📿 Shloka Collection

Prakritergunasammuddhah

Gita 3.29 Bhagavad Gita
📖 Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3 — Karma Yoga
प्रकृतेर्गुणसम्मूढाः सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु ।
तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत् ॥
Prakritergunasammudhah sajjante guna karmasu
Tan akritsnavido mandan kritsnavin na vichalayet
प्रकृतेः गुणसम्मूढाः
those completely confused by the gunas of prakriti
सज्जन्ते
become attached
गुणकर्मसु
to the actions born of the gunas
तान्
those people
अकृत्स्नविदः
of incomplete understanding
मन्दान्
the slow-witted
कृत्स्नवित्
the one with complete knowledge
न विचालयेत्
should not unsettle

Some people are still deeply entangled in the gunas. They work hard, they enjoy rewards, they suffer losses — all within the world of prakriti. Their understanding of the bigger picture is incomplete. Krishna says: do not shake these people out of their orbit prematurely.

A good teacher meets the student where they are, not where the teacher is. If someone is sincerely devoted to their work but does not yet see the deeper truth, the wise response is patience. Guide them gradually. Let them grow. Dumping the full weight of Vedantic wisdom on an unprepared mind does more harm than good.

This reinforces the practical wisdom of 3.26. The wise person acts with awareness of others' readiness.

In the traditional guru-shishya relationship, the teacher always calibrated the teaching to the student's capacity. That is exactly the principle at work here.

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