Delusion

Krodhad bhavati sammohah sammohat smriti-vibhramah, smriti-bhramshad buddhi-nasho buddhi-nashat pranashyati

From anger comes delusion; from delusion, confused memory; from confused memory, the ruin of reason; from the ruin of reason, one perishes.

Prakriti-moha-sammudha sajjante guna-karmasu, tan akrtsna-vido mandan krtsna-vin na vicalayet

Those deluded by the modes of material nature become attached to the actions of the modes. But the person of perfect knowledge should not disturb the slow in understanding who do not know the whole truth.

Ye tv etad abhyasuyanto nanutishthanti me matam, sarva-jnana-vimudhams tan viddhi nashtan acetasah

But those who, out of envy, disregard and do not follow these teachings — know them to be deluded in all knowledge, mindless, and lost.

Indriyani mano buddhir asyaadhishthanam ucyate, etair vimohayaty esha jnanam avritya dehinam

The senses, the mind, and the intellect are said to be the seat of desire. Through these it deludes the embodied soul by covering its true knowledge.

Nadatte kasyacit papam na caiva sukritam vibhuh, ajnanenavritam jnanam tena muhyanti jantavah

The all-pervading Lord accepts neither the sin nor the merit of anyone; knowledge is covered by ignorance, and thereby beings are deluded. It is ignorance alone — not divine will — that keeps beings in the cycle of joy and suffering.

Tribhir guna-mayair bhavair ebhih sarvamidam jagat, mohitam nabhijanati mam ebhyah param avyayam

Deluded by these three states of being composed of the gunas, the entire world does not know Me, who am above them and inexhaustible. The three gunas create a veil of illusion that prevents people from recognizing the eternal, unchanging nature that underlies all phenomena.

Na mam dushkritino mudhah prapadyante naradhamah, mayayapahrta-jnana asura bhavam ashritah

Evildoers who are foolish, who are the lowest among men, whose knowledge is taken away by maya, and who have taken to the demonic nature — they do not surrender unto Me. Krishna identifies four categories of people who fail to seek God: the wicked, the ignorant, those whose wisdom is stolen by illusion, and those with a demonic disposition.

Naham prakashahah sarvasya yoga-maya-samavritah, mudho 'yam nabhijanati loko mam ajam avyayam

I am not manifest to everyone, being veiled by My yoga-maya. This deluded world does not know Me as unborn and eternal. God is veiled from ordinary perception by the divine power of yoga-maya. Without sincere spiritual seeking and purification, the eternal nature of God remains hidden.

Iccha-dveshha-samutthena dvandva-mohena bharata, sarva-bhutani sammoham sarge yanti parantapa

O scion of Bharata, O conqueror of enemies, all beings fall into delusion at birth due to the illusion of duality arising from desire and aversion. From the very moment of birth, beings are conditioned by the pairs of opposites — attraction and repulsion — which create the fundamental delusion of separateness.

Yesham tv anta-gatam papam jananam punya-karmanam, te dvandva-moha-nirmukta bhajante mam dridha-vratah

But those persons of virtuous deeds whose sins have come to an end, and who are freed from the delusion of duality, worship Me with firm resolve. The accumulation of virtuous deeds over many lives purifies the soul, eventually freeing it from delusion and enabling firm, unwavering devotion.

Moghasah mogha-karmano mogha-jnana vicetasah, rakshasim asurim caiva prakritim mohinim shritah

Those who are bewildered are possessed of vain hopes, vain actions, and vain knowledge. They harbour a deluding nature that is demoniac and godless. Such persons, lacking genuine wisdom and devotion, pursue goals that lead only to frustration because they are built on illusion.

Tamas tv ajnana-jam viddhi mohanam sarva-dehinam, pramadalasya-nidraabhis tan nibadhnati bharata

Know that tamas (ignorance) is born from ignorance and deludes all embodied beings. It binds by carelessness, laziness, and sleep, O Arjuna. Tamas is the grossest mode — it covers the light of awareness entirely with inertia and delusion.

Sattvam sukhe sanjayati rajah karmani bharata, jnanam avritya tu tamah pramade sanjayatyuta

Sattva attaches one to happiness, rajas to action, and tamas, covering knowledge, attaches to delusion. Each guna creates its own characteristic pull: sattva toward comfort, rajas toward activity, and tamas toward negligence.

Sattvat sanjayate jnanam rajaso lobha eva cha, pramada-mohau tamaso bhavato 'jnanam eva cha

From the mode of goodness, knowledge develops. From the mode of passion, greed develops. From the mode of ignorance, foolishness, madness, and illusion develop. The quality of one's inner growth is determined by which guna is being cultivated.

Kamam ashritya dushpuram dambha-mana-madanvitah, mohad grhitvasad-grahan pravartante 'shuchi-vratah

Taking shelter of insatiable lust, filled with pride, arrogance, and false prestige, the demoniac adopt impure vows under illusion and proceed with impure resolutions. Lust, pride, and delusion form a self-reinforcing cycle that drives the demoniac further from truth and deeper into impure ways of living.

Asau maya hatah shatrun hanishye caparan api, ishvaro 'ham aham bhogi siddho 'ham balavan sukhi

That enemy has been slain by me, and I shall slay others too. I am the lord. I am the enjoyer. I am perfect, powerful, and happy. This internal boast of the demoniac reveals their core delusion: they mistake themselves for the supreme controller, the ultimate enjoyer, and the independent cause of their own success.

Aneka-citta-vibhranta moha-jala-samavrtah, prasaktah kama-bhogeshu patanti narake 'shucau

Bewildered by multiple anxieties and entangled in a web of delusions, the demoniac are too deeply attached to sense pleasures and fall into a foul hell. The accumulation of delusions, anxieties, and attachments ultimately leads the demoniac downward into hellish conditions — both in this life and beyond.

niyatasya tu sannyasah karmano nopapadyate mohat tasya parityagas tamasah parikirtitah

Renunciation of prescribed duties is not appropriate. Abandoning one's obligatory actions out of delusion is declared to be tamasic renunciation. Ignorance-driven withdrawal from duty leads not to liberation but to further bondage.

yat tu kritsnavad ekasmin karye saktam ahaitukam atattvarthavad alpam ca tat tamasam udahritam

That knowledge which clings to one effect as if it were the whole, which is without rational basis, which does not grasp reality as it is, and which is trivial — such knowledge is declared to be tamasic.

anubandham ksayam himsam anapeksya ca paurusam mohad arabhyate karma yat tat tamasam ucyate

Action that is undertaken out of delusion, without consideration of consequences, harm to others, one's own capacity, or the loss involved — such action is said to be tamasic. Tamas drives reckless, harmful, and self-destructive activity.

adharmam dharmam iti ya manyate tamasavritha sarvarthan viparitams ca buddhi sa partha tamasi

That intellect which, enveloped in darkness, regards unrighteousness as righteousness and sees all things in a perverted way — that intellect is tamasic, O Arjuna. Tamas inverts the understanding and makes darkness appear as light.

yaya svapnam bhayam sokam visadam madam eva ca na vimuncati durmedha dhriti sa partha tamasi

The steadiness by which a foolish person does not give up sleep, fear, grief, despondency, and arrogance — that steadiness is tamasic, O Arjuna. Tamasic dhriti is the grim persistence of someone stuck in self-destructive patterns.

yad agre canubandhe ca sukham mohanam atmanah nidralasya-pramadottham tat tamasam udahritam

The happiness that deludes the soul both in the beginning and in consequence, arising from sleep, sloth, and negligence — that is declared to be tamasic happiness. Tamasic pleasure numbs rather than nourishes, deepening delusion.

svabhava-jena kaunteya nibaddha svena karmana kartum necchasi yan mohat karisyasy avaso 'pi tat

Bound by your own duty born of your own nature, that which out of delusion you wish not to do — you will be compelled to do even against your will. One cannot escape the dharma written into one's own nature.

kac cid etac chrutam partha tvayaikagresa cetasa kac cid ajnana-sammohah pranastas te dhananjaya

O Arjuna, have you heard this with single-pointed mind? Has your delusion born of ignorance been dispelled, O Dhananjaya? Krishna checks directly whether his teaching has pierced through to Arjuna's core and dissolved his confusion.