam Khalvidam Brahmam. When knowledge is full, the knower becomes the known."