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ARJUNA:
IF men forsake the holy ordinance, | |
| Heedless of Shastras, yet keep faith at heart | |
| And worship, what shall be the state of those, | |
| Great Krishna! Sattwan, Rajas, Tamas? Say! | |
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KRISHNA:
Threefold the faith is of mankind, and springs | 5 |
| From those three qualities,—becoming “true,” | |
| Or “passion-stained,” or “dark,” as thou shalt hear! | |
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| The faith of each believer, Indian Prince! | |
| Conforms itself to what he truly is. | |
| Where thou shalt see a worshiper, that one | 10 |
| To what he worships lives assimilate, | |
| [Such as the shrine, so is the votary,] | |
| The “soothfast” souls adore true gods; the souls | |
| Obeying Rajas worship Rakshasas 1 | |
| Or Yakshas; and the men of Darkness pray | 15 |
| To Pretas and to Bhutas. 2 Yea, and those | |
| Who practise bitter penance, not enjoined | |
| By rightful rule—penance which hath its root | |
| In self-sufficient, proud hypocrisies— | |
| Those men, passion-beset, violent, wild, | 20 |
| Torturing—the witless ones—My elements | |
| Shut in fair company within their flesh, | |
| (Nay, Me myself, present within the flesh!) | |
| Know them to devils devoted, not to Heaven! | |
| For like as foods are threefold for mankind | 25 |
| In nourishing, so is there threefold way | |
| Of worship, abstinence, and almsgiving! | |
| Hear this of Me! there is a food which brings | |
| Force, substance, strength, and health, and joy to live, | |
| Being well-seasoned, cordial comforting, | 30 |
| The “Soothfast” meat. And there be foods which bring | |
| Aches and unrests, and burning blood, and grief, | |
| Being too biting, heating, salt, and sharp, | |
| And therefore craved by too strong appetite | |
| And there is foul food—kept from over-night, 3 | 35 |
| Savorless, filthy, which the foul will eat, | |
| A feast of rottenness, meet for the lips | |
| Of such as love the “Darkness.” | |
| |
| Thus with rites;— | |
| A sacrifice not for rewardment made, | 40 |
| Offered in rightful wise, when he who vows | |
| Sayeth, with heart devout, “This I should do!” | |
| Is “Soothfast” rite. But sacrifice for gain, | |
| Offered for good repute, be sure that this, | |
| O Best of Bharatas! is Rajas-rite, | 45 |
| With stamp of “passion.” And a scarifice | |
| Offered against the laws, with no due dole | |
| Of food-giving, with no accompaniment | |
| Of hallowed hymn, nor largesse to the priests, | |
| In faithless celebration, call it vile. | 50 |
| The deed of “Darkness!”—lost! | |
| |
| Worship of gods | |
| Meriting worship; lowly reverence | |
| Of Twice-borns, Teachers, Elders; Purity, | |
| Rectitude, and the Brahmacharya’s vow, | 55 |
| And not to injure any helpless thing,— | |
| These make a true religiousness of Act. | |
| |
| Words causing no man woe, words ever true, | |
| Gentle and pleasing words, and those ye say | |
| In murmured reading of a Sacred Writ,— | 60 |
| These make the true religiousness of Speech. | |
| |
| Serenity of soul, benignity, | |
| Sway of the silent Spirit, constant stress | |
| To sanctify the Nature,—these things make | |
| Good rite, and true religiousness of Mind. | 65 |
| |
| Such threefold faith, in highest piety | |
| Kept, with no hope of gain, by hearts devote, | |
| Is perfect work of Sattwan, true belief. | |
| |
| Religion shown in act of proud display | |
| To win good entertainment, worship, fame, | 70 |
| Such—say I—is of Rajas, rash and vain. | |
| |
| Religion followed by a witless will | |
| To torture self, or come at power to hurt | |
| Another,—’tis of Tamas, dark and ill. | |
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| The gift lovingly given, when one shall say | 75 |
| “Now must I gladly give!” when he who takes | |
| Can render nothing back; made in due place, | |
| Due time, and to a meet recipient, | |
| Is gift of Sattwan, fair and profitable. | |
| |
| The gift selfishly given, where to receive | 80 |
| Is hoped again, or when some end is sought, | |
| Or where the gift is proffered with a grudge, | |
| This is of Rajas, stained with impulse, ill. | |
| |
| The gift churlishly flung, at evil time, | |
| In wrongful place, to base recipient, | 85 |
| Made in disdain or harsh unkindliness, | |
| Is gift of Tamas, dark; it doth not bless! 4 | |
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Here endeth Chapter XVII. of the Bhagavad-Gîtâ, | |
entitled “Sraddhatrayavibhâgayôg,” or | |
“The Book of Religion by the Threefold | 90 |
Kinds of Faith” | |
