3.29: Those ignorant persons who are utterly deluded by the qualities born of material nature remain attached to the qualities and actions. The wise person, who knows the entirety, should not unsettle those ignorant ones of dull intellect who do not know completely.
Commentary: "prakṛter guṇasaṃmūḍhāḥ sajjante guṇakarmasu" – The three qualities born of material nature—sattva, rajas, and tamas—bind a person. The sattva quality binds through attachment to happiness and knowledge, the rajas quality through attachment to action, and the tamas quality through heedlessness, laziness, and sleep (Gita 14.6-8). The aforementioned words describe those ignorant ones who are extremely deluded, i.e., bound, by the qualities born of nature; but who have faith and belief in the scriptures, in the auspicious actions prescribed by the scriptures, and in the fruits of those actions. In the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth verses of this chapter, such ignorant persons have been described by the names 'saktāḥ avidvāṃsaḥ' (attached, the unwise) and 'karmasaṅginām ajñānām' (the ignorant who are attached to action). Due to the desire for worldly and otherworldly enjoyments, these persons remain attached to objects and actions. For this reason, they cannot comprehend the matter of rising above these. Therefore, the Lord has called them ignorant.
"tān akṛtsnavido mandān" – Ignorant persons do perform auspicious actions, but they do so for the attainment of perishable objects that are not eternal and constant. They possess a sense of 'mine-ness' towards attained objects like wealth, and they desire objects not yet attained. Thus, being bound by this sense of 'mine-ness' and desire, they cannot know the essence of the qualities (objects) and actions completely. Ignorant persons know the actions prescribed by the scriptures and their procedures correctly, but because they do not properly know the essence of the qualities and actions, they are called 'akṛtsnavidaḥ' (those who do not know completely); and because they have an interest in worldly enjoyments and accumulation, they are called 'mandān' (dull-witted).
"kṛtsnavin na vicālayet" – The wise person, who knows the division of qualities and actions completely and is free from desire and 'mine-ness', should not unsettle the previously described ignorant persons (engaged in auspicious actions with desire-motivated sentiment) from their auspicious actions, lest those dull-witted persons fall from their current state. In the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth verses of this chapter, such wise persons have been described by the names 'asaktaḥ vidvān' (the unattached wise one) and 'yuktaḥ vidvān' (the united wise one).
In the twenty-fifth verse, the Lord instructed the enlightened great person, using the word 'kuryāt', to perform actions himself; and in the twenty-sixth verse, using the word 'joṣayet', to get ignorant persons to perform such actions as well. But here, by using the words 'na vicālayet', the Lord has not given such an instruction; rather, He has seemingly relaxed it, stating that the wise person should at the very least not unsettle ignorant persons through his hints, words, and actions. The reason is that the Lord and the scriptures do not impose their rule upon a liberated-in-life great person. Actions for the welfare of the world happen naturally and spontaneously through his so-called body (see note p. 166). Whether the enlightened great person is a Karma Yogi or a Jñāna Yogi—even while performing all actions, no real connection with actions and objects remains for him, which in truth never existed.
Ignorant persons perform auspicious actions for attaining heaven. Therefore, the Lord has instructed not to unsettle such persons, meaning those great persons should not, through their hints, words, and actions, reveal anything that might cause disbelief, distrust, or disinterest in the scripture-prescribed auspicious actions within those desire-motivated persons, leading them to abandon those actions; because doing so could cause their downfall. Therefore, such persons are to be unsettled from their desire-motivated sentiment, not from the scriptural actions. To free them from the bondage of birth and death, unsettling them from their desire-motivated sentiment is both proper and necessary.
Connection: In the next verse, the Lord explains what one should do to become free from that attachment to action and its fruit, by which a person gets entangled in actions.
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