14.12 Busyness as the sign Krishna speaks
लोभः प्रवृत्तिरारम्भः कर्मणामशमः स्पृहा
रजस्येतानि जायन्ते विवृद्धे भरतर्षभ
lobhaḥ pravṛittir ārambhaḥ karmaṇām aśhamaḥ spṛihā
rajasy etāni jāyante vivṛiddhe bharatarṣhabha
Greed, busyness, the undertaking of actions, restlessness and craving arise when restlessness has grown strong.
Explanation
The signs of restlessness, and they read like virtues.
Greed, busyness, the undertaking of actions, restlessness, craving. Three of those five would go on a modern résumé.
The Gita is not against activity — it spent chapter 3 insisting on it. What it is diagnosing here is activity as a symptom, and the diagnostic does not care how much is being achieved.
Word by word
- lobhaḥ
- greed
- pravṛittiḥ
- activity
- ārambhaḥ
- exertion
- karmaṇām
- for fruitive actions
- aśhamaḥ
- restlessness
- spṛihā
- craving
- rajasi
- of the mode of passion
- etāni
- these
- jāyante
- develop
- vivṛiddhe
- when predominates
- bharata-ṛiṣhabha
- the best of the Bharatas, Arjun
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