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Chapter 17 · The Divisions of Faith · 28 verses

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Remember who is speaking. Kṛṣṇa is speaking. Take the verse as He directs.
  2. 2Say the verse and its words. Read the Sanskrit, then each word with its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation as it is. Let the translation say what it says, without adding your own meaning.
  4. 4Read the purport. Hear the verse through the disciplic succession.
  5. 5Bring your own question. Ask: where does this verse meet my life, my trouble, my doubt?
  6. 6Act on it, remembering Kṛṣṇa. Carry one instruction into your work today.
Read the full guide: how to read the Bhagavad-gītā ›
Nature & guṇasChapter 17 · The Divisions of Faith
17.217.4

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 17.3

Faith shaped by the three guṇas

Prakṛti · Material nature

सत्त्वानुरूपा सर्वस्य श्रद्धा भवति भारत ।

श्रद्धामयोऽयं पुरुषो यो यच्छ्रद्ध: स एव स: ॥ ३ ॥

sattvānurūpā sarvasya

śraddhā bhavati bhārata

śraddhā-mayo ’yaṁ puruṣo

yo yac-chraddhaḥ sa eva saḥ

Translation

O son of Bharata, according to one’s existence under the various modes of nature, one evolves a particular kind of faith. The living being is said to be of a particular faith according to the modes he has acquired.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

3 study points

Faith and the Modes

  1. 1

    Our faith develops according to the modes of material nature we have acquired.

  2. 2

    Prabhupāda explains that we are originally parts of the Supreme Lord, beyond these modes, but material contact affects our hearts and faith.

  3. 3

    Take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness to become free from material contamination and regain your relationship with the Supreme Lord.

Key points from the purport

Thus his faith will be categorized by one of the three modes

Further reading

The Modes Determine One’s Faith And One’s Worship

Arjuna asks about the situation of one who worships, but not according to sastra

Krishna replies that one who doesn’t follow sastra worships according to the faith dictated by his acquired modes of material nature

Chapter 17, section I: The Modes Determine One’s Faith And One’s Worship
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sattva-anurūpāaccording to the existence
  2. sarvasyaof everyone
  3. śraddhāfaith
  4. bhavatibecomes
  5. bhārataO son of Bharata
  6. śraddhāfaith
  7. mayaḥfull of
  8. ayamthis
3

Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

  • Faith

    Faith corresponds to one’s nature shaped by the modes.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 17.3 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to nature & guṇas?

Practice

Observe which mode shaped your last decision.

5

Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

BG 4.39Spiritual master, knowledge and removal of doubtBG 6.47The highest yogi is devotedBG 17.2Faith shaped by the three guṇasBG 17.4Faith shaped by the three guṇas
Live this todayFaith and the ModesOne practice from this verse

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 4 of 9 · 10 minChapters & storiesGo chapter by chapter, with the Mahābhārata stories that explain what is happening.Back · LearnPrabhupāda's Introduction