Śhraddhā Traya Vibhāg Yog
The Threefold Division of Faith
Chapter Theme
This chapter explains how a person's faith (śhraddhā) shapes their thoughts, actions, and spiritual results. It divides faith into three kinds—sattvic (pure), rajasic (passionate), and tamasic (ignorant)—and shows how each leads to different ways of worship, food choices, charity, and discipline.
Krishna emphasizes that faith grows from past habits and nature (gunas), so sincere practice and right knowledge change the quality of faith. Outer rituals done without understanding or compassion are not true devotion. True faith supports self-control, clarity, and service.
The chapter gives practical signs for recognizing pure faith: moderation, truthfulness, harmlessness, and devotion to duty without attachment. It also warns against lazy or harmful practices that come from ignorance or selfish desire.
Overall, the central message is to examine the quality of your faith and actions, and to cultivate attitudes and habits that bring clarity, peace, and service to others.
Key Teachings
- Faith reflects the three gunas and shapes worship, diet, charity, and penance.
- Sattvic faith leads to purity, peace, and insight; rajasic to craving and restlessness; tamasic to ignorance and harm.
- Rituals must be done with understanding, honesty, and compassion to be spiritually useful.
- Austerity should be of body, speech, and mind—done without cruelty, for self-improvement, not for show.
- True renunciation is inner detachment, not mere rejection of duties or social norms.
Life Application
- Choose habits (food, speech, worship) that increase clarity, kindness, and self-control rather than impulse or comfort.
- Practice simple, honest rituals and service with understanding rather than mechanical repetition.
- Build restraint in body, speech, and mind: speak kindly, eat moderately, and train attention through brief daily reflection or breath work.
Reflection Question
What small change in your daily habits would most clearly move your faith toward greater clarity and compassion?
Verses in this Chapter
Arjuna said, "What is the condition of those who, disregarding the injunctions of the scriptures, perform sacrifice with faith—is it Sattva, Rajas, or Tamas, O Krishna?"
The Blessed Lord said, "There are threefold faiths inherent in the nature of the embodied: the sattvic (pure), the rajasic (passionate), and the tamasic (dark). Hear of them."
The faith of each is in accordance with their nature, O Arjuna. People consist of their faith; as a person's faith is, so are they.
The sattvic, or pure, men worship the gods; the rajasic, or passionate, worship the yakshas and rakshasas; the others, the tamasic or deluded people, worship ghosts and hosts of nature-spirits.
Those men who practice terrific austerities not prescribed by the scriptures, given to hypocrisy and egoism, driven by the force of lust and attachment. Know thou these to be of demonical resolves, senselessly torturing all the elements in the body and Me who dwell in the body.
The food that is dear to each is threefold, as well as sacrifice, austerity, and almsgiving. Hear the distinction of these.
The foods that increase life, purity, strength, health, joy, and cheerfulness (good appetite), which are savory, oily, substantial, and agreeable, are dear to the Sattvic (pure) people.
The foods that are bitter, sour, salty, overly hot, pungent, dry, and burning are liked by the Rajasic and are productive of pain, grief, and disease.
That which is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, rejected, and impure is the food liked by the Tamasic.
That sacrifice which is offered by men without desire for reward, as enjoined by the ordinance (scripture), with a firm faith that doing so is their duty, is Sattvic or pure.
The sacrifice that is offered, O Arjuna, seeking a reward and for show, know that to be a Rajasic Yajna.
They declare that sacrifice to be Tamasic which is contrary to the ordinances of the scriptures, in which no food is distributed, and which is devoid of mantras, gifts, and faith.
Worship of the gods, the twice-born, the teachers, and the wise; purity, straightforwardness, celibacy, and non-injury are all called the austerities of the body.
Speech that causes no excitement, is truthful, pleasant, and beneficial; the practice of studying the Vedas is called austerity of speech.
Serenity of mind, good-heartedness, self-control, and purity of nature—this is called mental austerity.
This threefold austerity, practiced by steadfast men, with the utmost faith, desiring no reward, is called Sattvic.
The austerity that is practiced with the aim of gaining good reception, honor, and worship, and with hypocrisy, is said to be Rajasic, unstable, and transient.
That austerity which is practised out of a foolish notion, with self-torture, or for the purpose of destroying another, is declared to be of the Tamasic nature.
That gift which is given to one who does nothing in return, knowing it to be a duty to give in a suitable place and time to a worthy person, is held to be Sattvic.
And, that gift which is given with the intention of receiving something in return, or expecting a reward, or begrudgingly, is considered to be Rajasic.
The gift that is given in the wrong place and at the wrong time, to unworthy persons, without respect or with insult, is declared to be of a Tamasic nature.
"Om Tat Sat": This has been declared to be the triple designation of Brahman. By that, the Brahmanas, the Vedas, and the sacrifices were created formerly.
Therefore, with the utterance of "Om," the acts of sacrifice, gift, and austerity, as enjoined in the scriptures, are always begun by the students of Brahman.
Uttering "Tat," without aiming for the fruits, are the acts of sacrifice, austerity, and the various acts of gifts performed by those seeking liberation.
The word "Sat" is used to refer to reality and goodness; likewise, O Arjuna, the word "Sat" is used to refer to an auspicious act. Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity, and gift is also called 'Sat', and action in connection with these, or for the sake of the Supreme, is also called 'Sat'.
Whatever is sacrificed, given, or performed, and whatever austerity is practiced without faith, it is called 'Asat', O Arjuna; it is of no value here or hereafter (after death).