🌟 Chapter 14 – The Three Gunas (Shlokas 21–27) | Beyond Nature: The Path to Liberation

Shloka 21

Sanskrit:
अर्जुन उवाच
कैर्लिङ्गैस्त्रीन्गुणानेतानतीतो भवति प्रभो।
किमाचार: कथं चैतांस्त्रीन्गुणानतिवर्तते॥

Hindi Translation:
अर्जुन ने पूछा – हे प्रभु! किन लक्षणों से यह जाना जाए कि कोई व्यक्ति इन तीन गुणों से परे हो गया है? वह कैसा आचरण करता है और इन गुणों से कैसे पार होता है?

English Translation:
Arjuna said: O Lord, by what signs is one known who has gone beyond the three gunas? What is his conduct, and how does he transcend them?

🔍 Deep Reflection:
Arjuna’s question is our question too: How do we recognize someone truly free? And how do *we* cross the layers of conditioning, distraction, and emotional turbulence?

🪔 Modern Insight:
This isn’t philosophy for monks alone. In a world that measures us by output and emotion, **freedom from reactivity** is the real spiritual revolution.

Shloka 14.22

Sanskrit:
श्रीभगवानुवाच
प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहमेव च पाण्डव।
न द्वेष्टि सम्प्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति॥

Hindi Translation:
श्रीभगवान ने कहा – हे पाण्डव! जब प्रकाश (सत्त्व), प्रवृत्ति (रजस) और मोह (तमस) उत्पन्न होते हैं, तब वह न तो उन्हें द्वेष करता है और न ही उनके जाने पर लालसा करता है।

English Translation:
The Blessed Lord said: O Pandava, he neither hates the presence of illumination, activity, or delusion, nor does he long for them when they are absent.

🔍 Deep Reflection:
This is equanimity: being unaffected whether peace, restlessness, or confusion arises. Such a person is **anchored in self**, not in the swinging moods of the gunas.

🪔 Modern Insight:
Being beyond the gunas means: No high is clung to, no low is feared. Emotional maturity isn’t about suppression—it’s about *non-identification*.

Shloka 14.23

Sanskrit:
उदासीनवदासीनो गुणैर्यो न विचाल्यते।
गुणा वर्तन्त इत्येवं योऽवतिष्ठति नेङ्गते॥

Hindi Translation:
जो व्यक्ति तटस्थ भाव से बैठा रहता है, जिसे गुण विचलित नहीं करते, और जो जानता है कि ‘गुण ही कार्य कर रहे हैं’, वह अडोल रहता है।

English Translation:
He who sits like one indifferent, undisturbed by the gunas, knowing that the gunas alone act, and remains firm and unmoved—such a person is said to transcend them.

🔍 Deep Reflection:
The witness consciousness—seeing without grasping, understanding without reacting—is the highest yogic stance.

🪔 Modern Insight:
When things go wrong, can you stay centered? When things go right, can you remain humble? That’s **living beyond conditioning**.

Shloka 14.24

Sanskrit:
समदु:खसुख: स्वस्थ: समलोष्टाश्मकाञ्चन:।
तुल्यप्रियाप्रियो धीरस्तुल्यनिन्दात्मसंस्तुति:॥

Hindi Translation:
जो सुख-दुख में सम रहता है, जो स्वयं में स्थिर है, जिसके लिए मिट्टी, पत्थर और सोना समान हैं; जो प्रिय-अप्रिय, निंदा-प्रशंसा में समान रहता है—वह धीर पुरुष है।

English Translation:
He who is balanced in pleasure and pain, established in the Self, regards a clod, a stone, and gold alike; who remains equal in pleasant and unpleasant experiences, in praise and blame—is wise.

🔍 Deep Reflection:
This is **radical neutrality**. Not indifference—but inner mastery. He values not objects, but *essence*. He reacts not to words, but holds stillness inside.

🪔 Modern Insight:
Think you're growing? Check this list: do you take praise and criticism equally? If not—start there. Growth begins where identity softens.

Shloka 14.25

Sanskrit:
मानापमानयोस्तुल्यस्तुल्यो मित्रारिपक्षयो:।
सर्वारम्भपरित्यागी गुणातीत: स उच्यते॥

Hindi Translation:
जो मान और अपमान में समान रहता है, जो मित्र और शत्रु को एक समान देखता है, और जो सभी आरंभों को त्याग चुका है—वह गुणातीत कहलाता है।

English Translation:
He who is equal in honor and dishonor, equal to friend and enemy, and has renounced all undertakings—is said to have transcended the gunas.

🔍 Deep Reflection:
To **renounce all undertakings** doesn’t mean laziness—it means freedom from egoic ambition. Acting without craving becomes divine.

🪔 Modern Insight:
The greatest sign of strength is balance in relationships—not reacting to flattery or insult. This is inner power, not passivity.

Shloka 14.26

Sanskrit:
मां च योऽव्यभिचारेण भक्तियोगेन सेवते।
स गुणान्समतीत्यैतान्ब्रह्मभूयाय कल्पते॥

Hindi Translation:
जो व्यक्ति अविचल भक्ति के साथ मेरी सेवा करता है, वह इन तीनों गुणों को पार कर ब्रह्मरूप हो जाता है।

English Translation:
He who serves Me with unwavering devotion transcends the three gunas and becomes fit for realization of Brahman.

🔍 Deep Reflection:
Bhakti is not just an emotion—it’s the **highest intelligence of the heart**. Steady love for the Divine melts away the illusion of ego and gunas.

🪔 Modern Insight:
In an age of overthinking, devotion brings **simplicity and surrender**. It’s not weakness—it’s the most fearless act.

Shloka 14.27

Sanskrit:
ब्रह्मणो हि प्रतिष्ठाहममृतस्याव्ययस्य च।
शाश्वतस्य च धर्मस्य सुखस्यैकान्तिकस्य च॥

Hindi Translation:
क्योंकि मैं ही उस ब्रह्म का आधार हूँ—जो अमर, अविनाशी, शाश्वत धर्म और परम सुख का स्वरूप है।

English Translation:
For I am the foundation of the immortal, indestructible Brahman, of eternal dharma, and of the absolute bliss.

🔍 Deep Reflection:
Krishna ends this chapter not by leaving us at the gunas, but by pointing to the **eternal essence**—which is *Himself*, the source of all bliss and dharma.

🪔 Modern Insight:
The ultimate identity is not personality, not emotion—but pure awareness rooted in the Divine. You are not just a wave. You are the ocean.

📜 Ancient Verse – Modern Wisdom

Shloka	Timeless Insight	Modern Relevance
14.21	The seeker asks: How to rise above the gunas?	True freedom begins with inquiry
14.23	Remaining untouched by ups and downs	Be the calm in your emotional weather
14.25	Equanimity in honor and insult	Inner confidence is beyond opinion
14.26	Devotion transcends nature	Love is the fastest path to liberation
14.27	The Divine is the base of Brahman	Truth is not found—it’s returned to

🧘 Message to Gen Z

• You are not your mood. Not even your productivity. You are the seer.
• Be rooted like a tree—seasons come and go, but you stay grounded.
• Devotion isn’t outdated. It’s the most radical inner technology.
• When others fluctuate, don’t absorb—observe.
• Freedom isn’t in doing less or more, but in knowing who’s doing.