Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya 446

Srimad Bhagavad Gita -Ramanujacharya

Chapter-14 Guṇa-traya-vibhāg Yogaḥ

Commentary Sattva causes illumination on account of its being immaculate or free from all impurity. Purity being defined as a state free from conditions which hinder enlightenment and happiness. 'Illumination’ or enlightenment is the perception of things as they really are. It is ‘free from morbidity’ ie., it is not the cause of ill health, in other words, Sattva is that which is conducive to health. Sattva, however, binds one [to samsāra] by causing attachment to enjoyment and learning. When attraction to learning and the pursuit of pleasure arises, one engages oneself in secular as well as religious means for obtaining them. Consequently, one is born in such bodies which constitute the means for experiencing their results. In other words — Sattva produces knowledge and happiness and again it causes attachment to them. rajo rāgātmakaṃ viddhi tṛṣṇā-saṅga samudbhavam | tan nibadhnāti kaunteya karma-saṅgena dehinam || 7 || 7. Know, O Arjuna (Son of Kunti) that Rajas is of the nature of passion arising from craving and attachment, it causes the bondage of the embodied Self through attachment to action.