Bhagavad Gita BG 3.29
Chapter 3, Verse 29 — Meaning, Translation & Explanation
प्रकृतेर्गुणसंमूढाः सज्जन्ते गुणकर्मसु । तानकृत्स्नविदो मन्दान्कृत्स्नविन्न विचालयेत् ॥ २९ ॥
prakṛter guṇa-sammūḍhāḥ sajjante guṇa-karmasu tān akṛtsna-vido mandān kṛtsna-vin na vicālayet
Meaning
Those confused by the gunas of nature become attached to actions born of those gunas. The knower of the whole (kṛtsna-vit) should not disturb these slow-witted ones of incomplete knowledge.
Understanding
This verse returns to the teaching of v26 — why the wise should not aggressively teach the highest truths to those who are unprepared. Those who are guṇa-sammūḍhāḥ (confused by the gunas — which is most people) are attached to their actions and their results. Akṛtsna-vidaḥ (those with incomplete knowledge) and mandāḥ (slow to understand) — these are not insults but descriptions of where someone is in their journey. The kṛtsna-vit (one who knows the whole truth) should not vicālayet (disturb, unsettle) them by prematurely revealing the full non-dual reality. Wisdom includes knowing how to calibrate teaching to the student's readiness.
Word by Word
| Word | IAST | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| गुणसंमूढाः | guṇa-sammūḍhāḥ | thoroughly confused by the gunas |
| सज्जन्ते | sajjante | become attached / cling to |
| अकृत्स्नविदः | akṛtsna-vidaḥ | those of incomplete knowledge / partial knowers |
| मन्दान् | mandān | the slow ones / those slow to understand |
| विचालयेत् | vicālayet | should disturb / unsettle / shake the convictions of |
| प्रकृतेः | prakṛteḥ | of Nature's (qualities) |
| गुणकर्मसु | guṇa-karmasu | in the actions of the gunas / in the functions of nature |
| तान् | tān | them / those (dull persons) |
| कृत्स्नवित् | kṛtsna-vit | the knower of the whole / the complete knower |
| न | na | not (should not disturb) |