नियतं सङ्गरहितमरागद्वेषतः कृतम् ।
अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत्तत्सात्त्विकमुच्यते ॥ १८.२३ ॥

niyatam saṅga-rahitam-arāga-dveṣata: kṛtam |
aphala-prepsunā karma yat-tat-sāttvikam-ucyate || 18.23 ||

Three-fold Classification of Action

After elaborating on the three kinds of spiritual knowledge, Krishna, following his sequence, takes up karma, action, to explain how that too falls into three categories, governed by the three guṇas. Any human activity will carry either a narrow, selfish and constricted note or a broad, unselfish and benevolent character. The first, commonly found, arises from immediate, fleeting considerations. The second, the refined one, will always reflect the graceful depth of understanding, implying purity and magnificence of the Inmost Soul.

It is very enlightening to know how the attitude and aim of an act can mean so much in the effects it produces. This leaves us abundant room to think about whatever we do, and cultivate nobility, expansion and elevation.

In fact, Krishna’s analysis is quite exceptional, for the depth of knowledge and option it emphasizes. It reveals the fundamental truth that to do an act is one thing, but to know about it and realize what it can mean to oneself and the world at large, is altogether different.

Sāttvika action

The perception Krishna discloses must instantly take the seeker’s mind and intelligence to a deep introspection, revealing brilliant depths the human personality contains. As earlier, Krishna first speaks about the sāttvika act, the best any human must strive for and gain. It is imbued with the best of spiritual qualities and refinement, which Krishna has been emphasizing right from the second chapter:

That action which is ordained (by dhārmic concepts), disattached, free of desire and hatred, and not motivated by gains is said to be sāttvika in nature.

An act may carry selfish, narrow or gross outlook, with a limited, short-living character. It can also be something lofty, altruistic, elevating and have lasting dimension. The ultimate effect of any activity is on the actor. The world outside will always get or derive the gross objective benefits of an action. The real enrichment it bestows is always on the actor himself – to his mind, intelligence and ego. This is a point disregarded by many. Krishna wants to redress this sad plight and make people thoughtful and self-enriching in all that they do.

While animals and birds continue to do what they are given to by dint of their instincts and needs, the humans can act with intent, deliberation and choice. With thoughtfulness and understanding, their activities can be made progressively better, broader and elevating.

Good and virtuous actions are always the model and standard for human society. Scriptures and societal conventions generally set these as ideals and disciplines for people. Niyatam refers to this kind of noble, benevolent and self-enriching activities, whether religious or secular.

Saṅga-rahitam denotes that activity which does not spring from or carry the haunting evil of attachment. Krishna has dealt clearly with the evil of attachment and the need to drop it fully (2.48, 3.19, 4.23). Likewise, he has stressed repeatedly the need to be free from rāga-dveṣabhaya – desire, hatred and fear (2.56, 3.34). He has equally been emphasizing that the seeker should not be overpowered or deluded by the subjective results, namely sukha and duḥkha, caused by objective fruition of activities.

An activity free of these conventional defects and blemishes is sāttvika. What does this mean? There is every possibility to examine one’s performance and ensure that it becomes free of psychological and intellectual blemishes, all of which constrict and defile the mind and intelligence. Sāttvika karma or activity must be the ideal for the discreet individual, more so for the spiritual seeker.