atomic¹: Tirumular (Tirumantiram: Tantra Seven, Verses 2011-2014) says that the soul (Jiva) is the size equal to 1 in 100,000 parts of a cow’s downy hair. Cow’s downy hair is approximately 16 microns in width. Go to Saiva Siddhanta view of the soul.  The term atomic is used both to indicate its size and its adventitious nature.

The soul according to Saiva Siddhanta

As you have noticed, I tried to bring into focus the points of view of many philosophies and  internal differences within.

18.1:  Arjuna said:

I wish (or desire) to know the Truth about Sannyāsa and Tyāga and the difference (thereof), O Mahabaho, O Kesi-nisūdana.

Mahā bāho: Mighty-armed one. Hrisi kesa: Master of the senses. Kesi nisudana: Killer of demon Kesi. These are some of the names for Lord Krishna. 

Sannyāsa and Tyāga are renunciation of selfish acts and performance of deeds without expectation of rewards respectively. Sannyāsi renounces material objects and worldly comforts and has ascended the eight arduous steps or angas to reach that status. Sannyāsa is the fourth stage of life and the sannyāsi has no worldly possessions. A Tyagi on the other hand can be anybody who does acts without expectation of rewards. A householder can be a Tyagi, but not a Sannyāsi. The criteria for a Sannyāsi are more stringent and on a different and higher plane. A yogi (Sannyāsi) is capable of Kaivalya, Samādhi and Ānanda. See elsewhere for description.

As mentioned below, a yogi or a Sannyāsi has to climb eight arduous steps in full faith and accomplishment to reach the top. A true renouncer (Sannyāsin) is the one who relinquishes action without expectation fruits of such an action. Desirelessness (non-attachment--vairāgya) is one of the cardinal symptoms of a yogi. The Eight-in-one-yogi climbs the rungs of the ladder: withdrawal, observance, postures, breath-control, withdrawal of senses, fixed attention or concentration, contemplation or meditation, and superconsciousness or samādhi. He is an exemplar by practice:  Ahimsa, truth, non-theft, continence, patience, firmness, compassion, honesty, purity and rejection of gifts and moderation in food intake (only animal products allowed are dairy products). A yogi can attain samādhi only when he adheres strictly to the tenets.

Inaction is dereliction of duty (which he is sworn to, trained for, or ordained by birth) and performance of action with rewards on the mind. (Go to BG Chapter Six- The Yoga of self-control for more details.)

18.2:  Sri Bhagavan said:

The seer knows that sannyāsa is renunciation of work attached to desires. The wise declare Tyāga as renouncing the fruits of all actions.

Between Tyāga and sannyāsa, sannyāsa is a higher calling. Tyāga is for karma yogis and sannyāsa for the Jnāna yogis. For a sannyāsi, even the life-sustaining biological functions are work, and it is a burden that prevents him from total continuous immersion and absorption into Brahman.

18.3:  Some wise men say that all work is evil and should be renounced, while others say that acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance should not be relinquished.

    Let me give you an example of what a day-to-day act becomes an act of violence and evil for which atonement exists.  Don't we sometimes feel bad to core and cut an apple?  How could anyone plunge a corer right into the heart of the apple and cut such a beautiful creation of nature? That is why all work is evil. Take a practicing Jain in the extreme. When he falls in the river, his religion dictates, he should not flail his arms and legs to reach the riverbank but let the currents take him there. The teaching is that flailing causes violence to water particles.  What is the remedy or atonement for cutting an apple and eating it? This belongs to  obligate or necessary evil to sustain life; atonement is vaiccuvatEvam (வைச்சுவதேவம்), which entails making an offering to Visvadeva (விசுவதேவர்) before taking the main meal of the day. Visuvadevar (Visvadeva = all-gods) is an Aggregate of all gods, known and unknown.

  18.4:  Certainly, hear from Me, O the Best of the Bharatas. In renunciation, Tyāga is declared to be of three kinds, O Tiger among men.

There are three parts to Tyāga: the doer, the deed, and the reward. The Tyagi should surrender all three to the Lord because he is a mere anonymity, a mere instrument, a mere slave: The agency or doership is not his, but belongs to the Lord. When one claims actions or deeds as his, he claims the fruits of those deeds. Therefore, the tyāgi should surrender them too, to the Lord. Since you are a mere slave, you keep what is given to you; you work for Him and therefore, all your being (and existence) and anything that goes with that belong to the Lord. The Lord owns each one of us lock, stock, and barrel. He is the instrumental, material, and spiritual cause of our being. He enjoins the deed whether you know it or not, and therefore, the reward belongs to Him.

The deed or action is of five kinds: 1) Nityakarma examples are Sandhyavandanam and recitation of Gayatri Mantra.

2) Naimittika Karma refers to action performed on visiting holy places, during eclipses, full moon, dark moon, Ekadasi (11th day of every fortnight), birthday, marriage anniversary and much more. 3) KAmya Karma refers to religious rites and rituals for personal benefits (sons, riches, job) and for preventing and removing diseases, obstacles, catastrophes, and bad outcomes. 4) PrAyascitta Karma refers to acts of repentance to expunge sins of the past and the present. 5) Necessary and obligate actions include profession, work, business, farming, service, eating, sleeping, awakening, biological functions....

18.5:  Acts of sacrifice, charity, and penance should not be renounced and must be done. Sacrifice, charity, and penance purify the wise.

Yajna, Dāna and Tapah: sacrifice, charity, and penance. Tapah or tapas means heat. The generative heat is conserved, sublimated, and channeled into asceticism.

Sacrifice, charity, and penance are the means of purification of those engaged in contemplation (worship), which expunges all prarabdha karma, according to Ramanuja.

18.6:   All actions should be performed renouncing the attached fruits. It is thus My decided (considered) and supreme opinion, O Partha.

  One should perform an action without attachment to the act or the fruit. Attachment to action and fruits lead to attachment to the body, mind, sensory and motor organs, possessions, family etc. We serve the family as a duty and not for praise, honor, gratitude, appreciation.... The father does not relinquish his duty to his family, but relinquishes his attachment to the acts and their fruits.

18.7:  Renunciation of prescribed duty is improper. Renunciation because of illusion is (said to be) due to Tamas or ignorance.

“Duty before all else:” The whole universe revolves on duty, work, sacrifice, universal and personal Dharma, or laws.

Tamas is the root cause of ignorance, negligence and delusion. Tamasic elements in ignorance and human reasoning consider wrong as right. Ignorance is false knowledge as opposed to right knowledge. Ramanuja says, "Renunciation of obligatory and occasional actions have their roots in erroneous knowledge "

Examples of Tamasic renunciation are not performing one's duty to one's family, employer, neighbor, place of worship, community, a nation and the world.

18.8:  He, who renounces his work because of difficulty or for fear of bodily pain, does not gain the fruits of Tyāga by doing Rajasic Tyāga or renunciation.

Rajasic people consider service to the family, employer, neighbor, place of worship, community, a nation or the world entail necessary pain and suffering and thus abandon such obligations; that is Rajasic relinquishment. Giving up is not the answer; doing it and not attached to the deed and fruit are the right attitude. Rajasic relinquishment is neglect of obligation and duty and pursuing luxury and its pleasures.

18.9:   When he does the prescribed duty, that ought to be done, O Arjuna, giving up the attached fruits, in My opinion, is sattvic Tyāga or renunciation.

Attachment to action and its fruit is bondage; relinquishing of attachment to both is Sattvic renunciation. Sattvic Tyagi is the ideal type because he does not abandon his duty out of delusion like the Tamasic person making wrong choices or abandons his duty out of fear of pain and suffering like the Rajasic person pursuing comfort and luxury. Let me give you an example of disinterested action and renunciation of reward.  When you turn your ignition keys, run the engine and drive the car, the car is performing a disinterested action without serving you a homily; it is not asking for a reward; it is simply doing its duty. You could apply this analogy to the sattvic person. 

18.10:  He, who neither hates disagreeable action nor is attached to agreeable action, is a sattvika, a Tyagi, and a wise man, having cut off all doubts.

Purport: Action is of two kinds: agreeable and disagreeable. What is an agreeable action?  Agreeable action is that which pleases the senses, the mind and the mood and disagreeable action is that which riles the senses, the mind and the mood. Take a child for instance. To him playing and watching TV are agreeable action; doing homework is disagreeable action.

 Arjuna is sitting in the chariot getting ready for the battle; to him it is disagreeable action to fight his cousins. Bhagavan suggests that what makes a wise sattvic Tyagi is rising above the pain and pleasure of actions and performing one's duty. In this instance, it is to engage the enemy in battle, a disagreeable action.

A Sattvika, a Tyagi and a wise man all rolled into one person  has virtue and goodness, renounces selfish acts and performs deeds without expecting any rewards and  possesses wisdom and learning. To such a person with special endowment, agreeable and disagreeable actions do not generate either attachment or aversion respectively.  A Sattvic Tyagi, in a spirit of renunciation, rises above his reactive impulses in agreeable and disagreeable situations and performs what is expected of him.  When he does that, he becomes a wise man, having removed all his doubts. 

Mahatma Gandhi says the following: "Neither does he disdain the unpleasant action, nor does he cling to pleasant action-- this wise man full of Sattva, who practices abandonment, and who has shaken off all doubts."

18.11:  It is certainly never possible for the embodied one to renounce all actions. However, anyone renouncing the fruit of work is (said to be) a Tyagi.

A person (embodied soul) cannot give up actions, because he has to work, eat, drink, sleep, raise a family....  When a man is sleeping, apparently not doing any action, his heart beats, his digestive juices flow, his breathing goes on automatically.... He cannot renounce ALL actions and yet can renounce SOME actions. What could that be? It is not performing proscribed actions without the reactive element of aversion or dislike for that act; it is performing a prescribed action without the element of a liking for the act. What is the purpose of that attitude? The fruits. By doing these acts with an attitude of disinterestedness, he renounces all fruits of those actions. Now you see a Tyagi. Why is that attitude of relinquishment important? Thought, word and deed generate Karma. Relinquishment of aversion, liking and the fruits frees one from Karma and its consequences.  It is like working and NOT paying taxes. How is that? If you work as a volunteer and don't take a salary (fruit), you don't pay taxes. That volunteer work (action) is not rewarded with fruit and so there is no tax (karmic consequence).

18.12:  The desirable, the undesirable, and the mixed are the three kinds of fruits of work that come after death for the Atyagi but not for the Tyagi.

Atyagi (he who is not a Tyagi; the one who has not relinquished the fruit) savors three kinds of fruits: sweet and pleasant, acrid and unpleasant, and mixed. These are karmic fruits one has to eat without exception or escape. Tyagi's selfless actions do not bear any fruits and therefore he does not eat any of these fruits now or anytime. Man feels happy eating sweet fruits meaning living  a joyous life. The same man feels dejected eating the acrid and mixed fruits. These actions and fruits are connected with the body and not with the soul.  The Tyagi relinquishes Prakriti (matter) associated with the body and its derivates such as mine-ness and egotism. He is Karmayogi, who performs actions for the welfare of others.  Here is a depiction of the entrance to the temple (Here it is a monastery for illustration). When you enter the temple, you give up Egotism, mine-ness and all negative thoughts and then only enter with humility and prayer on your lips. The door frame has four sides. The Mantra in honor, adulation and worship of Vishnu is Om Namo Narayanaya. In its parts it says, "O Narayana, nothing is mine; yes, all belongs to You. " That attitude does not bear any fruits though one acts.  For more details on Karma go to BG02

There are three Karmas (Sanchita, Kriyamana (Agami) and Prarabdha); there are three fruits (desirable good fruits, undesirable bad fruits and mixed fruits).

Sanchita has three kinds of seeds: Sattvic Shukla white seeds, Tamasic Krishna black seeds and Shukla-Krishna mixed seeds; these seeds give their respective fruits.

Prarabdha karma: set in motion; Sprouting; germinates and yields fruits according to the seeds.

Arabdha Karma: begun, started, initiated, sprouting.

An-arabdha Karma: not begun, not sprouting, seed.

Sanchita: Accumulated; stored dormant seeds = Silos or storehouse.

Kriyamana Karma (Agami): coming; being made; actively made

Tamil Sacred texts have the following information on karma.

There are three basic karmas:  

1. Prarabdha Karma, Nukarvinai,  (நுகர்வினை--eating karma at present) Actively sprouting seed karma)

2. Agami Karma, Eruvinai  (எருவினை--coming, approaching, impending, harvested seed Karma)

3. Sanchita karma, Tolvinai (தொல்வினை--ancient karma; Storehouse seed karma, the silos)  

Prarabdha, Agami and Sachita Karmas are Sanskrit terms.

Nukar (நுகர்) +Vinai (வினை) = Eat, consume + Karma; Eru =  (எரு) Impending; Tol = (தொல்) distant in the past.

     1. Prarabdha Karma is Nukarvinai in Tamil, meaning that the person eats the fruits of his Karma now.  2. Agami Karma is Eruvinai meaning impending Karma.     3. Sanchita Karma is Tolvinai or Pazavinai in Tamil meaning it involves distant deeds of former births.  Once all Malas and Karma are destroyed, there is no rebirth. Tamil saints are of the opinion that Diksai (தீட்சை) expunges Prarabdha and Sanchita Karmas and Guru's eye of wisdom expunges Agami Karma. Diksa Titcai or Diksai is initiation of a disciple into the mysteries of Saiva religion; it consists of three stages: Samaya-diksai, Viceta-diksai, and Nirvana-diksai (initiatory rites, second or middle step in initiation, which gives the disciple special privilege of making Puja to Siva, and Third and last step, which helps the disciple free himself from the bonds of existence and attain emancipation--Tamil Lexicon). As fire destroys cotton and reduces it into ashes, Diksai reduces all Malas into ashes and obtains liberation. Mantras destroy prarabdha karma and guarantees no rebirth, as fire roasts seeds and renders them unproductive.

18.13:  Learn from Me O Mahā-Bāho, these five causes for fulfillment of all actions as stated in the Samkhya doctrine (Sānkhye-krtānte).

What are these five factors governing either prescribed or proscribed action according to Sankhya Doctrine? Find out from the following verses.

18.14:  The body, also the agent or the doer, the instruments of various kinds, various and separate efforts, organs (vital functions or energies) and the fifth also here, the divinity.

The action has five causes (elements) for its accomplishment: 1) physical body, 2) agent, 3) organs of perception, 4) various individual functions, and 5) divinity.  He is the Antaryamin, Antarvarti, Antaratman and Paramatman

1) Adhisthanam is the body (the seat), the repository of love, hate, desire, aversion, happiness, sadness, knowledge, ignorance and many other dualities.  Body is called a seat because it is the seat of the individual soul and World-Soul

2) Kartā: Agent or doer. It should be understood that the Acharyas offer different interpretations of the agent. Who is this agent? Samkhya doctrine: Purusa is only a spectator or a witness; He does not participate in action because of his weak limbs; on the other hand, Prakrti is muscular but blind. If Purusa is weak-limbed, how could he be the agent or doer? It is said that Purusa is the agitator, the activator of gunas and therefore a doer. Without Purusa, Prakrti cannot act.

According to Sankara, Ahankāra (ego) is the agent. It is the “I” factor powered by Rajas, and both are in collusion. 

Ramanuja claims that jivātman (the soul) is the agent, while Madhava says that Lord Vishnu Himself (the World-Soul) is the Agent. For Sankara, the instrument and the agent are the same. Divinity is the wild card here: When the agent and the instruments go one way, divinity may go the other way. Is it karma? According to Sankara, the nature of deity (divinity) is not for analysis or inference by logic; what little we know is derived from scriptures: Divinity is beyond logic and reason.

3) Organs of perception are thirteen in number: 5 motor organs, the hand, the foot, the mouth, anus and genitals; 5 sensory organs, ear, eye, nose, tongue, skin; three internal organs (Antakarana) mind, intellect and egoism. The motor and sensory organs are the external organs. Modern anatomists say essentially the same thing and may use different terms.

4) Various individual functions: Ramanuja says that these refer to the five vital airs, without which the senses and the body cannot live. Go to  BG04 for more information on Vital airs.

5) Divinity: He is Antaryamin, Antarvarti, Antaratman and Paramatman. Go to 18.73 for explanation.  He is the Resident of our spiritual heart.  From Him comes to us memory, knowledge and their removal (15.15).  The individual soul draws energy from the World-Soul, Bhagavan.  How he spends His Energy is up to the individual soul and it is left up to his free will to direct his senses, organs.... Bhagavan provides the Energy and Permission but not the direction, which is up to the individual soul.  The consequence of his acts is his and not Bhagavan's and yet nothing happens without BhagavAn's knowledge.

18.15:  Whether karma is done in a proper or perverse manner (right or wrong), a man does it by his body, speech and mind; these are its five primary causes.

Nyāyam: Right or fit, axiomatic, standard, proper, conforming to scriptures. Viparīta: contrary, perverse.

Action in perverse manner is doing acts against the canons of Sastras. What are the five primary causes?

1) Action by body: The body being a composite entity of organs, elements, mind, ego, speech and the rest, functions under the aegis of the individual soul. 2) Action by the soul: The soul acts as the agent and the knower. 3) Action by organs: The motor organs like speech, hands, feet etc participate in action. 4) Action by the vital airs. The vital airs such as Prana, Apana etc sustain the actions of the organs. 5) Action by Divinity: The World-Soul, the Inner Self, the inner Controller brings action to its completion.

If Divinity is the ultimate doer of action, why should the individual self, organs, vital airs, and body be held responsible for such action?  Divinity is the Engine, Mover, Activator, or Impeller of action. The prosecution of action is left to the individual in the sense whether it is done within the purview of the canons of Sastras or against them. The freedom of choice and action is given to the individual.

All acts of man are done by speech, body and mind. Mind is the origin of thought and speech and the formulator of intended actions, which the body carries out for better or worse. The fruits of actions are also experienced by these three.

18.16:   He sees his own “self” as the doer or agent due to lack of intelligence. This, ignoramus never sees or perceives. 

Durmatih: ignoramus, one with false notion or opinion.

Mind, body and speech are products of Prakrti and do all the acts under the aegis of five causes as said above. The individual self or soul is not by itself the agent or the doer; it is subject to the consent of the Supreme Self, according to Ramanuja. Only an ignoramus considers the individual self or soul as the doer. The man with ego-deluded mind thinks he is the doer. When the delusion lifts, he realizes he is not the doer. Sankara give the following commentary.  A person riding the palanquin thinks he is moving; in reality he is not moving but the palanquin bearers are moving.

18.17:  He who is free from doership or ego, whose intelligence is not tainted, though he kills in this world, never kills and is never bound (by his killing).

This verse has contextual meaning and advice, directed to Arjuna, the prince and the warrior under battlefield conditions. It does not mean that somebody can kill somebody else and claim immunity. Every one acts according to his duty that he is born to fulfill, trained for, or ordained. Arjuna is ordained to fight to kill his enemy, since he is the warrior. One's duty is one's conscience. Performance of one's duty according to one's conscience is Sattva. Killing an enemy under battlefield conditions is a duty of a warrior, and therefore, his actions do not bind him. Brahmanda Purana (1.2.36.188) states that killing an individual to save many is neither a major nor a minor sin.  The individual self is NOT the doer but a silent witness.

Individual soul belongs to and identifies with the Self (Bhagavan). By declivity, which is dissociation of the individual self from the Self or world-Soul, man identifies himself with the body. This is ignorance. If man develops egoism or body identification, dissociation (declivity) from Bhagavan takes place. This sense of I and identification with the body (Egoism) has two aspects: AhamsphUrti and Ahamkrti.

AhamsphUrti  ( "I"- vibration) is waking up and finding himself alive in his body (body consciousness). Soul-consciousness is absent or obtund.

Ahamkrti is waking up, looking at the body and saying I am white, black, brown, Brahmana, Vaisya, Sudra, professor, teacher...; all these are identification with the body or body consciousness. He forgets the universality of the soul. By this special affinity with a class, race, caste, quality, profession, man identifies himself with the unreal, impermanent and evanescent. With this affinity, he considers actions done by the unreal body as done by the Real or the soul

The unreal are the external markers of body; the Real is the self or the soul. When we greet a fellow human being with opposed palms, we are not addressing the person in his body aspect but greeting the soul in him. The fount of Ahamkrti is egoism, the arrogance of I overriding and subducting the soul.

The twin aspects of body consciousness and affinity refer to the body, the unreal element and not to the soul, the Real.  When man attains Self-realization, his body consciousness subsides. When he does actions in the name of self or soul without the impediment of body consciousness, those actions are without any Karmic load and do not bind him. He is not the doer any more. Bhagavan is telling Arjuna to lose body consciousness, attain soul consciousness and do his duty.

18.18: Knowledge, object of knowledge, and the knower are the three kinds of stimulus (impelling) to action. The sense organs, the action, and the doer are the three constituents of action.

  Knowledge, Knowable and the Knower are three essential impellers of action. Knowledge is to know the object of knowledge; it is like knowing the use of a pen. The object of knowledge is the act that has to be done; writing with the pen is the object of knowledge. The knower is he who knows the act; it is the man who knows to write with the pen. The sense organs, the action and the doer are essential for an action to come to completion. Illustration: the eye is the sense organ, the action is seeing and the doer is the person. What do all these mean? What are all these things leading us to?  Find out as you go.

18.19:   Jnāna, karma, and kartā are threefold, according to the difference in Gunas as said in the science of Gunas of Sankhya doctrine. Hear it rightly.

Jnāna, karma, and kartā: knowledge, action and doer (agent) yathāvat: duly, properly, rightly. 

Knowledge, action and the doer are governed by the three Gunas or modes of behavior: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas (virtue and goodness; motion and passion; darkness, ignorance, sloth and slumber.

Knowledge, action and doer each is governed by Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.  Once knowledge is sattvic, it necessarily follows that action and doer are sattvic. The same is true of Rajas and Tamas.

18.20:   That is knowledge, by which “One” Being is seen in all beings as the Imperishable and the Undivided (in the divided). Know that knowledge is Sattva.

sarva-bhutesu yenaikam bhavam avyayam iksate|

avibhaktam vibhaktesu taj jnanam viddhi sattvikam||18.20||

Knowing that Reality (Imperishable Being, World-Soul, Supreme Being, God) runs like an unbroken thread through all beings is Sattva or goodness. It like the thread running through and holding all flowers together in a garland or beads in a chain. This Atman (Self, World-Soul) is the Supreme Knowledge, which is One and the Same remaining undivided (like the thread) and imperishable in all beings, though existing apparently distinct and separate in each being, whether the being is particularized as a high-born, low-born,  poor, rich, learned, ignorant, multicellular, unicellular, animal, plant.... He is the Immutable and Imperishable Self or Soul abiding in the perishable forms or bodies like us and remaining completely unaffected by the fruits of actions generated by the individual and his karma. "Such knowledge of the immutability (and imperishability) of the Self in all changing beings is Sattvika." according to Ramanuja.

Sankaracharya defines "SaravabhUtesu as all things beginning from the Unmanifest to unmoving things, through which knowledge, one sees that Entity to be Avibhaktam, undivided; in every body, Vibhaktesu, in all the diversified things, in the different bodies.  That Reality, which is the Self, remains like space undivided. That realization of the Self as non-dual  is Sattvikam. That Self is Knowledge through which one sees a single undecaying Entity."  Sankara seems to include beings and matter in "Sarvabhuta".

18.21:  The knowledge by which one sees manifold divisions among all beings because of their separateness, distinct nature and diverse condition, know that knowledge is Rajas.

Rajasic knowledge sees manifold divisions among all creatures due to separate and distinct nature, and diverse condition.

Prthaktvena: due to separateness or distinct nature. Nānā-bhāvan: diverse conditions. Prthakvidhān: manifold divisions or types.

A Rajasic person is the one who sees diversity in unity, due to natural distinction and individuality among living beings, which include people, animals, birds, insects, trees.... He categorizes and divides living things (and objects) by genus, species and individual parameters. He does not see the pervasiveness of the Lord or Brahman running through all living beings like a thread running through the beads in a chain. He notices the differences but does not see the Oneness of Brahman in all living beings. It is like a Rajasic white man seeing the blackness in the black people and the brown in the Indians or Vice Versa; the Oneness of Brahman in all these people eludes his rajasic perception and predisposition.

Ramanuja says that the bodily attributes do not affect the abiding Atman or the World-Soul in each being.  This knowledge, when lacking, is of Rajasa guna.  Rajas as guna is the cause of love and hate, aversion and attachment.... It thus sees diversity in unity, and fails to notice unity in diversity (World-Soul in diverse beings).

18.22:  Tamas holds to a single result as if it were the whole, without regard to the cause, and knowledge of the Reality or Truth and therefore, is frivolous.  

yat tu krtsna-vad ekasmin karye saktam ahaitukam|

atattvartha-vad alpam ca tat tamasam udahrtam||18.22||

krtsnavad= as though it were all. ekasmin =  to one, in one. Saktam = attached, cling, confined, ahaitukam = that which is irrational, bereft of logic. a-tattvartha = absence of Truth. alpam = trivial, frivolous. tamasam = born of Tamas. udartham = said to be.

Kārye: effect, result, single type of act--Ramanuja.

Kārye:  form, to one body or to an external image--Sankara.

Kārye: work --Prabhupada.

The physical body comes from Prakrti (matter). If body, being an incomplete entity, were considered as a whole, it is an irrational and foolish thought because body without Soul is incomplete and contradicts the existence of life and Reality. Ramanuja’s interpretation is different: He calls Kārye as a single type of act. He says, "while an act of worship of Ghosts (anyone less than Bhagavan, the Lord) offers minor fruits (as if they are the ultimate goal), the worship of Bhagavan offers many fruits including the ultimate fruit of salvation."  

After reading many commentaries, the following is my take and understanding of this verse.

Tattvartha = Truth, Reality, Noumenon

The Tamasic person thinks as follows.  He regards one phenomenon as if it were the whole Tattvartha, the Noumenon. Phenomenon is one (single) thing as it appears; Noumenon is One Thing in Itself as it really is. One Thing in Itself is Purna, wholeness, or Plenitude and is an Entity with myriad things in its parts. The purport is that Thing in Itself is more than one thing as it appears. Phenomenon is one infinitesimal part and manifestation of the Noumenon, which is the whole. Noumenon is more complex than phenomena. A Tamasic person takes a limited and circumscribed view of a thing, takes it as a whole and loses sight of the Truth and its complexity. It is like the five blind men and the elephant.  He sees the phenomenal world and ignores the Tattvartha, the Noumenon (the Truth) that is Bhagavan. He takes the world for his selfish enjoyment as it relates to him and misses and ignores the Tattvartha.  He cannot see beyond the limitation of his ego, body and mind.

Sattvic person sees unity in diversity and the thread of Bhagavan running through all beings and objects of the universe. (This is the Vaishnava view.)

Rajasic person sees diversity in unity. To use Nehruvian idiom, Rajasic person has fissiparous trait.

Tamasic person is a man of trivial pursuits and misses the unity in diversity.

18.23:  That action, which is performed as duty or obligation, without attachment to its fruits, and without love, hatred, or desire, is called Sattva.

niyatam sanga-rahitam araga-dvesatah krtam|

aphala-prepsuna karma yat tat sattvikam ucyate||18.23||

Sanga-rahitam  = worldly attachment, desire - forsaken, deserted = without worldly attachment. A-raga + dvesatah = without love or hatred.  aphala-prepsu = no fruit + longing for = not longing for fruit.

The clouds rain, the sun shines, and the wind blows without attachment, love, hatred, and desire for fruits; that is Sattva.

There are so many common loan words like these between Sanskrit and Tamil.   Phala is fruit in Sanskrit; Pazham (ÀÆõ) in Tamil is fruit. Sangam = sangam-- ºí¸õ = attachment.   RAga =  irAgam, þá¸õ. dvesa = dvesam, Чńõ.

18.24:  Action, which is performed with an extraordinary effort and a desire to enjoy the fruits, and is prompted by ego, is considered Rajasic.  

bahula-āyāsam: abundance of exertion, extraordinary effort, or great effort.

Here is a prototypical Rajasic person with TAB--Type A Behavior.

He talks fast; his voice is screeching, annoyingly loud, and unpleasant. His carriage is tense, robotic, and jerky.  He has palpebral (eye lids), facial, possibly body and limb ticks.  His jaws are tight and TMJs click. He smacks his lips. His masseters (chewing muscles of the face) are bulging from constant tonicity, indicating clenched teeth. He sucks in air to accommodate his rapid-fire staccato speech.  He sighs more often than not. His eyelids blink and pulsate like a wound-up haywire metronome. His teeth are worn out from excessive grinding while sleeping and awake. He has black circles under the eyes like a raccoon from loss of sleep, fatigue, smoking…. He drives fast, cursing pedestrians, and other drivers, honks unnecessarily, talks to himself while driving, and yells obscenities at passing cars, pedestrians and "ugly chicks." He weaves through traffic like a crazed snake shooting towards the hole in the snake-hill. He keeps looking at the light, starts moving at amber light; green is too late in coming for him. He screeches to a halt at the nick of time to avoid a pedestrian who is minding the green light and walking in the pedestrian crosswalk. He smokes, eats, talks on the cell phone, fiddles with the buttons on the dashboard, yells at the other drivers and shows the middle finger to the passing cars, all while driving.  He bares his teeth like a surly dog. His forehead has wrinkles and his mouth is puckered like a string purse  from contraction of muscles around the mouth. Sometimes his sourpuss sports a hesitant smile which dissolves into anger when faced with casual contacts at toll booths. He curses the toll booth employees for no fault of theirs for the rising toll charges.  He does not actually eat but wolfs the food down as fast as his gullet can safely pass it down.  Before his spouse could say, ‘second helping,’ he is all done with eating, taps his fingers on the table, shakes and pumps his leg like piston, looks at everybody else at the table as if they have nothing else to do except eat his food and wonders why they haven’t finished their meal.  He hates going to restaurants because the waiters are too slow for his liking.  When he ends up there during a long drive or vacation, he stands at the waiting line shifting his weight from one leg another and his roving eyes spin impatiently looking at whirling busy waiters and the cucumber-cool cashier to usher him (and his family) in right away.  His wife and children keep cautioning him to take it easy.  One of his daughters smilingly says, “Giddy Goody Dadyo, there are no empty tables; we just have to wait our turn.”  He loves his family toooo much to see any slight in her admonition. As he ambles to his table following the usher too closely for comfort, he knocks the towels, water pots, and silver evoking disgust from the patrons. His swinging wayward hand pokes the face of a baby sitting on a high chair, precipitating a sudden clap of thunderous pain from the baby, and consternation and anguished look  from the mother and inviting an unwelcome cynosural scowl from all directions. He apologizes to one and all instantly.  He can’t wait to get out of the restaurant. Something is "wronger." The food is bad, the service is atrocious, it is too noisy, he can’t smoke there,  the busboys clatter the plates and silver too loud, it is too stuffy, it is too hot, it is too cold, it is just not right. So he asks his spouse to pay the bill, goes to the bathroom, urinates all around the toilet bowl (his hands are shaking from nervousness), pulls his zipper fast, nicks himself, yells obscenities, ambles out of the restaurant before his family, sucks a smoke nervously, fidgets with his eyeglasses, jingles the coins and the keys in his pocket, checks his back pocket for his wallet, curses the yelping dog, startles the squirrel by throwing a lighted cigarette at him with the flip of his smoke-stained finger, and keeps looking through the restaurant glass walls in the direction of his table for the shadow of his family. It is the moment they relish, being away from him, though they love him. He goes home; his family is glad that nothing worse happened. He settles down on the love seat, watches television, flips and surfs on all three hundred channels fast and furiously, calls his spouse asking for his favorite program, its channel and time, drinks his favorite beer, eats snacks, reads newspaper, belches loudly, opens the mail, and curses the utilities, and credit card companies for their bills and finance charges. He goes to bed with baggy eyes covered with sleep shade because he can't sleep without lights in his bedroom. His wife wears it too because she can't sleep with lights on. They look like a happy couple sunning in the sunshine of their lighted bedroom with sleep masks on.

Now you have an idea what a Rajasic person is. All his acts seek instant gratification; he projects his ego on men, animals and objects. He is the doer or agent, the center of the universe, which has to revolve around him. He expends a great deal of effort at everything he does, but the returns are poor. He arrogates himself by feeling and saying that he expends enormous energy to run his business, and support his partners, the staff and the family; he does everything by himself.  Ultimately he is fatigued physically, mentally and spiritually. He carries the world on his shoulders, which is telling on his physique, psyche and all; he is at a breaking point.

18.25: Work that is undertaken with attachment and delusion, and with disregard to loss, injury, and ability, is said to be Tamasic.

anubandham ksayam himsam anapeksya ca paurusam|

mohad arbhyate karma yat tat tamasam ucyate

Anubhandam: attachment. Ksayam: loss. Himsam: injury to others. Anapeksya:  carelessness, disregard. Paurusam: human ability, relating to purusa or human. Mohāt: error, folly, ignorance, delusion

A Tamasic person (delusion, darkness, ignorance, folly) undertakes an action without due regard to consequences. anapeksya ca paurusam refers to lack of "human ability, time, skill, knowledge and resources to perform an act."

This verse, in fact, talks about the war that is about to take place in Kurukshetra. The Kauravas imposed the war on Pandavas. The Kauravas stole their kingdom, which is attachment and usurpation. They did not think of the ruinous consequences such as loss, injury, death, mutilation, and deprivation on the soldiers, generals, themselves, family members.... They entered the war with utter carelessness without any regard for future. They were blinded by their might and did not think of the disadvantage of Bhagavan Himself taking sides with the Pandavas. They were very derisive of almighty Bhagavan because of delusion.

18.26:   The doer or agent, who is unattached, not egoistic in speech, endowed with determination and enthusiasm, and unaffected by success or failure, is said to be sattvic.

He who is without attachment is a Sattvic Doer.  He does not claim any bragging rights for his actions or accomplishments. He is determined, firm and enthusiastic about what he does without any attachment; he does not lay any claim on the fruits. He does not claim to be or having a feeling of being an agent (An-aham-vAdI); he feels he is an instrument in the hands of Bhagavan. He and his ego do not occupy the central position in his acts or relationship with others. He remains unperturbed in success and failure; thus, he does not concentrate on fruits. His guiding principle in performing an action is approval from the scriptural authority and not the fruits thereof. 

18.27:  The doer, who is passionate and desires fruits of actions; who is greedy, injurious, and impure; and who is subject to joy and sorrow, is said to be Rajasic.

A Rajasic doer has passion for name, fame and fruits. He is greedy, injurious and impure. His greed is saddled with niggardliness. He causes injury for gain, covetous and cruel by nature (himsa-atmakah). His act lacks internal and external purity, which is mandatory for worship of Bhagavan. He is not dispassionate when it comes to action. He is elated at success and depressed at failure. If there is no fruit, to him it is not worth his effort. Joy for acquisition, sorrow at getting undesirable fruit, and losing a coveted object overwhelm him.

18.28:  The doer, who is not devout, uncultivated, obstinate, deceitful, dishonest, lazy, despondent, and procrastinating, is said to be Tamasic.

Tamasic person is unsteady and unhinged (Ayuktah) when it comes to following Sastras. He is puerile, immature, unrefined and  ignorant of Sastric injunctions. He is materialistic, stubborn and inflexible like a rigid rod; he is deceitful, depraved and dishonest. He is too lazy to undertake and finish his own task. He is gloomy and procrastinating so much so that he does what has to be done today in the distant future.

18.29: Hear the three kinds of differences in intellect and steadiness explained fully and severally according to the gunas, O Dhananjaya.

buddher bhedam dhrtes caiva gunatas tri-vidham srnu

procyamanam asesena prthaktvena dhananjaya

buddeh = intellect; bhedam = difference; dhreteh = of fortitude; gunatas = according to gunas (modes of behavior);  trividham = three kinds; asesana = in complete detail; prathaktvena = severally.             

The gunas are three: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. Intellect and fortitude are affected by the three gunas. In BGT 6.4-25, Bhagavan says the following:

6.24 - 25:  Giving up all desires born of mental will and limiting by the mind all senses from all sides, one should withdraw slowly (little by little) by intelligence and firm conviction (from objects). With his mind steady on atman, one should not think of anything else

18.30:  Buddhi, by which one knows action and nonaction (renunciation), what should be done and what should not be done, fear and fearlessness, bondage and liberation, O Partha, is sattvic.

Pravrttim: activity, exertion or effort. Nivrttim: renunciation of action  Buddhi = discriminating intellect.

Sattvic Buddhi is to know worldly activity (Pravrttim) is living in the matter, and renunciation  (Nivrttim) is living in the spirit; the former leads to material prosperity and the latter leads to liberation. Pravrttim is centrifugal movement of the soul from its divine fountainhead, meaning living in the material world with embodied soul. Nivrttim is beating a path back to the Source; it is the centripetal movement of the soul to its fountainhead. The former is bondage in the world of diversity; the latter is liberation from the world of bondage. The former is the path of rites, rituals, responsibilities, and duties; the latter is renunciation and withdrawal from the world of matter.  Sattvic Buddhi also knows the prescribed and proscribed acts according to scriptural injunctions.  Fear and fearlessness are a referent to scriptural transgressions and observations; fear arises from transgressions and fearlessness arises from observation of scriptural dictates. Transgressions are inimical to an individual, a family, a community, a nation and the world and therefore induce fear in a transgressor. Fearlessness is liberating in an observer of injunctions.

18.31:  Buddhi, by which it knows imperfectly dharmam and adharmam, what should be done and what should not be done, is Rajasic, O Partha.

Dharmam and adharmam: right and wrong. Dharmam is following prescribed injunctions of Scriptures. Adharmam is the opposite of Dharmam.

Rajasic Buddhi does not know the essence of the verse 18.30 and has a wrong understanding of virtue and vice and prescribed and proscribed acts. Action performed by an individual for the welfare of all is Dharmam and Karyam; the opposite (Akaryam) is true of Adharmam. Karyam is action that ought to be done; Akaryam is action that ought not to be done. That is easy to understand.  Let us take simple examples where there is a moral, ethical and legal dilemma in the choice we make. Most of us know commonplace Karyam and Akaryam. Karyam is doing one's duty to a fellow human being according to the dictates of his conscience and job description. A teacher teaches and desists from abusing the pupils. A legislator serves his electorate and not the special interest groups. A doctor serves the patient and not the pharmaceutical industry. All this come under Karyam and Akaryam. What about actions in the grey zone?

There are some grey areas. When the Nazis were making house to house search for Jews, some Germans hid them so well that the Nazis could not find them and were sent on their way with a pack of lies. That is clearly a laudable moral and ethical act, while at the same time it is an illegal act. This is an example of Karyam that ought to be done, though illegal in the eyes of the authorities.  You see a snake swallowing a frog and the snake in its turn is eaten alive by a mongoose. What should you do? Life is at stake and in danger. The best thing to do is Akaryam, wherein you do not interfere with the nature of things.

18.32:  Tamasic Buddhi, covered by ignorance, thinks Adharmam as Dharmam, and perverts all things, O Partha. 

This is what Ramanuja says, "That Buddhi is of the nature of Tamas which is enveloped in Tamas and reverses every value. The meaning is that it regards Adharma as Dharma and Dharma as Adharma, existent as non-existent, non-existent as existent and higher truth as the lower and the lower truth as the higher, and thus reverses every value."

18.33:  The unswerving determination, by which one controls and steadies the mind, the life-breaths, and the activities of the senses by yoga (meditation), O Partha, is sattvic.

Unfailing determination and fortitude through yoga and Samadhi (absorption in Brahman) with control of the functions of the manas, prana, Indriyas (mind, vital breaths, and organs) are of the nature of Sattva.  Dhrti or fortitude keeps us steady on the path to realization of Brahman. Dhrti keeps in check and sustains the activities of the mind, vital breaths and senses through Yoga. That man is Sattvic. Here there is clear reference to Kundalini Yoga, by which the Yogi steadies his mind, controls his senses, channels the breaths through Susumna Nadi and attains Samadhi.

18.34:  The determination, by which one holds fast to Dharma, Kāma, and Artha (duty, desire and wealth) with attachment to desires of fruit O Partha, is Rajasic.

Dharma, Kāma, and Artha: Duty, desire/passion, and wealth. Kāma has a carnal element. A person has four goals in his life: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksa, which are collectively called Purushārtha: any object of  human pursuit; aims of existence; the meaning of human existence. Though Dharma, Artha and Kama observed with determination and fortitude are of Rajasic nature, there are no injunctions against them.

Kāma is gratification of any and all desires; Artha, acquisition of wealth; Dharma, discharge of duty, righteousness; Moksa, final emancipation. There is no human existence without these four pursuits. These four pursuits pair off in a sattvic (virtuous) person. KAma pairs off with Moksa; Artha with Dharma. Kama is desire and if desire does not pursue the attainment of Moksa or emancipation, it has no value; if Artha (accumulation of wealth) does not pair off with Dharma (righteousness), it has no value. Ramayana has examples of these pairs. Rama is dharma, Lakshmana Artha; Kama is Satrugna and Moksa Bharata. All these four brothers born of Dasaratha are embodiments of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksa.

     Purusharthas abide in Bhagavan,  Adhisesa,  Sudharsanam, and Panchajanyam.

    Bhagavan: He who has Bhaga (grace, excellence, beauty, distinction, majesty...)

    Adisesha is the First Remainders meaning the Primeval residue consisting of Spiritual substance (Consciousness) left over from the previous cosmic Manvantara after the dissolution (Pralaya) and which serves as the progenitor substance of the new universe. This Consciousness substance is represented by the bed of coiled snake with hood, upon which Mahavishnu goes into Yoganidra until the new world is ready to be created.  After destruction and before creation what is left (the residue) is the Consciousness-Substance (the snake that sheds the skin and makes a new appearance), represented by Sesha.

Acharya-initiated devotees of Vishnu wear scar-marks of Discus and Conch on their right and left shoulders from hot seals, impressions or brandings. The Acharya invokes Narayana and His weapons, Discus and Conch by Mantras and applies the hot seals on the shoulders. Agni or the fire and heat carry the spirit of Narayana and His weapons and deposit them on the shoulders of the devotee for whom Pancha Samskaram is performed; the weapons provide eternal protection to the disciple.

Sudharsana: Discus on His right hand

Panchajanyam: Sanku or Conch on His left hand stands for virtue and goodness, defeat of evil, warding off of Yama and his minions, protection from SamsArA, living in Vaikuntham (Vishnu's abode),

18.35:  The determination by which a fool never gives up dream, fear, grief, despondence, and conceit or arrogance, O Partha, is Tamasic.

yaya svapnam bhayam sokam visadam madam eva ca |

na vimuncati durmedha  dhrtih sa partha tamasi||18.35||              

Here the Sanskrit word Svapna means dream. Many commentators interpret it as sleep.  This description is of a person with hypochondria and depression. Fear, grief, despondence and excessive sleep are signs of depression.

  Durmedha = dull-witted, stupid, ignorant.

Here “a fool who does not give up sleep” means that he does not want to give up excessive sleep. Sleep in another context means ignorance.

18.36:  And now hear from Me, O Best among Bharatas, the three kinds of happiness, which one enjoys by practice and by which he reaches the end of suffering.

18.37:  That happiness, which is like the poison at the beginning and nectar at the end, comes from Atma buddhi and is sattvic.

Sattvic happiness, coming from Atma buddhi, is like poison at the beginning and nectar at the end.

Atma buddhi: Knowledge of the Self.

Real joy is like poison in the beginning because Yoga is a strenuous practice and realization of Brahman has not taken place, which when realized is comparable to nectar in the end.  This ambrosial joy comes upon acquisition of Spiritual Knowledge and detachment, and absence of egotism.

18.38:  The happiness, which comes from the contact of objects of senses with the senses, is nectar at the beginning and poison at the end, and is known as Rajasic.

Rajasic happiness coming from contact of senses with objects of senses is nectar at the beginning and poison at the end.

18.39:  That happiness, which deludes the atman in the beginning and at the end and which comes from sleep, laziness, and negligence, is said to be Tamasic.

 Tamasic happiness deludes the atman in the beginning and the end and comes from sleep, laziness, and negligence.  

An embodied (Tamasic) being, divested of soul-consciousness is awake, alert, enthused, and dedicated to material pursuits, which is Tamasic happiness. It deludes the individual soul of a person, revels in spiritual sleep, and laziness and negligence in switching from sense objects to spiritual pursuits.

Sleep has two meanings: 1. normal physiological sleep that a person needs for recuperation from daily wear and tear. 2. Spiritual sleep.  Spiritual sleep is ignorance and seeking sense gratification. When we are awake to the world of senses and its objects, we are in spiritual sleep and Kundalini Sakti is asleep in the Muladhara Chakra. When we are awake spiritually, Kundalini Devi is also awake, which is the first requisite for the Kundalini Sakti's rise through all Chakras to Sahasrara to attain oneness with Siva and Sakti. That is opposite of sleep and becoming one with the Lord; that is knowledge of Reality. Laziness and negligence accompany Spiritual ignorance.

18.40:  There is no being either on earth or in heaven or among the gods, who is free from the three modes of Gunas born of Prakrti.

Prakrti: Material nature.

18.41: Brāhmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sūdra, O Parantapa, and their activities are divided according to their own nature born of their own Gunas.  

Here is what Vajrasucika Upanishad says about caste. This belongs to Sama Veda and undermines caste distinctions based on birth. This passage is a complete extract minus Sanskrit text of Vajrasucika Upanishad,  The Principle of Upanishads, translated by Radhakrishnan (page 935-938).

I.I shall describe the Vajrasuci doctrine which blasts ignorance, condemns those who are devoid of the knowledge (of Brahman) and exalts those endowed with the eye of knowledge.

2. The Brahmana the Ksatriya, the Vaisya and the Sudra are the four classes (castes). That the Brahmana is the chief among these classes is in accord with the Vedic texts and is affirmed by the Smrtis. In this connection there is a point worthy of investigation. Who is, verily, the Brahmans? Is he the individual soul? Is he the body? Is he the class based on birth? Is he the knowledge? Is he the deeds (previous, present or prospective)? Is he the performer of the rites?

3. Of these, if the first (position) that the Jiva or the individual soul is Brahmana (is to be assumed), it is not so; for the individual's form is one and the same in the large number of previous and prospective bodies. Even though the Jiva (the individual soul) is one, there is scope for (the assumption of) many bodies due to the stress of (past) karma, and in all these bodies the form of the Jiva is one and the same. Therefore the Jiva is not the Brahmana.

   4. Then if (it is said) that the body is the Brahmana, it is  not so, because of the oneness of the nature of the body which is composed of the five elements, in all classes of human beings down to the candalas (outcastes), etc.; on account of the per­ception of the common features of old age and death, virtue and vice, on account of the absence of any regularity (in the complexion of the four classes) that the Brahmana is of the white complexion, that the Ksatriya is of the red complexion, that the Vaisya is of the tawny complexion, that the Siidra is of the dark complexion and because of the liability of the sons and others (kinsmen) to becoming tainted with the murder of a Brahmana and other (sins) on cremating the bodies of their fathers and other kinsmen: Therefore the body is not the Brahmana.

5. Then (if it is said) that birth (makes) the Brahmana, it is not so, for there are many species among creatures, other than human; many sages are of diverse origin. We hear from the sacred books that Rsyasrnga was born of a deer, Kausika of Kusa grass, Jambuka from a jackal, Valmiki from an ant-hill, Vyasa from a fisher girl, Gautama from the back of a hare, Vasistha