The eighty-sixth in a series of talks by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) on the Bhagavad Gita, India's most famous scripture: the unforgettable dialog between Sri Krishna and Arjuna about the essence of spiritual life.

In this talk, beginning with Chapter 18:29, Swamiji discusses three types of intellect according to the gunas: sattwa, rajas, and tamas, as well as three types of firmness of intellect.

Sattwic Intellect:

• Clearly understands what should and should not be done.

• Knows the difference between action and renunciation, bondage and liberation, right and wrong.

• Grounded in reality, inner clarity, and moral discernment.

• Essential for liberation (moksha) and rooted in yoga sadhana.

Rajasic Intellect:

• Confused and passionate.

• Mistakes adharma for dharma.

• Often driven by desire, ego, and self-interest.

• Does the wrong thing sincerely but without understanding.

Tamasic Intellect:

• Completely inverted: calls evil good and good evil.

• Justifies delusion and wrongdoing as righteousness.

• Lives in darkness, stubbornly refuses to change.

• Example: those who use fear-based religion, or sabotage others out of pride or negativity.

Sattwic Steadfastness:

• Controls mind, prana, and senses through yoga.

• Not mere suppression—true mastery and transmutation.

• Leads to purification and spiritual freedom.

Rajasic Steadfastness:

• Clings to pleasure, duty, and wealth out of attachment and ego.

• Motivated by desire for results and personal gain.

Tamasic Steadfastness:

• Refuses to abandon sleep, fear, depression, and arrogance.

• Inertia, victim mentality, and self-pity define this state.

• Often cloaked in false spirituality or rigid delusion.

• The Gita provides a diagnostic tool for inner transformation—not to judge others, but to understand ourselves.

• True intellect is not about cleverness, but clarity, sincerity, and right direction.

• Real strength comes not from repression but from yogic mastery and inward purity.