1 Gita Sloka Every Day - Chapter 14 - Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 21-22

The entire content of this mail is from Swami Adidevananda's translation of Ramanuja's  Gita  Bhashya and Swami Chidbhavananda's Bhagavad Gita, both published by Ramakrishna Mission

An occasion now arises for Arjuna to raise a doubt; and he avails himself of it.

The definitionof one whohas trenscended the three gunas 21-27

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 14 - Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 21

Arjuna uvacha

Kaih lingaih treen gunan etan ati itah bhavati prabhoh I

Kim acharah katham cha etan treen gunan ati vurtate II sloka 21

अर्जुन उवाच 

कैः लिङ्गैः त्रीन् गुणान एतान् अति इतः भवति प्रभोः I 

किम् आचरः कथाम् च एतान् त्रीन् गुणान अति वर्तते II श्लोक 21  

Arjuna said

What are the marks, O Lord, of him , who has crossed over the three gunas? What is his conduct? And how does he rise above the gunas?

Here are three questions linked together. They are being severally answered. 

1 Gita Sloka  Every Day - Chapter 14 - Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga - Sloka 22

Shri Bhagavan Uvacha

Prakasham cha pravrrittim cha moham eva cha pandava I

Na dveshti sampravrittani na nivrrutani kanshati II sloka 22

श्री भगवान उवाच 

प्रकाशं च प्रवृत्तिं च मोहं एव च पाण्डव I 

न द्वेष्टि संप्रवृत्तानि न निवृत्तानि काङ्क्षति II श्लोक 22

The Blessed Lord said

He, O Pandava, who hates not light, activity and delusion, when present, nor longs after them when absent;

The man immersed in sattva has his intellectual pursuits and refined pleasures in which he is deeply absorbed. Scriptural learning has a remarkable hold on the devotee. pious discourse, rapturous bhajans, deep meditation - all these are meticulously practised by the man of sattvica disposition. If these doings are interrupted or dropped out for a day, the aspirant feels as if a great spiritual loss has been inflicted on him. This feeling is the sign of his being attached to sattva guna, But the man who has transcended the guna has nothing to gain by adhering to these observations and nothing to loe by abandoning them. With or without these good occupations, the brahma gyani ever  rests in brahman. 

The man caught up in rajas is also up and doing. what seems good to him he excutes devotedly and whatever is held by him, is abhorred and avoided. Going to the temple regularly and ritualistic worship elaborately are all  aspects of his life, too holy to be given up. But the man who has gone beyond the gunas holds all these observances as merely schooling. Nothing is gained by him by sticking on to them and nothing is lost by relinquishing them. Any and every good action is devotedly done by him, and he is equally superb when nothing at all is done. But it is impossible for any bad deed to emanate from him.

For the man adhering to tamas, lethargy and sleep are most welcome. He is very much annoyed if his sleep is disturbed. But that man who has crossed over the gunas treats sleep and wakefulness alike. His body is given the required repose which automatically gets reduced to its bare minimum in the enlightened man.

The brahma gyani who has soared beyond the three gunas, evinces merits found in a mirror. It truly reflects the objects placed before it. When nothing is presented before it, it remains in its own state. The mirror is in no way affected by the appearance and disappearance of things in its proximity. Similar to this is the place gained by the three gunas in the mind of the muni who has transcended them. While they come and go he remains unaffected by them. 

How do the jivan muktas the liberated soils live in the world? they live like the kingfisher that dives deep into the water, to catch fish but does not get wet. The few drops that happen to be on its feathers are shaken off with ease. The liberated souls are unaffected by the happenings in the world.