Bhagavad Gita Chapter 14, Verse 9

English Translation

O scion of the Bharata dynasty, sattva attaches one to happiness, rajas to action, while tamas, covering up knowledge, leads to inadvertence also.

Detailed Commentary

'Sattvam sukhe sañjayati' — Sattva guna conquers the sadhaka by engaging them in happiness and bringing them under its sway. This means, when sattvic happiness arises, the sadhaka becomes attached to it. Attachment to happiness does not allow them to progress, due to which they cannot rise above Sattva guna and cannot become Gunatita. Even though Bhagavan previously spoke of Sattva guna binding through attachment to happiness and knowledge, here the victory of Sattva guna is mentioned only in happiness, not in knowledge. This implies that, in reality, the sadhaka is bound only by attachment to happiness. When knowledge arises, the sadhaka develops the ego of 'I am the knower,' which gives happiness and binds the sadhaka. Therefore, here the victory of Sattva guna is stated only in happiness. 'Rajah karmani Bharata' — Rajo guna conquers a person by engaging them in action. This means, a person likes to perform actions. Just as a small child feels joy while playing and cries when stopped, similarly, action is dear to a person, and they feel bad when stopped from performing it. This is attachment to action, through which Rajo guna conquers. From 'You have no right to the fruits of action' (Gita 2.47), the idea arises of giving up attachment to the fruit, but not of giving up attachment to the action itself. From the thought, 'You have a right only to action; never to its fruits' (Gita 2.47) and 'one who wishes to ascend to Yoga,' one understands that actions must indeed be performed. To avoid this attachment, Bhagavan states here that Rajo guna conquers by engaging one in action. Therefore, the sadhaka should remain diligent in their dutiful actions (kartavya karma), but there should be no attachment, fondness, or insistence on actions — 'na karmasvanuṣajjate' (Gita 6.4). 'Jñānamāvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde sañjayatyuta' — When Tamoguna arises, it covers the discrimination of what is real and unreal (sat-asat), what is duty and non-duty (kartavya-akartavya), and casts one into negligence (pramāda). It does not allow knowledge to awaken and engages a person in undesired actions, abandoning their duties. From Sattva guna arise knowledge (jñāna) and light (prakāśa, clarity). Tamoguna is their opposite; therefore, by veiling knowledge, it casts one into negligence (pramāda), and by veiling light, it casts one into laziness (ālasya) and sleep (nidrā), due to which matters of knowledge are not understood. Connection — How each Guna conquers a human being will be explained in the subsequent verse.