17:1: Arjuna inquired: Those who abandon scriptural ordi-nances, yet are endowed with śraddhā or faith, sacrifice, O Krishna. Are they situated in the quality of goodness, passion, or ignorance?
17:2, 3: The Blessed One said: The śraddhā of the embodied beings are of three kinds: that which is born of the material quality of goodness, passion, and ignorance. Hear about these from Me.
O descendent of Bharata, all śraddhā (faith) develops ac-cording to its own nature. This integral śraddhā determines the śraddhā and nature of the living entity.
17:4: Those in the quality of goodness [sattva guna] worship the gods [devas]; those in the quality of passion [raja guna] worship the Yaksas [nature spirits] and [malevolent fearsome red-eyed nature spirits] and those in the quality of ignorance worship the Pretas [hungry ghosts] and the hosts of Bhutas [ghosts of the deceased].
17:5, 6: People who practice severe austerities that are not ordained by the scriptures practice them out of religious hypocrisy. They are yoked by false ego and impelled by the forces of desire and attachment. Abiding in the body yet torturing the combined material el-ement thereof, they have no consciousness of Me, although I am abiding within their bodies. Know their resolve to be demonic.
17:7: There are also three kinds of food which are dear, so too with sacrifices, austerities, and charities; hear of their differences.
17:8: Foods which promote life, vitality, strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction, and which are juicy, fatty, firm, and agreeable, are dear to one who is in the quality of goodness [sattva guna].
17:9: Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, excessively hot, pungent, dry, burning, and which promote suffering, lamentation, and disease are liked by one in the quality of passion [raja guna].
17:10: Foods that are eaten three hours or more after being cooked, are tasteless, putrid, decayed, are the remnants of another’s meal, and are unfit for sacrifice, such foods are dear to one in the quality of ignorance [tamas guna].
17:11: That sacrifice which is performed without desire for fruitive results, which is harmonious with the scriptural or-dinances, which is performed and indeed ought to be performed, with the mind fixed, is in the quality of goodness [sattva guna].
17:12: That sacrifice which has fruitive results as its aim because of pride and which is therefore performed, O leader of the Bharata, is in the quality of passion [raja guna].
17:13: That sacrifice performed without regard for scriptural ordinances, in which no food is distributed and no sacred mantras are uttered, nor proper gifts are given and that is devoid of faith, is in the quality of ignorance [tamas guna].
17:14: The austerities of the body include worship of the devas, brahmanas, spiritual preceptors, and those who have transcendental wisdom; they practice purity, upright-ness, celibacy, and non-violence.
17:15: The austerities of speech are said to be truthful words that are dear, beneficial, and cause no agitation, as well as the regular recitation and constant study of the scriptures.
17:16: The austerities of the mind are said to be mental tranquility, kindness, silence, self-control, and emotional purity.
17:17: This supreme threefold austerity, which is faithfully practiced by those who have no desire for fruitive results and are yoked, is called austerity in the quality of goodness.
17:18: That austerity which is hypocritically practiced for gaining respect, honor, and worship in this world is called austerity in the quality of ignorance. It is both mutable and transitory.
17:19: That austerity which is practiced out of a foolish perception of the self, to torment oneself, or which is performed to destroy another, is said to be austerity in the quality of ignorance.
17:20: That charity is considered as being in the quality of goodness, which is rightly given and is devoid of any expectation of repayment, is given in an appropriate place and time, and is offered to one who is worthy to relieve it.
17:21: That charity is considered as being in the quality of passion which is given intending to recompense, which aims at achieving some fruitive result or which is given grudgingly.
17:22: That charity is said to be in the quality of ignorance which is given at an improper place and time, is given to one who is unworthy to relieve gifts, or which is given disrespectfully or with contempt.
17:23: The threefold particularization of Brahman as ‘Om Tat Sat’ was ordained from ancient times for use by the brahmanas in the Vedic literature and sacrifices.
17:24: Therefore, the Omkara [‘om’] is always uttered by those who replicate Brahman when performing sacrifices, charities, or austerities, as enjoined in the scriptures.
7:25: ‘Tat’ is likewise uttered by those who do not desire fruitive results from their sacrifices, austerities, activities, or charities; their activities being performed solely because of their desire for liberation.
17:26, 27: The sound vibration ‘Sat’ is employed in the sense of ‘real’ or ‘excellent.’ ‘Sat’ is thus used to describe praiseworthy activities, O child of Partha. Therefore ‘Sat’ is resolutely uttered in sacrifices, austerities, and charities. Activities that belong to ‘Sat’ are therefore described.
17:28: Sacrifices which are offered, gifts which are given, and austerities which are practiced without śraddhā are called ‘asat’, O Child of Partha. They are useless here and in the hereafter.
Here Ends Chapter Seventeen