2-45 to 2-46

त्रैगुण्य विषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन ।
निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्य सत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् ॥ ४५ ॥
यावानर्थ उदपाने सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके ।
तावान् सर्वेषु वेदेषु ब्राह्मणस्य विजानतः ॥ ४६ ॥

traiguNya viSayA vedA nistraiguNyo bhavArjuna |
nirdvandvo nitya sattvastho niryogakSema AtmavAn || 45 ||
yAvAnartha udapAne sarvataH samplutodake |
tAvAn sarveSu vedeSu brAhmaNasya vijAnataH || 46 ||

अर्जुन [arjuna] Arjuna, वेदाः [vedAH] the Vedas त्रैगुण्य विषयाः [traiguNya viSayAH] deal with those who have the three qualities in abundance. निस्त्रैगुण्यो भव [nistraiguNyo bhava] Be a person who is not drowned by an excess of these three qualities. निर्द्वन्द्वः [nirdvandvaH] Be free from the dualities of the material world. नित्य सत्त्वस्थः [nitya sattvasthaH] Be constantly situated in an abundance of the quality of sattva . निर्योगक्षेमः [niryogakSemaH] Do not care about protecting what you have and don’t bother to acquire what you don’t. आत्मवान् [AtmavAn] Know the nature of your Self.

विजानतः ब्राह्मणस्य [vijAnataH brAhmaNasya] A man of wisdom seeking God यावानर्थः तावान् [yAvAnarthaH tAvAn] will find as much use सर्वेषु वेदेषु [sarveSu vedeSu] in all the Vedas, यावान् अर्थः तावान् [yAvAn arthaH tAvAn] as one will find use उदपाने [udapAne] in a lake, सर्वतः सम्प्लुतोदके [sarvataH samplutodake] that is full of water in every respect.

Three qualities influence all things that are created: sattva (wisdom, virtue, truth), rajas (passion, emotion: cause of great activity) and tamas (ignorance, darkness).

Some of us are associated with abundant amounts of these three qualities. The Vedas deal with this subject: With great compassion, they preach activities that are suitable for those of us with a prominent influence of ignorance ( tamas ), for those in whom passion ( rajas ) is prominent and for those in whom wisdom and virtue ( sattva ) are prominent.

In case the Vedas did not preach the means to achieve goals suitable to our nature, we would get turned away from moksha , which is the goal of people with wisdom ( sattva ). We get turned away due to the influence of passion and ignorance ( rajas and tamas ). When passion and ignorance get a hold on us, we wouldn’t know what’s appropriate to achieve our desires and would become helpless. We would be overcome by confusion as to what has to be attained and what not.

That’s why the Vedas deal with all the above qualities .

However, do not be a person influenced by all the three qualities . You are now situated in wisdom ( sattva ). Keep progressing in the same way. Do not allow a mix of the three qualities control you. ‘Be free from dualities’ by donning an attitude of disregard for all material things, standing in wisdom ( sattva ) always, not being influenced by the other two qualities.

The world is full of passion and ignorance. Don’t let them control you.

What is the way to achieve this? Let go of the urge to acquire things that don’t contribute to the realization of the Self. Let go of protecting what you have acquired. Be someone who is interested in the quest to find the true nature of the Self.

When you conduct yourself this way, you will rid yourself of the powerful influence of passion and ignorance ( rajas and tamas ) and your wisdom ( sattva ) will grow.

Also, everything said in the Vedas is not applicable to everyone. A thirsty person can only drink so much water from a lake as he needs. Even though the lake is full of water, it was built with many purposes in mind. Just as a person will not drink the whole lake, a person desiring moksha will only take the part that helps him attain moksha , not the entire content of the Vedas.

In the next Shloka, The Lord says that only so much can apply to a person desiring moksha , who is situated in the property of wisdom ( sattva ):