Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 20

English Translation

Having transcended these three alities which are the origin of the body, the embodied one, becoming free from birth, death, old age and sorrows, experiences Immortality.

Detailed Commentary

These three forms are born from the *gunas*. Although a discerning individual has no real connection with the body, in the eyes of others, being embodied, he is referred to as a *dehi*. It is the *gunas* alone that give rise to the body. Man, by identifying himself with a particular *guna*, takes birth in higher or lower *yonis* (species/forms of existence) accordingly (Gita 13.21). Those described in this chapter from verses five to eighteen are here referred to as *etān trīn gunān* (these three *gunas*). A discerning individual transcends these three *gunas* and does not consider himself connected with them. He gains the discernment (*vivek*) that all *gunas* are transient, and his true Self (*svarūpa*) is unblemished by the *gunas*. It is important to note that the Self has no connection whatsoever even with *Prakriti*, from which these *gunas* arise; therefore, there can be no question of its connection with the *gunas*. Freed from the sorrows of birth, death, and old age, one attains immortality (*amrita*). When one transcends these three *gunas*, the sorrow of birth, death, and old age ceases. He becomes free from sorrows, for the root cause of all these is attachment to the *gunas*. These *gunas* come and go, constantly undergoing change. The tendencies (*vrittis*) of the *gunas* may be *sāttvic*, *rājasic*, or *tāmasic*, but no *guna* truly enters the Self. The true Self (*svarūpa*) remains unattached (*asaṅga*). This unattached Self is never born. When there is no birth, there is no death either. That which is born also experiences death and old age. It is due to attachment to the *gunas* that one experiences the sorrows of birth, death, and old age. One who fully experiences detachment (*nirliptatā*) from the *gunas* attains the experience of immortality. Due to identifying with the body (*deha*), man considers himself mortal. Death is considered the greatest sorrow. Man's true Self (*svarūpa*) is immortal, but due to attachment to enjoyment (*bhoga*) and accumulation (*saṅgraha*), and the desire to keep the body immortal, the experience of immortality eludes him. A discerning individual experiences immortality when his identification (*tādātmya*) with the body is destroyed. In the previous verse, the attainment of the divine state (*bhagavadbhāva*) was mentioned by 'madbhāvaṁ so'dhigacchati' (he attains My nature), and here the experience of immortality is spoken of as 'amritamaśnute' (he tastes immortality) – both are one and the same. In the Gita also, old age (*vṛddhāvasthā*) is mentioned without specifically naming childhood and youth. This is because in childhood and youth, the body possesses strength, but in old age, the lack of strength brings greater sorrow. A terrifying sorrow is also experienced at the moment of life leaving the body. However, the individual who transcends the three *gunas* is eternally freed from the sorrows of birth, death, and old age. One who gains this realization while still in the body does not take rebirth. It is by identifying oneself with the body that rebirth occurs, and one mistakenly considers the body's sorrows as one's own Self. The body arises from association with the *gunas*. Therefore, the *gunātīta mahāpurusha* (great soul who has transcended the *gunas*) becomes free from all sorrows related to the body. Thus, every individual should experience their *gunātīta svarūpa* (Self beyond the *gunas*) before death. By becoming *gunātīta*, one attains liberation from all kinds of sorrows like death, disease (*vyādhi*), etc., and experiences immortality, thereby never taking rebirth. Connection: The *gunātīta purusha* attains immortality, freed from sorrows. Hearing this, Arjuna's mind develops a curiosity to know the characteristics of such a *gunātīta* individual. Therefore, in the subsequent verse, he questions the Lord.