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Aligning Consciousness

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Ch 17•Verse 1
Adhyāya 17 • Shloka 1

अर्जुन उवाच | ये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः | तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः || १ ||

arjuna uvāca | ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ | teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ || 1 ||

"Arjuna inquired: O Krishna, what is the situation of those who do not follow the principles of scripture but worship according to their own imagination? Are they in goodness, in passion or in ignorance?"

Historical Context

The Direct Meaning

Chapter 17 opens with Arjuna asking a highly practical and universally relevant question, directly following Krishna's warning at the end of Chapter 16 to strictly follow scripture (śāstra-vidhim). Arjuna asks about the 'spiritual but not religious' demographic: What happens to people who discard formal scriptural rules (utsṛjya), yet still worship with genuine faith and sincerity (śraddhayānvitāḥ)? What is their actual position (niṣṭhā)—are they operating in goodness (sattvam), passion (rajas), or ignorance (tamaḥ)?

Translated from the original Sanskrit text

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