The seventy-eighth 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, continuing with Chapter 16:20, Swamiji discusses the three qualities which cast us down: Kama, Krodha, and Lobha: Lust (intense desire in general), anger, and greed. He also talks of using the scriptures as guides for our upliftment. He then begins the 17th chapter, The Division of Threefold Faith.
For those wishing to make a deeper study of the Gita, Swamiji’s commentary on the Gita, The Bhagavad Gita for Awakening: A Practical Commentary for Leading a Successful Spiritual Life can be found at Amazon.com.
Here are the Gita verses (16:20–17:04) covered in this talk:
Entering the demonic wombs,
And deluded birth after birth,
Not attaining to Me, they fall
Into still lower conditions. (17:20)
Yea, triple is this gate of hell,
That is destructive of the self–
Lust, anger, and greed; therefore one
Should forsake ev’ry one of these. (21)
The man who has got beyond these
Three gates of darkness, Arjuna,
Practices what is good for him,
And thus goes to the Goal Supreme. (22)
He who sets aside the counsels
Of scriptures from desire’s impulse,
Attains not unto perfection,
Nor happiness, nor Goal Supreme. (23)
The scriptures should be your guide in
What should be done and what should not.
Knowing what the scriptures prescribe,
You should act here within the world. (24)
Arjuna said:
Those who set aside prescriptions
Of scriptures, doing sacrifice
With faith, what is their condition:
Sattwa, or rajas, or tamas? (17:1)
The Holy Lord said:
Threefold is the embodieds’ faith
Inherent within their nature–
The sattwic, rajasic, and the
Tamasic. Do you hear of it. (2)
Each one’s faith is according to
His natural disposition.
Yea, the man consists of his faith;
In truth, he is what his faith is. (3)
The sattwic men worship the gods;
Rajasic: Yakshas, rakshasas;
The others–the tamasic men–
The pretas1 and hosts of bhutas.2 (4)
🔥 Here are the main points from this talk The Triple Gate of Hell:
A continuation of the 16th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, focusing on the threefold gateway to hell—desire, anger, and greed—and how these traits lead to spiritual ruin.
- Spiritual Decline Is Progressive:
- Krishna teaches that those who ignore God and Dharma do not merely stay stagnant; they fall into progressively lower states of consciousness and rebirth.
- You are either going upward or downward—neutrality is an illusion.
- The Triple Gate to Hell:
- Desire (Kama): Addictive craving that dominates one’s thoughts and actions.
- Anger (Krodha): Reactive rage that lashes out at the world and oneself.
- Greed (Lobha): Insatiable hunger for more, rooted in inner misery.
- These are destructive of the self—not the Atman itself, but our capacity to realize and live from the Self.
- What to Do:
- Abandon these three gates.
- Either remove yourself from toxic environments or eliminate these tendencies from within.
- Liberation from these leads to what is truly best for the soul.
- Ignoring Scripture Leads to Ruin:
- Those who cast aside scriptural teachings and follow their own impulses achieve neither happiness nor perfection nor the Supreme Goal.
- •Scripture (Shastra) is the true measure of right and wrong—not personal preference or vague spirituality.
- Importance of Dharma Texts: Swamiji recommends study of:
- The Bhagavad Gita
- The Upanishads
- Yoga Sutras (with commentary)
- Works of Adi Shankaracharya
- The book Sanatana Dharma: The Eternal Religion
- On Faith (beginning of Chapter 17):
- Faith is not merely belief; it is shaped by one’s Prakriti—the vibrations of one’s mind-body complex.
- Three types of faith correspond to the three gunas:
- Sattwic faith leads to reverence for the gods and the divine.
- Rajasic faith is drawn to powerful spirits or forces.
- Tamasic faith becomes obsessed with the dead, ghosts, and ancestor worship devoid of higher purpose.
- Warning Against Spiritualism:
- Spiritualism (obsession with spirits of the dead) is described as utterly tamasic and spiritually dangerous.
- Swamiji cites Sri Ramakrishna: “Think of God, and you will become God. Think of ghosts, and you will become a ghost.”
- Food and Environment Matter: Everything we absorb—food, books, media, and company—affects our spiritual energy and destiny.
💡 Closing Insight:
“Those who do not study the scriptures and instead follow personal impulse will find no perfection, no happiness, and no liberation.”
Swamiji ends the talk by previewing the next chapter—The Division of Threefold Faith—which explores how faith manifests according to one’s inner nature.
Below is an audio version of this talk from our Gita Talks Podcast
Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke)
Swami Nirmalananda Giri, founder of Light of the Spirit Monastery, has spent over six decades immersed in the study and practice of Yoga and and the spiritual traditions of East and West. He is the author of more than 30 books on meditation, practical spiritual life and Sanatana Dharma. Learn more »