Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga
Arjuna raises a subtle question: what is the standing of people who worship with sincere faith but without following scriptural rules — are they acting from sattva, rajas or tamas? Krishna answers that faith itself is threefold, shaped by a person's inborn nature, and offers the memorable principle that a person essentially is their faith — whatever a person's faith is, that indeed they are. He extends this threefold analysis across ordinary life: the foods each temperament prefers, the spirit in which people perform sacrifice, the austerities they practice with body, speech and mind, and the manner of their charitable giving, showing how the same outward act can be sattvic, rajasic or tamasic depending on the intention behind it. The chapter closes with an explanation of the sacred formula Om Tat Sat, the threefold utterance traditionally invoked at the beginning of Vedic rites, sacrifices, gifts and austerities to consecrate the act toward the Absolute.
“The faith of every person conforms to their inner nature; a person consists of their faith — whatever a person's faith is, that indeed they are.”
“Foods that promote life, vitality, strength, health, joy and delight — juicy, rich, substantial and pleasing — are dear to those of sattvic nature.”
“Speech that causes no distress, that is truthful, pleasant and beneficial, together with regular recitation of scripture — this is called austerity of speech.”
“Charity given simply because it ought to be given, without expectation of return, at the right place and time, to a worthy person — that charity is held to be sattvic.”
“Om Tat Sat — this is declared to be the threefold designation of Brahman; by this were the brahmins, the Vedas, and the sacrifices ordained of old.”
Chapter summaries composed for MyBrahman; verse translations from the public-domain Kashinath Trimbak Telang translation (1882, Sacred Books of the East, vol. 8) where directly checkable, and/or widely-attested traditional renderings of famous verses, cited by standard chapter.verse numbering.