Chapter 14 / Shloka 17

सत्त्वात्सञ्जायते ज्ञानं रजसो लोभ एव च ।
प्रमादमोहौ तमसो भवतोऽज्ञानमेव च ॥ १७ ॥

sattvāt sañjāyate jñānaṁ
rajaso lobha eva ca
pramāda-mohau tamaso
bhavato ’jñānam eva ca

Synonyms

sattvāt — from the mode of goodness; sañjāyate — develops; jñānam — knowledge; rajasaḥ — from the mode of passion; lobhaḥ — greed; eva — certainly; ca — also; pramāda — madness; mohau — and illusion; tamasaḥ — from the mode of ignorance; bhavataḥ — develop; ajñānam — nonsense; eva — certainly; ca — also.

Translation

From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; and from the mode of ignorance develop foolishness, madness and illusion.

Purport

Since the present civilization is not very congenial to the living entities, Kṛṣṇa consciousness is recommended. Through Kṛṣṇa consciousness, society will develop the mode of goodness. When the mode of goodness is developed, people will see things as they are. In the mode of ignorance, people are just like animals and cannot see things clearly. In the mode of ignorance, for example, they do not see that by killing one animal they are taking the chance of being killed by the same animal in the next life. Because people have no education in actual knowledge, they become irresponsible. To stop this irresponsibility, education for developing the mode of goodness of the people in general must be there. When they are actually educated in the mode of goodness, they will become sober, in full knowledge of things as they are. Then people will be happy and prosperous. Even if the majority of the people aren’t happy and prosperous, if a certain percentage of the population develops Kṛṣṇa consciousness and becomes situated in the mode of goodness, then there is the possibility for peace and prosperity all over the world. Otherwise, if the world is devoted to the modes of passion and ignorance, there can be no peace or prosperity. In the mode of passion, people become greedy, and their hankering for sense enjoyment has no limit. One can see that even if one has enough money and adequate arrangements for sense gratification, there is neither happiness nor peace of mind. That is not possible, because one is situated in the mode of passion. If one wants happiness at all, his money will not help him; he has to elevate himself to the mode of goodness by practicing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. When one is engaged in the mode of passion, not only is he mentally unhappy, but his profession and occupation are also very troublesome. He has to devise so many plans and schemes to acquire enough money to maintain his status quo. This is all miserable. In the mode of ignorance, people become mad. Being distressed by their circumstances, they take shelter of intoxication, and thus they sink further into ignorance. Their future in life is very dark.

Chapter 16 / Shloka 21

त्रिविधं नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मन: ।
काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्‍त्रयं त्यजेत् ॥ २१ ॥

tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ
dvāraṁ nāśanam ātmanaḥ
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas
tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet

Synonyms

tri-vidham — of three kinds; narakasya — of hell; idam — this; dvāram — gate; nāśanam — destructive; ātmanaḥ — of the self; kāmaḥ — lust; krodhaḥ — anger; tathā — as well as; lobhaḥ — greed; tasmāt — therefore; etat — these; trayam — three; tyajet — one must give up.

Translation

There are three gates leading to this hell – lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.

Purport

The beginning of demoniac life is described herein. One tries to satisfy his lust, and when he cannot, anger and greed arise. A sane man who does not want to glide down to the species of demoniac life must try to give up these three enemies, which can kill the self to such an extent that there will be no possibility of liberation from this material entanglement.

Chapter 17 / Shloka 25

तदित्यनभिसन्धाय फलं यज्ञतप:क्रिया: ।
दानक्रियाश्च विविधा: क्रियन्ते मोक्षकाङ्‌‍क्षिभि: ॥ २५ ॥

tad ity anabhisandhāya
phalaṁ yajña-tapaḥ-kriyāḥ
dāna-kriyāś ca vividhāḥ
kriyante mokṣa-kāṅkṣibhiḥ

Synonyms

tat — that; iti — thus; anabhisandhāya — without desiring; phalam — the fruitive result; yajña — of sacrifice; tapaḥ — and penance; kriyāḥ — activities; dāna — of charity; kriyāḥ — activities; ca — also; vividhāḥ — various; kriyante — are done; mokṣa-kāṅkṣibhiḥ — by those who actually desire liberation.

Translation

Without desiring fruitive results, one should perform various kinds of sacrifice, penance and charity with the word tat. The purpose of such transcendental activities is to get free from material entanglement.

Purport

To be elevated to the spiritual position, one should not act for any material gain. Acts should be performed for the ultimate gain of being transferred to the spiritual kingdom, back to home, back to Godhead.