Devanagari
यत्तदग्रे विषमिव परिणामेऽमृतोपमम् ।
तत्सुखं सात्त्विकं प्रोक्तमात्मबुद्धिप्रसादजम् ॥ ३७ ॥
Verse text
yat tad agre viṣam iva
pariṇāme ’mṛtopamam
tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ proktam
ātma-buddhi-prasāda-jam
Synonyms
yat
—
which
;
tat
—
that
;
agre
—
in the beginning
;
viṣam iva
—
like poison
;
pariṇāme
—
at the end
;
amṛta
—
nectar
;
upamam
—
compared to
;
tat
—
that
;
sukham
—
happiness
;
sāttvikam
—
in the mode of goodness
;
proktam
—
is said
;
ātma
—
in the self
;
buddhi
—
of intelligence
;
prasāda-jam
—
born of the satisfaction.
Translation
That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and which awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
36-37. O best of Bharata’s lineage, hear from Me about the three types of happiness. That happiness which brings joy and destroys sorrow with practice, which appears to be poison in the beginning but becomes nectar, which arises from peace of mind concentrating on the self is in the mode of sattva.
Translation (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
36-37. O best of Bharata, hear from Me the three types of happiness. That happiness which brings joy and destroys sorrow with practice, which appears to be poison in the beginning but becomes nectar, which arises from purity of intellect related to ātmā, is in the mode of sattva.
Purport
In the pursuit of self-realization, one has to follow many rules and regulations to control the mind and the senses and to concentrate the mind on the self. All these procedures are very difficult, bitter like poison, but if one is successful in following the regulations and comes to the transcendental position, he begins to drink real nectar, and he enjoys life.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Now sattvic happiness is described in one and a half verses. Only by constant practice (abhyāsāt) does such a person enjoy. This means that it is not like happiness derived from sense objects, which gives pleasure just on contact. Enjoying in that happiness, the person crosses over the suffering of saṁsāra (duḥkhāntaṁ nigacchati). In the beginning, sattvic happiness is like poison, since restraining the senses and mind causes suffering.
Purport (Baladeva Vidyabhusana)
The Lord next promises to tell about the three types of happiness in the first half the verse. [Note: Happiness is the goal of actions.] He describes happiness in the mode of goodness in one and a half verses starting with abhyāsād ramate. That happiness in which there is satisfaction arising from repeated practice (abhyāsāt), not a sudden appearance of satisfaction as in contact with sense objects; enjoying which one crosses saṁsāra (duḥkhantam nigacchati); which in the beginning (agre) appears to be poison, filled with lots of suffering, because of the difficulty in controlling the mind because of ātmā separate from the body has not yet manifested itself; but which becomes sweet, like the falling of streams of nectar, with the attainment of samādhi (pariṇāme), from manifestation of the ātmā as separate from the body; which arises from purity of the intelligence related to ātmā—such happiness is in the mode of goodness. Purity here means complete extinction of the contamination arising from contact with material objects.
Surrender Unto Me
If one takes to the mode of goodness, he will gradually be elevated and the result of that will be that he will have an oportunity for liberation ‑ that is the ultimate fruit of the mode of goodness.