Chapter 18Verse 34 of 78

Bhagavad Gita 18.34

यया तु धर्मकामार्थान्धृत्या धारयतेऽर्जुन । प्रसङ्गेन फलाकाङ्क्षी धृतिः सा पार्थ राजसी ॥

yayā tu dharma-kāma-arthān dhṛtyā dhārayate 'rjuna / prasaṅgena phalākāṅkṣī dhṛtiḥ sā pārtha rājasī

Translation

But that steadiness by which one holds to dharma, pleasure, and wealth, Arjuna, with attachment, craving fruit, Partha, is of the passionate kind.

Rajasika dhriti. The same holding capacity, applied with different angles. Here the objects held are dharma, kama, artha, the three legitimate aims of the householder. The flaw is not in the objects. It is in the modality, prasangena, with sticky attachment, and phala-akankshi, eagerly tracking the payoff. Even worthy pursuits performed with this internal posture take on the rajasika color. This is sobering. Many serious people maintain their religious duties, their family pleasures, and their work life with great consistency, but the holding is shot through with want. The Gita names the gap. The same activities done by the sattvika dhriti do not deplete; done by the rajasika dhriti, they slowly do.

Reflection

Which legitimate pursuit are you holding with so much grip that it is depleting rather than feeding?

Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Eighteen

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