Lord Krishna
Divine TeacherThe Supreme Lord, the charioteer and divine guide of Arjuna. Krishna delivers the eternal wisdom of the Gita, revealing the nature of the soul, duty, and the path to liberation.
Speaking: Chapter 14, Verse 11
Verse 11
The Yoga of the Three Gunas
When the light of knowledge shines through all the gates of the body, then one should know that sattva has increased.
Context & Meaning
The first of three diagnostic signs by which one can recognise the prevailing guṇa. When sattva is dominant, a light of knowledge (prakāśa — illumination, clarity) shines through all the gates of the body — the senses, the mind, the intellect. Everything becomes clearer: perception is sharper, understanding deeper, emotions more settled. The sāttvic state is recognisable by this quality of inner luminosity — the sense that one can see things as they are, without the distortion of desire or the fog of confusion.
Scholar Commentaries
1 commentary · Public domainAdi Shankaracharya
AdvaitaSarvadvāreṣu — through all the gates. Sattva's illumination is comprehensive, not partial. When sattva truly prevails, it is not just that the intellect is clear while the emotions are disturbed — the whole being is in a state of luminous openness. This comprehensive clarity is the sign of genuine sāttvic ascendancy, not merely intellectual activity.