In answering the first question of Arjuna, the Lord tries to explain how the man of right understanding does not hate the effects of the three gunas when they are clearly present in his inner life; nor does he long for them when they have disappeared. Equanimity is the essence of perfection and a Man-of-Knowledge is ever in perfect balance. He craves for nothing, nor does he strive to acquire anything new. To have and not to have — both are equal to him, because he is beyond both, living a life of inward peace which is totally independent of all environments.

LIGHT ACTIVITY AND DELUSION, WHEN PRESENT, HE HATES NOT — The three terms LIGHT, ACTIVITY and DELUSION are the effects of their respective causes, the predominance of “Sattwa,” of “Rajas” and of “Tamas.” The three gunas are indicated here by their effects. Their presence within him, does not create in him either any special attachment nor any particular aversion. Whether his mind and intellect are under the influence of Rajas or Tamas, even when he feels agitated or deluded, he is not in the least affected by them, and therefore, he hates them not. It is only in the absence of Self-Knowledge, that one hates them.

He who has risen above the gunas, is unaffected when they appear in his mind. No doubt, a man who is Sattwic develops an attachment for its essential peace and serenity, its thrills and joys, and he hates when this inward joy is disturbed by agitations (Rajas) or by dullness (Tamas).

NOR LONGS FOR THEM WHEN ABSENT — Not only has he no particular attachment for them, but also, he is not at all worried by their absence, because he has risen much above these three gunas, and they, together or severally, have nothing to offer him which he has not already gained! To a millionaire, it is immaterial whether or not he gets, by chance, a 25-paise coin on the roadside. He may stoop down and pick it up but he would never congratulate himself for it as much as a poor man would do under the same circumstances.

Thus, he who has extricated himself from the entanglements of the gunas, has transcended fully the equipments of the mind and intellect and lives the infinite joys of the Self. To him, the ordinary vehicles of joys and sorrows can no more supply any special quota of experiences. Ever steady and balanced, he lives beyond all storms and clouds in a realm of unbroken peace and brilliance. He conquers the world of Pure Awareness — attains the State of Godhood.

NOW FOLLOWS AN EXHAUSTIVE ANALYSIS AND VIVID DESCRIPTION OF THE CONDUCT OF HIM WHO HAS RISEN ABOVE THE ‘GUNAS’:

Na dvesti, he neither dislikes these; prakasam, illumination (knowledge), an effect of sattva; pravrttim, activity, an effect of rajas; and moham, delusion, an effect of tamas; sampravrttani, when they appear, when they fully emerge in the form of objects (of experience)-. ‘In me has arisen a perception which is a result of tamas; thery I have become deluded’; so also, ‘In me has risen (the inclination to) action which is painful and is born of rajas. By that rajas I have been actuated, carried away from my own nature. This is a matter of sorrow to me that there has been a deviation from my own nature’; similarly, ‘The ality of sattva, in the form of illumination that is knowledge, binds me by attributing discrimination to me and making me attached to happiness’-(by thinking) in these ways one dislikes them because of his being not fully enlightened. The person who has transcended the alities does not dislike them in this manner. Unlike a person having sattva etc., who longs for the effects of sattva etc. which withdraw themselves after becoming manifest to him, the person who has gone beyond the alities na kanksati, does not long for them in that way; nivrttani, when they disappear. This is the idea. This is not an indication that can be perceived by others. What then? Since this characteristic is perceivable to oneself, it is merely subjective. For dislike or longing, which is a subjective experience of a person, is not seen by another. Now, then, the Lord gives the reply to the question, ‘What is the behaviour of one who has gone beyond the alities?’: