That action which is regulated and which is performed without attachment, without love or hatred, and without desire for fruitive results is said to be in the mode of goodness.
Regulated occupational duties, as prescribed in the scriptures in terms of the different orders and divisions of society, performed without attachment or proprietary rights and therefore without any love or hatred, and performed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness for the satisfaction of the Supreme, without self-satisfaction or self-gratification, are called actions in the mode of goodness.
TEXT 24
यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहंकारेण वा पुनः ।
क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम् ।। 24 ।।
yat tu kāmepsunā karma
sāhaṅkāreṇa vā punaḥ
kriyate bahulāyāsaṁ
tad rājasam udāhṛtam
yat – that which; tu – but; kāma-īpsunā – by one with desires for fruitive results; karma – work; sa-ahaṅkāreṇa – with ego; vā – or; punaḥ – again; kriyate – is performed; bahula-āyāsam – with great labor; tat – that; rājasam – in the mode of passion; udāhṛtam – is said to be.
But action performed with great effort by one seeking to gratify his desires, and enacted from a sense of false ego, is called action in the mode of passion.
TEXT 25
अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् ।
मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते ।। 25 ।।
anubandhaṁ kṣayaṁ hiṁsām
anapekṣya ca pauruṣam
mohād ārabhyate karma
yat tat tāmasam ucyate
anubandham – of future bondage; kṣayam – destruction; hiṁsām – and distress to others; anapekṣya – without considering the consequences; ca – also; pauruṣam – self-sanctioned; mohāt – by illusion; ārabhyate – is begun; karma – work; yat – which; tat – that; tāmasam – in the mode of ignorance; ucyate – is said to be.
That action performed in illusion, in disregard of scriptural injunctions, and without concern for future bondage or for violence or distress caused to others is said to be in the mode of ignorance.
One has to give account of one’s actions to the state or to the agents of the Supreme Lord called the Yamadūtas. Irresponsible work is destructive because it destroys the regulative principles of scriptural injunction. It is often based on violence and is distressing to other living entities. Such irresponsible work is carried out in the light of one’s personal experience. This is called illusion. And all such illusory work is a product of the mode of ignorance.
TEXT 26
मुक्तसङ्गोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वितः ।
सिद्धयसिद्धयोर्निर्विकारः कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ।। 26 ।।
mukta-saṅgo ’nahaṁ-vādī
dhṛty-utsāha-samanvitaḥ
siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikāraḥ
kartā sāttvika ucyate
mukta-saṅgaḥ – liberated from all material association; anaham-vādī – without false ego; dhṛti – with determination; utsāha – and great enthusiasm; samanvitaḥ – qualified; siddhi – in perfection; asiddhyoḥ – and failure; nirvikāraḥ – without change; kartā – worker; sāttvikaḥ – in the mode of goodness; ucyate – is said to be.
One who performs his duty without association with the modes of material nature, without false ego, with great determination and enthusiasm, and without wavering in success or failure is said to be a worker in the mode of goodness.
A person in Kṛṣṇa consciousness is always transcendental to the material modes of nature. He has no expectations for the result of the work entrusted to him, because he is above false ego and pride. Still, he is always enthusiastic till the completion of such work. He does not worry about the distress undertaken; he is always enthusiastic. He does not care for success or failure; he is equal in both distress and happiness. Such a worker is situated in the mode of goodness.
TEXT 27
रागी कर्मफलप्रेप्सुर्लुब्धो हिंसात्मकोऽशुचिः ।
हर्षशोकान्वितः कर्ता राजसः परिकीर्तितः ।। 27 ।।
rāgī karma-phala-prepsur
lubdho hiṁsātmako ’śuciḥ
harṣa-śokānvitaḥ kartā
rājasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ
rāgī – very much attached; karma-phala – the fruit of the work; prepsuḥ – desiring; lubdhaḥ – greedy; hiṁsā-ātmakaḥ – always envious; aśuciḥ – unclean; harṣa-śoka-anvitaḥ – subject to joy and sorrow; kartā – such a worker; rājasaḥ – in the mode of passion; parikīrtitaḥ – is declared.
The worker who is attached to work and the fruits of work, desiring to enjoy those fruits, and who is greedy, always envious, impure, and moved by joy and sorrow, is said to be in the mode of passion.
A person is too much attached to a certain kind of work or to the result because he has too much attachment for materialism or hearth and home, wife and children. Such a person has no desire for higher elevation in life. He is simply concerned with making this world as materially comfortable as possible. He is generally very greedy, and he thinks that anything attained by him is permanent and never to be lost. Such a person is envious of others and prepared to do anything wrong for sense gratification. Therefore such a person is unclean, and he does not care whether his earning is pure or impure. He is very happy if his work is successful and very much distressed when his work is not successful. Such is the worker in the mode of passion.
TEXT 28
अयुक्तः प्राकृतः स्तब्धः शठो नैष्कृतिकोऽलसः ।
विषादी दीर्घसूत्री च कर्ता तामस उच्यते ।। 28 ।।
ayuktaḥ prākṛtaḥ stabdhaḥ
śaṭho naiṣkṛtiko ’lasaḥ
viṣādī dīrgha-sūtrī ca
kartā tāmasa ucyate
ayuktaḥ – not referring to the scriptural injunctions; prākṛtaḥ – materialistic; stabdhaḥ – obstinate; śaṭhaḥ – deceitful; naiṣkṛtikaḥ – expert in insulting others; alasaḥ – lazy; viṣādī – morose; dīrgha-sūtrī – procrastinating; ca – also; kartā – worker; tāmasaḥ – in the mode of ignorance; ucyate – is said to be.
The worker who is always engaged in work against the injunctions of the scripture, who is materialistic, obstinate, cheating and expert in insulting others, and who is lazy, always morose and procrastinating is said to be a worker in the mode of ignorance.
In the scriptural injunctions we find what sort of work should be performed and what sort of work should not be performed. Those who do not care for those injunctions engage in work not to be done, and such persons are generally materialistic. They work according to the modes of nature, not according to the injunctions of the scripture. Such workers are not very gentle, and generally they are always cunning and expert in insulting others. They are very lazy; even though they have some duty, they do not do it properly, and they put it aside to be done later on. Therefore they appear to be morose. They procrastinate; anything which can be done in an hour they drag on for years. Such workers are situated in the mode of ignorance.
TEXT 29
बुद्धेर्भेदं धृतेश्चैव गुणतस्त्रिविधं श्रृणु ।
प्रोच्यमानमशेषेण पृथक्त्वेन धनञ्जय ।। 29 ।।
buddher bhedaṁ dhṛteś caiva
guṇatas tri-vidhaṁ śṛṇu
procyamānam aśeṣeṇa
pṛthaktvena dhanañ-jaya
buddheḥ – of intelligence; bhedam – the differences; dhṛteḥ – of steadiness; ca – also; eva – certainly; guṇataḥ – by the modes of material nature; tri-vidham – of three kinds; śṛṇu – just hear; procyamānam – as described by Me; aśeṣeṇa – in detail; pṛthaktvena – differently; dhanam-jaya – O winner of wealth.
O winner of wealth, now please listen as I tell you in detail of the different kinds of understanding and determination, according to the three modes of material nature.
Now after explaining knowledge, the object of knowledge, and the knower, in three different divisions according to the modes of material nature, the Lord is explaining the intelligence and determination of the worker in the same way.
TEXT 30
प्रवृत्तिं च निवृत्तिं च कार्याकार्ये भयाभये ।
बन्धं मोक्षं च या वेत्ति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ सात्त्विकी ।। 30 ।।
pravṛttiṁ ca nivṛttiṁ ca
kāryākārye bhayābhaye
bandhaṁ mokṣaṁ ca yā vetti
buddhiḥ sā pārtha sāttvikī
pravṛttim – doing; ca – also; nivṛttim – not doing; ca – and; kārya – what ought to be done; akārye – and what ought not to be done; bhaya – fear; abhaye – and fearlessness; bandham – bondage; mokṣam – liberation; ca – and; yā – that which; vetti – knows; buddhiḥ – understanding; sā – that; pārtha – O son of Pṛthā; sāttvikī – in the mode of goodness.
O son of Pṛthā, that understanding by which one knows what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what is binding and what is liberating, is in the mode of goodness.
Performing actions in terms of the directions of the scriptures is called pravṛtti, or executing actions that deserve to be performed. And actions which are not so directed are not to be performed. One who does not know the scriptural directions becomes entangled in the actions and reactions of work. Understanding which discriminates by intelligence is situated in the mode of goodness.
TEXT 31
यया धर्ममधर्मं च कार्यं चाकार्यमेव च ।
अयथावत्प्रजानाति बुद्धिः सा पार्थ राजसी ।। 31 ।।
yayā dharmam adharmaṁ ca
kāryaṁ cākāryam eva ca
ayathāvat prajānāti
buddhiḥ sā pārtha rājasī
yayā – by which; dharmam – the principles of religion; adharmam – irreligion; ca – and; kāryam – what ought to be done; ca – also; akāryam – what ought not to be done; eva – certainly; ca – also; ayathā-vat – imperfectly; prajānāti – knows; buddhiḥ – intelligence; sā – that; pārtha – O son of Pṛthā; rājasī – in the mode of passion.
O son of Pṛthā, that understanding which cannot distinguish between religion and irreligion, between action that should be done and action that should not be done, is in the mode of passion.
TEXT 32
अधर्मं धर्ममिति या मन्यते तमसावृता ।
सर्वार्थान्विपरीतांश्च बुद्धिः सा पार्थ तामसी ।। 32 ।।
adharmaṁ dharmam iti yā
manyate tamasāvṛtā
sarvārthān viparītāṁś ca
buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī
adharmam – irreligion; dharmam – religion; iti – thus; yā – which; manyate – thinks; tamasā – by illusion; āvṛtā – covered; sarva-arthān – all things; viparītān – in the wrong direction; ca – also; buddhiḥ – intelligence; sā – that; pārtha –
