Verse 18.28

Sanskrit text, Unicode transliteration, Word-for-word and English translation of verse 18.28:

अयुक्तः प्राकृतः स्तब्धः शठो नैष्कृतिकोऽलसः ।
विषादी दीर्घ-सूत्री च कर्ता तामस उच्यते ॥ २८ ॥

ayuktaḥ prākṛtaḥ stabdhaḥ śaṭho naiṣkṛtiko'lasaḥ |
viṣādī dīrgha-sūtrī ca kartā tāmasa ucyate || 28 ||

ayuktaḥ–fond of improper actions; prākṛtaḥ–whose endeavours are in accordance with his acquired nature; stabdhaḥ–obstinate; śaṭhaḥ–deceitful; naiṣkṛtikaḥ–insulting to others; alasaḥ–lazy; viṣādī–despon-dent; dīrgha-sūtrī–procrastinating; ca–and; kartā–the performer of action; tāmasaḥ–governed by the quality of darkness; ucyate–is said to be.

That performer of action who is fond of improper action, who endeavours according to his own acquired nature, who is obstinate and deceitful, who insults others, and who is lazy, despondent and procrastinating, is said to be governed by the quality of darkness.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Ṭīkā

(By Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura; the innermost intention of the commentary named ‘the shower of essential meanings’)

Ayuktaḥ means ‘one who performs improper acts’. Prākṛtaḥ means ‘one who is situated in his own acquired nature’. Such persons act according to the dictates of their minds. They do not even follow the orders of their guru. Naiṣkṛtikaḥ means ‘one who insults others’.

“Jñānīs, therefore, should perform renunciation in the mode of goodness, which possesses the characteristics described earlier. One should only take shelter of knowledge that is fixed in action in the mode of goodness. Indeed, this is obligatory. One should be a kartā, or performer of action, in the mode of goodness. This is the sannyāsa of the jñānīs, and this is knowledge in relation to Me. It is also related to the self and is the essence of this subject matter. The knowledge of the devotees, however, is beyond the three binding modes of nature. The work performed for Me is beyond the influence of the three modes and is called bhakti. The performer of that action is also beyond those modes.” As Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.25.24) states, “Kaivalya-jñāna, knowledge of the self, is in the mode of goodness; jñāna based on duality, or manifold variety, is in the mode of passion; material knowledge is in the mode of ignorance; and knowledge that is fixed in Me is nirguṇa, beyond the three modes of nature.” This is the characteristic of nirguṇā-bhakti-yoga as stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.29.11–12).

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.25.26) states, “That performer of action who is detached from the result of his activity is governed by the quality of goodness; he who is attached to the result is governed by the quality of passion; and he who has lost his sense of discrimination is governed by the quality of ignorance. But that performer of action who is surrendered to Me is transcendental to the three modes of nature.”

Furthermore, it is not only the knowledge, the action and the performer of action that are related to bhakti and thus beyond the modes of nature, but anything related to bhakti is like that. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.25.27), there is also a statement concerning faith (śraddhā): “Śraddhā related to knowledge of the self is governed by the quality of goodness, śraddhā based on action is in the mode of passion, and śraddhā based on irreligion is in the mode of ignorance. But śraddhā in service to Me is beyond all material modes.”

In regard to residence, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.25.25) states: “To live in the forest is in the mode of goodness, to live in the village is in the mode of passion, and to live in the gambling house (or the city, which is the centre of various wicked acts) is in the mode of ignorance. But the place where I or My devotees reside (or are worshipped) is beyond all material modes.”

Concerning happiness, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.25.29) states: “The happiness arising from the self is governed by the quality of goodness; happiness arising from sense objects is governed by passion; happiness arising from delusion and mean-spiritedness is governed by ignorance; and happiness that results from surrendering unto Me is beyond these three modes.”

“Therefore, the personal happiness that My transcendentally situated devotees derive from the knowledge, action and faith related to bhakti is beyond the modes of nature. Everything related to the knowledge of jñānīs, who are in the mode of goodness, is sāttvika (in goodness). Everything related to karmīs, who are in the mode of passion, is rājasika (in passion) and everything related to unrestrained people, who are in the mode of ignorance, is tāmasika (in ignorance).” This is discerned from the statements of Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Fourteenth Chapter of the Gītā also states that the jñānīs ultimately attain freedom from the material modes of nature only by performing pure devotion, which manifests only after jñāna has been relinquished.

Commentary: Sārārtha-Varṣiṇī Prakāśikā-vṛtti

(By Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja; the explanation that illuminates the commentary named Sārārtha-varṣiṇī)

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.25.26) also describes that the performers of action (kartā) are of three types:

sāttvikaḥ kārako’saṅgī rāgāndho rājasaḥ smṛtaḥ
tāmasaḥ smṛti-vibhraṣṭo nirguṇo mad-apāśrayaḥ

That performer of action who is detached is in the mode of goodness, he who is excessively attached to action and its results is in the mode of passion, he who has no discrimination is in the mode of ignorance, and he who is surrendered unto Me is transcendental to the three binding modes of material nature.