Bhagwad Gita - Post 179

Verse 22

The Blessed Lord said:

Light, activity and delusion,—when they are present, O Arjuna, he hates not, nor does he long for them when they are absent!

Sri Krishna uses the primary characteristics of the Gunas instead of the names of the Gunas themselves, thereby giving more importance to the qualities they represent than to their mere names.

All three of them have the effect of binding the soul. Knowing that, one would expect the TriGunateeta to flee from all of them. But he does nothing of the kind. He in fact remains as a neutral observer of all them, facing them and not escaping from them. The Lord brings out this attitude in all the verses of His reply.

The lesson to learn is that transcending the Gunas does not mean escaping from life. That would teach us nothing. The true saint faces all that life throws at him with equanimity. Therein lies his greatness.

It is the same when there is the absence of any Guna; he does not miss them by longing for them to return to him. This attitude also requires equanimity and characterizes the relationship that he has developed with the Gunas.

THE GUNATEETAH

The Gunas are seen as simply passing through his Upadhis (limiting factors in a human being, the BMI), but not through ‘him’. This is a key point to grasp. 

There is a detachment in the Siddha, the perfected sage, by which he remains aloof from all that goes on through his Upadhis. The real Self is his new identity. He no longer sees himself as the ego-driven “I”, but has gone beyond that narrow identity to a more universal identity called the ‘Self’. This is the implication of transcending the Gunas.

The TriGunateeta does not waste his time trying to avoid Tamas and build up Sattva, however much may have been written about their undesirability or desirability respectively. 

He simply ignores the mind itself as a play of the Gunas. Thought itself is a creation of the Gunas. Taking his mind completely beyond the reach of the Gunas, he discovers there his ‘place of safety’ from their onslaughts.

Verse 23

He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the qualities, and who, knowing that the qualities are active, is self-centered and moves not.

Udaaseenavat: “like one who is indifferent”. Being indifferent means remaining as a witness only. One cannot take sides when one is a witness. He neither sides with Sattwa, nor hates Tamas. He just takes in the scene without passing any judgement on anyone. 

While the Gunas act as they are programmed to act according to their nature, the aspirant allows them to pass by without being distracted by them. Suppose the active Guna prompts him to act against Dharma; he does not co-operate with it, but just watches it go by. If it prompts him to do something beneficial, he will co-operate with it yet still remain as an observer of what is being done. 

Why does he behave this way? 

It is because he understands that everything is being done by the Gunas, not by him. He does not carry the ego of “doer-ship” for the act being done. 

In order to watch the play of the three Gunas in himself, he should be an observer from beyond the Gunas. Thus, established in his Pure Spiritual Nature, he is able to observe detachedly and enjoy the play of the Gunas in himself and in the world around him. 

An observer of a street fight, looking down from his balcony, is not affected by what he observes; so too, the Man-of-Wisdom, awakened to the Spiritual Consciousness, swerves not from his consummate equilibrium, when he witnesses the play of the Gunas in himself and ever remains established in his own Divine Nature (ava-tishthati).

Love.