Verse 18.22

Verse 18.22: “But, that which adheres—without reason—to one solitary objective as though it were the entirety; which is slight and not partaking of reality; that knowledge is declared to be Tamas-dominated. (549)

Commentary called Jnaneshwari by Jnaneshwar:

Oh Kiriti, that knowledge (which) wanders about naked, stripped of all clothes in the form of Scriptural mandates, and therefore, the Shruti (Vedas) turns its back ori it. Being boycotted also by other putative Scriptures, which to avoid all contact even of hearing its ill repute, banish it to the mountain in the form of non-Aryan i.e. heinous (mleccha) creed miscalled religion. The knowledge being in this way possessed by the Tamas demon roams about like a lunatic (getting mad). That knowledge observes no restrictions in regard to forming bodily contacts and holds no object as prohibited, in the way a stray dog in a desolate village devours everything, except such as cannot (on account of its size) be held in his mouth, or if taken it would only bum his mouth; then only he lets the thing alone. A rat stealing gold (ornaments) takes no account (of the fact) whether it is fine or alloyed; or a flesh-eater takes no account whether the flesh is (of) fair or dark (animals).

The conflagration in a forest does not discriminate while burning the forest growth: or a fly sitting (on a body) does not care to see if it is dead or alive. A crow does not consider if his find is a vomit or served food, or whether it is fresh or completely rotten. In that way, while dealing with objects, that knowledge has no discretion to abandon what is prohibited, and to accept only what is permitted by Scriptures. Whatever he sees he takes it as intended for enjoyment, and (if it happens to be) a woman and riches, he assigns them to the male generative organ and the stomach respectively. He does not know how to discriminate between holy and unholy waters: quenching the thirst and feeling happy is alone what he cares for. Similar is the case in regard to eatables and non-eatables, or forbidden and unforbidden; his only criterion is: what is agreeable to the palate is holy and pure.

As regards womenfolk, the only relation through which he can understand them is the sense of touch: he knows (entertains) no other idea about them except one viz. sexual enjoyment. Whoever serves (its) selfish purpose is (alone) considered as a relative, blood relationship being no consideration at all with such knowledge. Death devours all, as also the fire consumes all: in that way Tamas knowledge considers the entire world as its own wealth. Thus, to one who considers the entire universe as only an object of enjoyment, its only end and purpose (fruit) being the preservation (feeding) of his body. The sea is the only final place of repose for the water descending down from the sky (clouds); in that way all the endeavours of Tamasic knowledge culminate in the feeding of his belly. The Tamasic knowledge is ever in the dark in regard to the realisation of the fact that there are in existence places like Heaven and Hell, or the desirability of securing Heaven and avoiding Hell. That knowledge does not extend beyond taking the body (mortal frame) as the soul and the stone idol as God.

According to that knowledge the soul dies (disappears) together with all its actions at the fall of the body, and then there remains no one to enjoy the action’s fruit. Further (according to it) if the existence of God is presumed, and if it is accepted that He dispenses pleasure and pain to the people according to their acts, then that very God is fit to be sold away and the proceeds used for subsistence. If the (stone) idols of God in the village temple should be taken as ruling (the universe) would the mountains in the country remain idle (i.e. the mountains have a far superior claim to rule the universe vis-a-vis the stone idols) asks the Tamasic knowledge? Further, in short, if the existence of God is somehow accepted—then that God must be taken to be a stone and the soul the body. That knowledge thus regards merit and sin and other things as bare lies, and further regards as of benefit to be always (in the enjoyment of objects, etc.) devouring all like the wild fire.

According to the experience (of that knowledge) only the objects that are perceptible to the physical eye and are palatable (pleasing) to the senses are real. In short, Oh Partha, such line of thinking goes on widening to such an extent, that it proves unavailing, like the coil of smoke ascending the sky or like the vigorous shoot of pith (bheṇḍhā), whether dry or fresh, getting overgrown and broken, or like the ear of com (kaṇīsa) of a sugarcane, or a neuter amongst men, or a pasture of prickly pear, or the mind of a child, or the riches in the house of a thief, or the nipples hanging down from the neck of a she-goat. Knowledge unavailing like all these, and lustreless in appearance, I call as Tamas-knowledge.

The very name “knowledge” given to it carries no greater sense than that attached to the broad “eyes” in the case of one born blind or to the fine “ears” in the case of one deaf, or to the term “drink” applied to wine. In that way the term knowledge applied to Tamas is only a misnomer (āḍanāmvāce—nominal). Well, how far to proceed with this! Such Tamas i.e. knowledge is no real knowledge at all. It is only a visual darkness. In this way has been explained to you—the head gem amongst the hearers—the knowledge with its three-fold distinctions, consequent on the three Guna-constituents, with the signs of all these. (Similarly) it is with the help of the light of the three-fold knowledge, that all actions of the active agent, become discernible, Oh Dhanurdhara. All actions follow (the three ways of) the three-fold knowledge, in the way a water-flow, joining a current coming from the front, flows in a different (third) direction. The actions also become similarly three-fold following the three-fold knowledge, the Sattvic one of which hear first.