अर्जुन उवाचये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयाऽन्विताः।तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्त्वमाहो रजस्तमः।।17.1।।
श्री भगवानुवाचत्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा।सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां श्रृणु।।17.2।।
Arjuna said, But, O Krsna, what is the state of those who, endued with faith, perform sacrifices, distribute wealth, etc. in honour of gods and others, while ignoring the injunctions of the scriptures? Is it sattva, rajas, or tamas?
The Blessed Lord said, “That faith of the embodied beings, born of their own nature, is threefold—born of sattva, rajas, and tamas. Hear about it.”
Osho’s Commentary
The search for truth, my friend, is older than man himself. It is this very search that gives birth to man. The animal is content, but man is born with a divine discontent, a thirst for the ultimate. And Arjuna’s question is not born in a quiet ashram, not in a leisurely philosophical debate. It is born on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, where life and death are holding hands. The questions of the Gita have an urgency, a fire, because they are not of the mind, but of life itself. Your life, too, is a Kurukshetra. You are at war not with strangers, but with your own self, with your own people. And like Arjuna, you want to run away. But Krishna holds him there. He says, “Do not escape. Wake up!” To run away is a defeat, a denial of the opportunity for transformation. The true sannyas is not an escape from the world, but an awakening within it. And from where does the question arise? Arjuna asks Krishna, his charioteer. And this is a beautiful symbol. Krishna is your own innermost witness, your divine consciousness. Your ego is the master in the chariot, but your true wisdom, your vivek, is the silent charioteer. The ego, like Duryodhana, always sits at the head, full of pride and calculation. Humility, like Arjuna, sits at the feet. The ego chooses the army, the power, the noise. The devotee chooses the silent presence, the consciousness. Arjuna asks about faith—what is the nature of a man’s faith if he discards the scriptures? And Krishna answers, “Faith is not one, it is three-fold. It is born of your own nature.” Your faith is your color. It is a reflection of your own being—whether you are luminous and pure, or passionate and active, or inert and in darkness. What you worship, what you trust, reveals who you are.