CHAPTER14-GUNATHRAYAVIBHAAGAYOGA
THE THREE GUNAS
SREE BHAGAVAAN UVAACHA- THE LORD SAID
1. param bhooyaH pravakshyami jnaanaanaam jnaanamUtthamam
Yath jnaathvaa munayaH sarve paraam siddhim itho gathaaH
I will again tell you about the knowledge which is the highest of all knowledge, knowing which, all sages have attained perfection.
Krishna simply reiterates what has been telling so far because the highest knowledge could not be imparted easily in one utterance. Even the mundane knowledge has to be dinned in to the minds of students by constant repetition and it is more in respect of the knowledge through which everything else is known, eka vijnaanena sarva vijnaanam.
munayaH translated as sages does not mean the rshis in the forest who have already attained the state of realization but it means those who are wise enough to understand and contemplate the reality and attain the final stage of realization. The word muni means mananaath muniH, one who studies and contemplates on the truths contained in the Vedas.
The cause of the bondage of the individual soul who is free by nature is shown to be its identification with the three gunas. In this chapter the interplay of three gunas and their effect on the individual soul is explained. Krishna starts the discourse by saying that knowing about the three gunas and their effects the wise become free from bondage. Hence he calls it jnanam utthamam, highest knowledge, resorting to which one attains a status of Brahman and thereafter never reverts back to bondage.
2. Idham jnaanam upaaSrithya mama saaDharmyam aagathaaH
Sarge api na upajaayanthe praLaye na vyaThanthi cha
Acquiring this knowledge they have attained My Being and they are not born again when creation starts and also not affected at the time of annihilation.
When they acquire knowledge by study and contemplation, they attain the stage where the identification of themselves with the Supreme Self is complete because they perceive the Lord as their inner self. mama saadharmyam means saayujyam, that is the union with the Lord.
The Upanishad describing the jeevathama and paramathma says,
Samaane vrkshe purusho nimagno
aneesayaa Sochathi muhyamaanaH
jushtam yadhaa paSyathi anyam eesam asya
mahimaanamithi veetha SokaH (mund.3.1.2)
This is the subsequent passage to the oft quoted one in Mundaka upanishat, `dhvaa suparNaa sayujaa sakhaayaa,' describing two birds in close friendship perched on the same tree, meaning jeevaathma and Paramathma.
The meaning of the above passage is this. The individual soul, purusha, on the same tree with the Supreme Self, meaning the body, is immersed in grief, deluded by ignorance. But when he sees the other bird, the Supreme Self, realizing that he is not separate from Him, becomes free from delusion. This is what is meant by mama saaDharmyam aagathaaH.
The next passage is as follows:
Yadhaa paSyaH pasyathe rukmavarNam
Karthaaram eesam purusham brahma yonim
Thadhaa vidhvaan puNya paape viDhooya
niranjanaH parama saamyam upaithi (Mund.3.1.3)
When the one who has seen the Lord effulgent as gold, the cause of the creator Brahma then the wise one become free from his merits and demerits which cause future births and attains unity with the Lord.
This is the supreme knowledge acquiring which one does not rivert to the cycle of birth and death again.
At the time of dissolution all beings merge in the Supreme and when the creation stars again they emerge as they were before creation, with their karma and vasanas intact. Thus the pralaya or dissolution serves as a temporary relief from samsara for sinners and saints alike. But those who acquire the knowledge and have attained union with the Lord are not born again at the beginning of sarga, creation. Consequently they are not affected by the pralaya, which here means .death.
In the previous chapter it is said that whatever is born is through the combination of the kshethra, prakrthi and the kshethrajna, purusha. Krishna now declares that the birth of the aggregates of beings so born, is brought about by the Lord Himself.
3.mama yonih mahath brahma thasmin garbham Dhadhaamyaham
sambhavaH sarvabhoothaanaam thathaH bhavathi bhaaratha
The moolaprkrthi, mahath brahma, is the origin of all creations and I place the seed of all beings from which the whole creation arises, Oh Arjuna.
The whole universe of sentient and insentient beings originate from the moolaprkrthi known as avyaktha, the unmanifest and as pradhana, the first evolute being the mahath or buddhi, which has been elaborated in the previous chapter. The moola prakrhti is referred to here as mahath brahma. But the inanimate prakrthi is not the creator but it is the Supreme Purusha who is placing the seed of creation in the prkrthi, from which all beings originate.
4.sarvayonishu kountheya moorthayaH sambhavanthi yaaH
Thaasaam brahma mahath yoniH aham beejapradhaH pithaa
The embodiment of all beings that happens in all sources originate only from the moolaprakrthi and I am the father of all by placing the seed in the womb called moolaprakrthi.
Hence the Lord is the father of creation. The prkrthi as a result evolves into the gross universe and the embodiment that results in different kinds of wombs such as deva, manushya, thiryang, sThaavara yonis, is from the Lord only. This concept of Vedanta is different from that of sankhya school according to which the prkrthi creates itself by the gunas combining with each other due to the proximity of purusha. In the yoga philosophy advocated by Pathanjali, there is a Supreme Purusha but He is not identical with the Brahman of the Upanishads who existed alone in the beginning, one only without a second and even the prkrthi coming out of Him only. The word Prkrthi in Vedanta stands for the aggregates that constitute the universe starting from the three gunas down to the gross universe while the moola prakrthi is their unmanifest state existing in Brahman.
5.satthvam rajasthama ithi gunaaH prakrthisambhavaaH
NibaDhnanthi mahaabaaho dhehe dhehinam avyayam
The three gunas, satthva, rajas and thamas which originate from the prkrthi bind the individual soul, who is imperishable, to the body, Arjuna.
Therefore the three gunas, satthva, rajas and thamas which are elaborated in the subsequent slokas, are responsible for the further evolution of prkrthi into the gross universe down to the individual bodies of beings and the soul, purusha , ever free and imperishable is delude in to believing that he is bound to the body by the interaction of the three gunas.
6.thathra satthvam nirmalathvaath prakaasakam anaamayaam
Sukhasangena baDhnaathi jnaanasangena cha anagha
Satthva shines without impediment due to its purity. It binds through attachment to joy and attachment to knowledge.
Satthva is pure and hence nothing marring its purity, it shines in all its glory and produces , light and happiness.. Light denotes knowledge and happiness that results due to the absence of illness, Amaya. Nevertheless satthva also binds the soul by creating an attachment to happiness and knowledge. It makes one desirous of acquiring knowledge, secular and spiritual and causes rebirth to satisfy the desire, though this is preferable to attachment born out of rajas and thamas.
The supreme spirit which is ever free and is of pristine purity shines in its full glory only when the three gunas are transcended and one becomes guNaatheetha, which is the message contained in this chapter. Satthva is pure being uncontaminated by ragadhveshadhi and hence the divinity of the inner self shines through it as a light shines through a crystal. But still it is a reflection only and not the reality. One cannot light a candle in the lamp that is reflected through a crystal. But still it is better than the other two gunas which conceal the truth, rajas by colouring the intellect with raga and dhvesha and thamas by covering the intellect by ignorance and delusion.
7. rajo raagaathmakam vidDhi thrshNaasangasamudhbhavam
Thath nibaDhnaathi kountheya karmasangena dhehinam
rajas is of the nature of passion, born out of desire and attachment. It binds the embodied soul through action.
Rajas is of the nature of thrshNa, passion and sanga, attachment. ThrshNa is desire for sensual enjoyment and sanga is the attachment towards them, denoted by the term eeshanaathrayam, longing for wealth, wife and son and attachment towards them. All the actions born out of rajas are towards securing these and causes bondage resulting in several lives.
thrshNaa also means thirst, which here refers to thirsting for the objects of desire. How the desire leads to disaster has been explained in detail by the sloka Dhyaayatho vishyaan pumsaH in chapter 2. When the thirst for pleasure, power or wealth arises in the mind it propels the individual into activity till the desire is satisfied and into further activity in acquiring more and in protecting what one has etc. thrishNaa, the desire(kama) has been referred to in chapter 3 by Krishna as a fire, dhushpoora anala, which only burns more by being fed. All thrshNa except for Krishna are binding.
8.thamasthu ajnaanjam vidDhi mohanam sarvadhehinaam
PramaadhaalasyanidhraabhiH thath nibaDhnaathi bhaaratha
Thamas is born out of ignorance which deludes all beings, by negligence, indolence and sleep.
Thamas is ignorance causing delusion , that is false knowledge, which deludes all beings into believing in what is erroneous. Thamas causes negligence, lethargy and sleep. Not to do what has to be done is negligence, pramAdha and it leads to lethargy, Alasya, resulting finally in inactivity inducing sleep. People overcome with thamas are seen to eat and sleep all the time. Even when thamas induces activity it is always directed towards erroneous action because of ignorance.
Rajas is described to be of red in colour in the scriptures while thamas is described as black. raga, the word for attachment has also another meaning, colour. Rajas thus colours the thoughts and actions whereas thamas covers the intellect with darkness.
Thamas is another word for ignorance resulting in delusion. Sometimes thamas is mistaken for satthva because one endowed with thamas does not want to act and deludes himself that what he has is enough. This is not contentment that results from satthva but it is sheer laziness. We often find people saying that there is no use for working or aspiring for anything because fate determines everything. This is not philosophy but delusion. They do not want to try, that is all. It is like devil quoting the scriptures. As a result of thamas, one neglects his duty and leads an animal like existence. Even to become wicked and an evildoer, requires the motivation of rajas. A raJasik individual may become saathvik when he is punished or experiences the futility of the worldly desires at some time or other but for the thamsik one, it may take many janmas, often reverting back to animal life to evolve himself even to the level of a rajasik.
It is easily understood how rajas and thamas binds us to the world by making us go through the cycle of birth and death but how can satthva bind us? This is explained in the subsequent sloka
9.satthvam sukhe sanjayathi rajah karmaNi bharatha
jnaanam aavrthya thu thamaH pramaadhe sanjayathutha
Arjuna, Satthva causes attachment to happiness, rajas to action and thamas causes attachment to negligence by shrouding knowledge through ignorance.
satthvam sukhe sanjayathi- satthva is also binding because it attaches one to the happiness that comes out of knowledge, secular and spiritual. This can be explained as follows.
A scientist or a musician or an artist gets the joy through his work and it is satthva if he is dedicated to his work and gets the satisfaction from work itself. If he is under the sway of rajas he will not get pure joy because he will be hankering after fame and money through his work. His joy is equal to that of a seeker of spiritual knowledge as he experiences the pure joy of the self though he is not aware of it as such. But this makes him wedded to his work and prevents him from going beyond to the absolute reality through it, which is achieved only through offering his work to the Lord. But he is not very far from the goal and will attain it in course of time when he detaches himself from his work and does o it as karmayoga.
Similarly a man of spiritual knowledge may also get attached to the learning itself and fail to apply it for self evolvement. As the Lord has said manushyaaNaam sahsreshu kaSchith yathathi sidDhaye yathathaam api sidDhaanaam kasSchith maam vetthi thathvathaH (Ch. 7.3) , which implies that mere learning of sastras is not enough. There is a story to illustrate this.
Bharadhvaja asked Indra to extend his life span so that he can learn all that he wanted to. Indra agreed. After this happened twice Bharadvaja asked Indra how much more time it will be for him before he learns everything. Indra pointed out a mountain and the sage asked Indra does it denote what he has learnt so far but Indra showing him a small mound said that it is the amount of knowledge he has gained and the mountain is the amount he has yet to learn. Hence attachment to knowledge is also a hindrance to salvation.
A spiritual aspirant should cast off the attachment even towards good things like learning sastras or doing rituals. This means not giving them up but to do them as a service to the Lord and acting as his instrument, considering everything as His will.
The statements that rajas causes attachment to actions and thamas to indolence has been explained in the previous slokas were reiterated here for emphasis.
10.rajasthamaScha abhibhooya satthvam bhavathi bhaaratha
rajah satthvam thamaSchaiva thamaH satthvam rajah thaThaa
Satthva overpowers rajas and thamas (at times) and rajas overpowers satthva and thamas while thamas overpowers satthva and rajas.
These three gunas are present in everyone and at different times each one of them subdues the others and becomes predominant depending on the previous karma and the present way of life. As they are mutually opposed to each other an individual is under the influence of only one of the gunas at a time. When he is exhibiting the tendency of satthva, the rajas and thamas are subdued and become unmanifest. Similarly it is the case with other two gunas.
IT is advised to cultivate satthva and subdue rajas and thamas for spiritual progress. For this one must know how they manifest. This is explained in the next three slokas.
11. sarvadhvaareshu dhehe asmin prakaaSa upajaayathe
Jnaanam yadhaa thadhaa vidhyaath vivrdDham satthvam Ithyutha
When the light of knowledge shines from every door (senses) then it should be known that satthva predominates.
When satthva predominates in an individual all his outward manifestation through the senses will be showing the light of knowledge. That is, he never does or feels anything that may give rise to raga and dvesha which may display the rajas in him and there is no trace of ignorance rising out of thamas.
12. lobhaH pravrtthiH aarambhaH karmaNaam aSamaH sprhaa
rajasyethaani jaayanthe vivrdDhe bharatharshabha
Oh the bull among kurus, avarice, desire for activity, engaging in action, restlessness, and longing desire , these arise in a nature predominant with rajas.
The effects of rajas is attachment to activity born out of desire bringing in its wake other offshoots of desire , such as krodha , lobha etc. So avarice is mentioned as the sign of rajas. Attachment to activity in the individual is shown by engaging in activity, pravrtthi, and starting new actions , karmaNaam aarambha, thus all the time immersed in activity which without the tranquility of the satthva brings restlessness, asamaH. The longing desire, sprhaa, which only increases with action . This is the picture of the one predominantly rajasik.
13.aprakaaSaH apravrtthiScha pramaadho moha eva cha
Thamsyethaani jaayanthe vivrdDhe kurunandhana
Oh Son of Kurus, dullness , inactivity, negligence and delusion are the effects of thamas being predominant.
Thamas is due to ignorance and therefore the person predominantly thamasik is seen to be dull, aprakaaSaH, being devoid of intelligence. He is listless, apravrtthiH, and is not active at any time because he is indifferent, pramaadhaH, to the result of action due to delusion, moha.
14. Yadhaa satthve pravrdDhe thu pralayam yaathi dheha bhrth
Thadhaa utthamavidhaan lokaan amalaan prathipadhyathe
When an embodied soul dies with satthva in predominance he goes to the highest planes of consciousness which are pure.
In chapter 6 it was said that an aspirant continues where he left in his next janma, praapya puNyakrthaan lokaan ushithvaa saasvatheeH samaah, (ch6.41) after reaching the regions attained by those with merit and residing there for considerable time. This is the effect of the predominance of satthva at the time of leaving the body.
15. rajasi pralayam gatvaa karamsanghishu jaayathe
thaThaa praleenaH thamasi mooDa yonishu jaayathe
When one dies with rajas being predominant he is born among those who are attached to karma. Leaving the body with thamas being predominant, he is born in the wombs of the ignorant.
As the gunas which are predominant in one due to the past karma prevail in the present janma, so too the gunas which were asserted in this janma determines the next. Hence the one in whom rajas is predominant at death owing to his leading a rajasik life, naturally gets a birth among those attached to action, to exhaust his karma until he gets wisdom to acquire a nature predominantly satthvik.
The thamasik on the other hand take janma embodied in ignorance , either human of even animal births depending on the kind of manifestation of thamas in previous life. If he lives like an animal he will be born as an animal.
Here we should remember one thing. All beings animal or plant or the inanimate are composed of the three gunas. In animals there are some which are placid and others which are aggressive and yet others which are indolent. Even in one animal these traits may be displayed on different occasions. Similarly the trees and plants, some of which are tender and soft, some others very hard and strong and yet others which are without any visible characteristics and go unnoticed. Even with the inanimate things like rocks, some are soft like marble and other stones which render themselves suitable for sculpture and others which are either rough or loosely formulated that nothing can be done with them.
Now how is this connected with what has been expressed in the above sloka? Anyone may take birth in any of the species according to his gunas which were predominant in this life. It could be surmised that one in whom there was satthva at one time but rajas or thamas took over later is born in one of the other species according to the texture of the gunas, to exhaust that guna and to come back to human life later because in other species karma is only exhausted and no new karma could be acquired and no possibility of changing the texture of it. We have a lot of stories in our epics and puranas to illustrate this, such as that of Ahalya, Nalakoobara, Bharatha( who was later born as jadabharatha ) etc.
16.karmaNaH sukrthasya aahuH saathvikam nirmalam phalam
Rajasasthu phalam duhkham ajaanam thamasaH phalam
The result of good actions is pure satthva, grief is the result of rajas and ignorance is the fruit of thamas.
This and the two slokas following this are a sort of summary of what has been said earlier. sukrthaH refers to good and selfless actions which comes out of good thoughts. If the actions are to be good the thoughts have to be good. By thinking on the Lord and doing good to others, following the path laid out by the scriptures and cultivation the virtues of ahimsa, sathyam etc. results in satthva and the mind becomes pure with evil impulses removed.
For an ordinary individual who is engaged in desire motivated activities, the rajasik temperament produces only grief as the desires only grow by being fed, like a fire. So he never acquires the mental peace which is the result of satthvva.
Thamas on the other hand produces ignorance.
17. satthvaath sanjaayathe jnaanam rajasaH lobha eva cha
Pramaadhamohou thamsaH bhavathaH ajnnam eva cha
Wisdom arises from satthva, greed from rajas and negligence and delusion and ignorance from thamas.
From satthva one gets knowledge which stands for all the effects of satthva like mental peace, joy, luminance etc.
From rajas, greed that is accompanied by anger, arrogance etc. result and from thamas all the evil effects that are described already like negligence, delusion, lethargy, listlessness etc. arise.
18.oorDhvam gacchanthi satthvasThaaH maDhye thishTanthi raajasaaH
jaghanyaguNavrtthisThaaH aDho gacChanthi thaamasaaH
Those who are established in satthva go up in evolution, while the rajasik stay in the middle while the thamasik go down.
The ladder of spirituality as opposed to the ladder of descent described in the second chapter by the sloka Dhyaayatho vishyaan pumsaH, is indicated here briefly. The rest of the chapters of Gita, except the fifteenth which is of high spiritual content, discuss the gunas and their effects, also categorizing everything into the three gunas. Here we have only a reference to the evolution of man.
Those with satthva stand high while those with rajas are in the middle and those with thamas are below. Apart from the last thought at the time of death, the attitude and behaviour through out the life determines the progress in spirituality. Those who cultivate satthva in their lives rise above and they are at few steps away from the final state of sThithaprajna. Those with rajas are half way through with the choice of either rising above or to go below. Those with thamas have along way to go. They are mentioned as jaghanyagunavrtthisThaah, those who are of despicable nature.
So what is the way out of sinking below and to reach the ultimate? This is given in the next two slokas.
19. Naanyam guNebhyaH karthaaram yadhaadhrashtaanupaSyathi
guNebhyaScha param vetthi madhbhaavam saH aDhigacChathi
When one sees that there is no agent of action apart from the gunas, he knows that, which is beyond gunas and attains my being.
The wise dissociate themselves from the gunas and understand that all actions are due to gunas only. That is, he as the individual soul is not the one who acts but it is the gunas inside his body, which includes mind and intellect, are reacting with the gunas in the outside world. guNaa guNeshu varthantha ithi mathvaa na sajjathe ( chapter3. sloka 28)
For example when something triggers anger or sorrow we feel "I am angry or I am sad etc." But it is only the rajas or thamas in us which creates the respective emotions and it comes from desire and attachment, the products of ego , ahankara, which is of three kinds according to the gunas as explained in an early chapter. So one who is wise to this thinks that it is the reaction of the gunas in him with the gunas outside and is not affected by it. Hence he does not feel that he is the agent of action.
20.guNaan ethaan atheethya threen dheheeDhehasamudhbhavaan
janmamrthyujaraadhuhkhaiH vimuktho amrtham aSnuthe
The embodied being transcending the gunas which arise from the embodiment becomes free from birth, death old age and other grieves and becomes immortal
When one is able to transcend the gunas by identifying himself with the self, he is no more affected by the gunas and no more karma adheres to him as he does not consider himself as an agent of action. He reaches a stage just one step below that described by the Upanishad,
ksheeyanthe asya karmaaNi thasmin dhrshte paraavare (Mund.2.2.8)
When one attains self realization, that is Brahma sakshaathkaara, all karma cease for him and released from bondage due to karma he attains immortality.
Here Arjuna comes out with a question. He wants to know the signs by which a man who has transcended the gunas can be known and also the way to do it.
ARJUNA UVAACHA-ARJUNA SAID
21.kairlingairsthreen guNaan eThaan atheetho bhavathi prabho
kimaachraH kaThaam cha ethaan threen guNaan athivarthathE
What are the signs of one who has transcended the three gunas, Oh!Lord, how does he behave and how does he transcend the three gunas?
This is similar to the question in the second chapter where Arjuna enquired about the man of perfection. The transcendence of three gunas being the prerequisite of the state of perfection, this is also the sign of a man of perfection.
Krishna starts giving the description of a guNAtheetha in the slokas that follow.
SREEBHAGAVAAN UVAACHA –THE LORD SAID
22.prakaSam cha pravrtthiScha moham eva cha arjuna
Na dhveshti sampravrtthaani na nivrtthaani cha kaankshathi
.Arjuna, when light, activity and delusion are present he does not hate what happened nor longs for what did not.
Krishna starts giving the description of a guNAtheetha
The three gunas are present in all. Even a gunatheetha may feel the light of knowledge at times and also the need for activity or even the fatigue or sleep at other times. These are the effects of the three gunas. But the difference between a gunaatheetha and others is that the former is never influenced by them but just like an onlooker he is simply aware of them. Hence he does not hate the effects of rajas and thamas because he is not affected by it and knows that they are the reaction of the body, mind and intellect towards the gunas outside Neither does he yearns for the light of satthva when it is absent because he is not affected by satthva also.
Then how does he perceive the effects of the three gunas in him?
23.udhaaseenavath aaseenaH guNaiH yo na vichaalyathe
guNaa varthantha ithyeva yo avathishTathi na ingathe
Remaining as though indifferent, he is not moved by the gunas. Knowing that the gunas are operating he does not swerve and stays firm.
One who has transcended the gunas has neither attachment nor aversion for the effects of the three gunas and simply perceives them with an attitude of indifference knowing that the gunas are interacting with gunas. Since there is no identification with the body and the senses he simply observes the happenings, whether pleasing or otherwise and does not feel joy or sorrow.
24. samadhuhkhasukhaH svasThaH samaloshtaaSmakaanchanaH thulyapriyaapriyo DheeraH thulyanindhaathmasamsThuthiH
Even minded in joy and sorrow, staying in the Self, looks upon a clod of earth a stone or gold equally, treats pleasant and unpleasant alike and also insult and praise equally.
25.maanaapamaanayoH thulyaH thulyo mithraaripakshayoH Sarvaarmbhaparithyaagee gunaatheethaH sa uchyathe
He is the same in honour or disgrace, treats friend and enemy alike, and who renounces all actions, he is called the gunaatheetha, the one who has transcended the gunas.
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To him, who dwells in the self, pleasure and pain are the same and he treats a clod of earth, a stone or a piece of gold as having equal value. When one looks upon a friend and foe alike, praise and insult or honor and dishonor as the same, he has risen above the gunas. He rises above the body, mind and intellect and all these mentioned above are only related to the realms of the three, namely, body, mind and intellect. Hence he is not affected by the opposites such as joy and sorrow.
The picture of the gunaatheetha given in the above slokas are non-different from that of Sthithaprajna in chapter 2.The Lord advised Arjuna there `thraigunyavishayaa vedhaaH nisthrigunyo bhava arjuna.' (ch2.45) It was the state of gunaatheetha which was referred to by these words. Krishna drew a portrait of sThithaprajna in chapter 2 while in this chapter He shows the way to become a sThithaprajna, which is to become a gunatheetha.
26.maam cha yo avyabhichaareNa bhakthiyogena sevathe
Sa gunaan samatheethya ethaan brhamabhooyaayakalpathe
The one who with unswerving devotion serves Me transcends the gunas and becomes fit to attain the state of Brahman
27.brahmaNo hi prathishTaa aham amrthasya avyayasya cha
SaaSvthasya cha Dharmasya sukhasya ekaanthikasya cha
I am the abode of Brahman, the immortal, immutable, and eternal dharma and unalloyed bliss.
The reason for following the path of devotion is given by the Lord at the end of the chapter. The state of Brahman is immutable and immortal and "I am the source of all that is immortal and immutable and I am the source of eternal bliss, " says the Lord.
In his discourse on Vishnusahasranama Bhishma says ,
`esha me sarvadharmaanaam dharmo adhikathamo mathah, meaning that the worship of the Lord is the greatest dharma of all. It is because aachaaraprabhavo Dharmo dharmasya parbhurachyuthaH. The aachaara mentioned here is the life led by the devotee and the Lord is the master of his actions.
In the chapter on bhakthiyoga it was mentioned that jnana is the result of bhakthi and in 7th adhyaya Krishna, mentioning about the four kinds of devotees who resort to Him, describes jnani as 'thEshAm jnanee nithyayukthaH eEkabhakthih viSishyathe,'(BG-7.17) the one who has unswerving devotion.
The central idea of this chapter is that seeking refuge with the Lord is the only means of transcending the gunas and the attainment of self-realisation as it is made out in the 7th adhyaya ,
dhaivee hyEshA gunamayee mama mAyA dhurathyayA
mAmEva ye prapdhyanthe mAyAm EthAm tharanthi thE.(BG-.7.14)
The maya is due to the three gunas and only those who resort to the Lord are able to transcend it.