Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18, Verse 32

अधर्मं धर्ममिति या मन्यते तमसावृता |
सर्वार्थान्विपरीतांश्च बुद्धि: सा पार्थ तामसी || 32||

adharmaṁ dharmam iti yā manyate tamasāvṛitā
sarvārthān viparītānśh cha buddhiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī

adharmam—irreligion; dharmam—religion; iti—thus; yā—which; manyate—imagines; tamasa-āvṛitā—shrouded in darkness; sarva-arthān—all things; viparītān—opposite; cha—and; buddhiḥ—intellect; sā—that; pārtha—Arjun, the son of Pritha; tāmasī—of the nature of ignorance

Translation:

O Arjuna! that intellect, enveloped in darkness, which thinks Adharma as Dharma, and all things perverted is Tamasic.

Commentary:

All things appear topsy-turvy to the man of Tamasic intellect. Like the reflection which appears upside down, and like the reflection in a feeble mirror that appears distorted, the whole world gives a wrong picture to the Tamasic intellect. The open path of Dharma is closed for him, and he treads the path of Adharma thinking it to be Dharma. Neither the teaching of the elders nor the injunctions of the Sastras are acceptable to them. They follow their own way and destroy themselves. What is the cause for such self-destruction? Their reason is clouded by ignorance, and darkened by passion. To the drunkard, the world appears to reel and whirl about and so also to the deluded man, the whole world appears in a perverted light, For example:

1. The unreal world and the body appear real to them, and the Supreme Reality Atma is non-existent (to them). 2. The pleasures of the body appear enjoyable to them, and the bliss of Atma has no relish for them; 3. They find beauty in a bit of human flesh whereas they have no thought of the eternal beauty of Sachidananda (Satyam Sivam Sundaram).

They see Dharma as Adharma and Adharma as Dharma. This is due to the delusion caused by ignorance. Therefore such dark intellect is the worst form of bondage. Worldly knowledge, power and position are utterly useless to clear the clouds of ignorance. One should acquire purity of mind which sees the Truth as it is and attain liberation.

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DURYODHANA’S LOGIC — WORK OF A TĀMASIK INTELLECT

The best example of a tāmasik intellect is that of Duryodhana, whom Krishna tried his best to reform, yet failed. Duryodhana had the opportunity to listen to the sagely teaching ‘the Lord resides in the heart and that He is the inner controller;’ but he ended up twisting it to suit his own malicious purposes. He told Krishna, “Krishna, you speak Vedanta. I too know Vedanta. I know what dharma is, but I cannot do it. And I know what adharma is, but I cannot desist from doing it. The cause for this is the deva in my heart, propelling me from within to do whatever it is that I do. He alone is the cause for my adharma.” This was Duryodhana’s self-defence! If we were to challenge Duryodhana, he might write a complete commentary on the Gita in this strain! His power of negative influence was such that even the mighty moral monarch like Bhishma stood dumb before his evil onslaught. The negative will unleashed is, at times, so powerful that any amount of positive will cannot reform it or even make it change its course. Such negative will rushes towards destruction as fireflies do towards the fire. This topic has already been dealt with in viśvarūpa-darśana. (Source: Srimad Bhagavad Gita – Elixir of Eternal Wisdom | Vol 3)

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Question: What is the nature of the Tamasic intellect?

Answer: It is enveloped by ignorance, and therefore interprets everything in a wrong way.

Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 18 🔻 (78 Verses)

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