The Two / Three Kinds

यज्ञ-त्रयी, दान-त्रयी, त्याग-त्रयी, कर्ता-त्रयी,  and तप-त्रयी

In the last post, श्रद्धा-त्रयी and ज्ञान-त्रयी  were explained.

Before the Chapter 17, the emphasis was given upon the  निष्ठा  that is synonymous with  श्रद्धा  as elaborated in the verse 1, 2, 3  of Chapter 17 - viz. :

अर्जुन उवाच 

ये शास्त्रविधिमुत्सृज्य यजन्ते श्रद्धयान्विताः।

तेषां निष्ठा तु का कृष्ण सत्वमाहो रजस्तमः।।१।।

Shrikrishna answers in the next verse :

श्रीभगवानुवाच :

त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा। 

सात्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी तां इति शृणु।।२।।

सत्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत। 

श्रद्धामयः अयं पुरुषः यो यच्छ्रद्धः स एव सः।।३।।

In this way the words  

श्रद्धा  and  निष्ठा 

Convey the same sense, but श्रद्धा  is the foundamental, निष्ठा is of the secondary kind and importance. 

It's like say, the three birds for example - sparrow, crow and parrot. All the three are birds but of three different kinds.

In the 18th Chapter of The Gita, in the verse the root cause, the basic and the secondary nature of manifestation of all Action / कर्म has been dealt with.

यज्ञ, दान, तप, त्याग  are different kinds of Action / कर्म and as has been pointed out before, all are performed accompanied with the kind of determination, faith and belief that could be any of the kind of  सात्विक, राजस  or the तामस.

श्रद्धा is the natural, hereditary nature of the mind, स्वाभावजा - one is born with, is either of the सात्विक, राजस  or the तामस kind, while निष्ठा  is the intrinsic nature. The different kinds of Action / कर्म like the  यज्ञ, दान, तप, त्याग  are of the different kinds of activities one performs and is convinced that it will result in achieving the desired / expected goal example like the health, wealth, power, pleasures in this life or the life one believes that one attains after the death.

The same point has been dealt with in much detail in the Chapter 18.

In the next post with this considerations, the way different people exercise Action / कर्म, will be explained, with the focus of attention on the difference between the one who has attained either the

sAmkhya niShThA / सांख्य  / ज्ञान निष्ठा

Or, the karma niShThA  /  कर्म निष्ठा.

लोकेऽस्मिन् द्विविधा निष्ठा पुरा प्रोक्ता मयानघ। 

ज्ञानयोगेन सांख्यानां कर्मयोगेन योगिनाम्।।३।।

(गीता अध्याय ३, Gita chapter 3)

Summarily; निष्ठा is of two kinds - 

ज्ञान / सांख्य  / Wisdom, 

and, 

कर्म / Action.

While the  श्रद्धा  is of three kinds -

sAtwikI / सात्विकी, rAjasa / राजस, or tAmasa / तामस.

ईशावास्योपनिषद्  deals with the same point of view  -

ईशावास्यमिदं सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत्। 

तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्य स्विद्धनम्।।१।।

कुर्वन्नेवेह कर्माणि जिजीविषेच्छतं समाः। 

एवं त्वयि नान्यथेतोस्ति न कर्म लिप्यते नरे।।२।।

Again,  the Chapter 2 of Gita is devoted to sAmkhya / ज्ञानयोग, the Chapter 18 is devoted basically to Action / कर्मयोग, and to the conclusion of the Scripture of the Yoga as the essence and the whole.

(UN-EDITED)

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