:: Chapter 18 :: Conclusion--The Perfection of Renunciation

Text 39

yad agre canubandhe ca
sukham mohanam atmanah
nidralasya-pramadottham
tat tamasam udahrtam

Synonyms

yat--that which; agre--in the beginning; ca--also; anubandhe--at the end; ca--also; sukham--happiness; mohanam--illusory; atmanah--of the self; nidra--sleep; alasya--laziness; pramada--and illusion; uttham--produced of; tat--that; tamasam--in the mode of ignorance; udahrtam--is said to be.

Translation

And that happiness which is blind to self-realization, which is delusion from beginning to end and which arises from sleep, laziness and illusion is said to be of the nature of ignorance.

Purport

One who takes pleasure in laziness and in sleep is certainly in the mode of darkness, ignorance, and one who has no idea how to act and how not to act is also in the mode of ignorance. For the person in the mode of ignorance, everything is illusion. There is no happiness either in the beginning or at the end. For the person in the mode of passion there might be some kind of ephemeral happiness in the beginning and at the end distress, but for the person in the mode of ignorance there is only distress both in the beginning and at the end.

Text 40

na tad asti prthivyam va
divi devesu va punah
sattvam prakrti-jair muktam
yad ebhih syat tribhir gunaih

Synonyms

na--not; tat--that; asti--there is; prthivyam--on the earth; va--or; divi--in the higher planetary system; devesu--amongst the demigods; va--or; punah--again; sattvam--existence; prakrti aih--born of material nature; muktam--liberated; yat--that; ebhih--from the influence of these; syat--is; tribhih--three; gunaih--modes of material nature.

Translation

There is no being existing, either here or among the demigods in the higher planetary systems, which is freed from these three modes born of material nature.

Purport

The Lord here summarizes the total influence of the three modes of material nature all over the universe.

Text 41

brahmana-ksatriya-visam
sudranam ca parantapa
karmani pravibhaktani
svabhava-prabhavair gunaih

Synonyms

brahmana--of the brahmanas; ksatriya--the ksatriyas; visam--and the vaisyas; sudranam--of the sudras; ca--and; parantapa--O subduer of the enemies; karmani--the activities; pravibhaktani--are divided; svabhava--their own nature; prabhavaih--born of; gunaih--by the modes of material nature.

Translation

Brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras are distinguished by the qualities born of their own natures in accordance with the material modes, O chastiser of the enemy.

Purport

Text 42

samo damas tapah saucam
ksantir arjavam eva ca
jnanam vijnanam astikyam
brahma-karma svabhava-jam

Synonyms

samah--peacefulness; damah--self-control; tapah--austerity; saucam--purity; ksantih--tolerance; arjavam--honesty; eva--certainly; ca--and; jnanam--knowledge; vijnanam--wisdom; astikyam--religiousness; brahma--of a brahmana; karma--duty; svabhavajam--born of his own nature.

Translation

Peacefulness, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, honesty, knowledge, wisdom and religiousness--these are the natural qualities by which the brahmanas work.