THE SEVENTEENTH TEACHING

THREE ASPECTS
OF FAITH

Arjuna

Men who ignore the ways of tradition
but sacrifice in full faith, Krishna,
what quality of nature is basic in them—
lucidity, passion, or dark inertia?

1

Lord Krishna

Listen as I explain
the threefold nature of faith
inherent in the embodied self—
lucid, passionate, and darkly inert.

2

The faith each man has, Arjuna,
follows his degree of lucidity;
a man consists of his faith,
and as his faith is, so is he.

3

Men of lucidity sacrifice to the gods;
men of passion, to spirits and demons;
the others, men of dark inertia,
sacrifice to corpses and to ghosts.

4

Men who practice horrific penances
that go against traditional norms
are trapped in hypocrisy and individuality,
overwhelmed by the emotion of desire.

5

Without reason, they torment
the elements composing their bodies,
and they torment me within them;
know them to have demonic resolve.

6

Food is also of three kinds,
to please each type of taste;
sacrifice, penance, and charity
likewise divide in three ways.

7

Foods that please lucid men
are savory, smooth, firm, and rich;
they promote long life, lucidity,
strength, health, pleasure, and delight.

8

Passionate men crave foods
that are bitter, sour, salty, hot,
pungent, harsh, and burning,
causing pain, grief, and sickness.

9

The food that pleases
men of dark inertia is stale,
unsavory, putrid, and spoiled,
leavings unfit for sacrifice.

10

A sacrifice is offered with lucidity
when the norms are kept and the mind
is focused on the sacrificial act,
without craving for its fruit.

11

But a sacrifice is offered
with passion, Arjuna,
when it is focused on the fruit
and hypocrisy is at play.

12

A sacrifice is governed by dark inertia
when it violates the norms—
empty of faith, omitting the ritual offering
of food and chants and gifts.

13

Honoring gods, priests,
teachers, and wise men, being pure,
honest, celibate, and nonviolent
is called bodily penance.

14

Speaking truth without offense,
giving comfort,
and reciting sacred lore
is called verbal penance.

15

Mental serenity, kindness,
silence, self-restraint,
and purity of being
is called mental penance.

16

This threefold penance
is lucid when men of discipline
perform it with deep faith,
without craving for reward.

17

Wavering and unstable,
performed with hypocrisy,
to gain respect, honor, and worship,
that penance is called passionate.

18

Performed with deluded perception,
self-mortification,
or sadism,
such penance has dark inertia.

19

Given in due time and place
to a fit recipient
who can give no advantage,
charity is remembered as lucid.

20

But charity given reluctantly,
to secure some service in return
or to gain a future reward,
is remembered as passionate.

21

Charity given out of place and time
to an unfit recipient,
ungraciously and with contempt,
is remembered for its dark inertia.

22

OM TAT SAT: “That Is the Real”—
this is the triple symbol of the infinite spirit
that gave a primordial sanctity
to priests, sacred lore, and sacrifice.

23

OM—knowers of the infinite spirit
chant it as they perform
acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance
prescribed by tradition.

24

TAT—men who crave freedom
utter it as they perform
acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance,
without concern for reward.

25

SAT—it means what is real
and what is good, Arjuna;
the word SAT is also used
when an action merits praise.

26

SAT is steadfastness in sacrifice,
in penance, in charity;
any action of this order
is denoted by SAT.

27

But oblation, charity,
and penance offered without faith
are called ASAT, for they have no reality
here or in the world after death.

28