Chapter 18 · Shloka 35— The Yoga of Liberation through Renunciation

yayā svapnaṁ bhayaṁ śhokaṁ viṣhādaṁ madam eva cha na vimuñchati durmedhā dhṛitiḥ sā pārtha tāmasī

yayā

— in which

svapnam

— dreaming

bhayam

— fearing

śhokam

— grieving

viṣhādam

— despair

madam

— conceit

eva

— indeed

cha

— and

na

— not

vimuñchati

— give up

durmedhā

— unintelligent

dhṛitiḥ

— resolve

sā

— that

pārtha

— Arjun, the son of Pritha

tāmasī

— in the mode of ignorance

Krishna describes tamasic steadiness: 'That steadiness by which a foolish person does not let go of sleep, fear, grief, depression, and arrogance — that steadiness, O Partha, is tamasic.' Krishna names the lowest quality of resolve. 'Yaya svapnam bhayam sokam visadam madam eva ca' — that steadiness (dhrti) by which (yaya) sleep/dullness (svapna), fear (bhaya), grief (soka), depression/despondency (visada), and arrogance/intoxication (mada). 'Na vimuncati durmedha dhrtih sa partha tamasi' — a foolish person (durmedha) does not let go of / release (na vimuncati) — that steadiness, O Partha, is tamasic (tamasi). Shankaracharya highlights the dark inversion: here, 'steadiness' is the stubborn refusal to RELEASE harmful states! The tamasic person 'holds steady' to sleep (dullness), fear, grief, depression, and arrogance — clinging to them, unable or unwilling to let them go. This is steadiness turned upside down: instead of holding to the good, it grimly grips the harmful. It's the persistence of someone stuck — stubbornly maintaining their fear, their grief, their depression, their arrogance, refusing to release what's hurting them. A grim, stuck tenacity in exactly the wrong things. This verse describes tamasic steadiness as the stubborn refusal to release harmful states — clinging tenaciously to sleep, fear, grief, depression, and arrogance. The insight worth drawing out is the striking and recognizable description of tamasic 'steadiness' as a STUBBORN CLINGING to the very states that are hurting you — sleep/dullness, fear, grief, depression, arrogance. This is steadiness perverted into stuckness: instead of persisting toward the good, it grimly refuses to let go of the harmful. And it's uncomfortably recognizable. We often display exactly this kind of tenacity in the wrong direction: clinging to our fear long after it's useful, gripping our grief past the point of healing, maintaining our depression as if it were an identity, holding onto our arrogance defensively, staying in dullness and avoidance. There's a strange stubbornness in how we refuse to release states that are clearly hurting us. We can be remarkably 'steady' in maintaining exactly what damages us. The key word is 'does not let go' (na vimuncati) — the refusal to release. The tamasic person isn't actively pursuing harm; they're stubbornly failing to release it, gripping the harmful out of habit, fear of change, or identity-attachment. The lesson: notice where you're displaying this perverse 'steadiness' — stubbornly refusing to let go of states that are clearly hurting you. Do you cling to fear that's no longer protecting you? Grip grief past the point of healing? Maintain depression or dullness as a familiar identity? Hold defensive arrogance? Stay stuck in avoidance? This grim tenacity in the wrong direction is tamasic. The remedy is the practice of RELEASE — actively, repeatedly letting go of the harmful states you've been stubbornly holding. Real strength isn't always holding on; sometimes the deepest strength is the willingness to let go. Redirect your tenacity: instead of stubbornly maintaining what hurts you, practice steadily releasing it. Let go of what's been gripping you — that release is its own kind of steadiness, pointed in the right direction.

The insight worth drawing out is the striking and uncomfortably recognizable description of tamasic 'steadiness' as a STUBBORN CLINGING to the very states that are actively hurting you — dullness/avoidance, fear, grief, depression, arrogance. This is steadiness perverted into pure stuckness: instead of persisting toward the good, it grimly and tenaciously refuses to let go of the harmful. And it's genuinely, uncomfortably recognizable in real life. We very often display exactly this kind of stubborn tenacity, but pointed in entirely the wrong direction: clinging tightly to our fear long after it's stopped being useful or protective, gripping our grief well past the natural point of healing, maintaining our depression almost as if it were a fixed identity, holding onto our defensive arrogance, staying stuck in dullness and avoidance. There's a strange, almost perverse stubbornness in how we refuse to release inner states that are clearly and obviously hurting us. We can be remarkably, impressively 'steady' in maintaining exactly the things that damage us most. The key phrase is 'does not let go' (na vimuncati) — the active refusal to release. The tamasic person isn't usually actively pursuing harm; they're stubbornly failing to release it, gripping the harmful out of habit, fear of change, or deep identity-attachment to their own suffering. The lesson: honestly notice where you're displaying this perverse, backward 'steadiness' — stubbornly refusing to let go of inner states that are clearly hurting you. Do you cling to fear that's no longer actually protecting you? Grip grief well past the point of healing? Maintain depression or dullness as a familiar, almost comfortable identity? Hold onto defensive arrogance? Stay stuck in avoidance because change feels scarier? This grim tenacity pointed in the wrong direction is precisely tamasic. The genuine remedy is the active practice of RELEASE — deliberately, repeatedly letting go of the harmful states you've been stubbornly holding onto. Real strength isn't always about holding on and gripping tighter; very often the deepest strength is actually the willingness to let go. So redirect your real tenacity: instead of stubbornly maintaining what hurts you, practice steadily releasing it. Let go of what's been gripping you — that release is itself a genuine kind of steadiness, just finally pointed in the right direction.

The insight worth drawing out is the striking and uncomfortably recognizable description of tamasic 'steadiness' as a STUBBORN CLINGING to the very states that are actively hurting you — dullness/avoidance, fear, grief, depression, arrogance. This is steadiness perverted into pure stuckness: instead of persisting toward the good, it grimly and tenaciously refuses to let go of the harmful. And it's genuinely, uncomfortably recognizable in real life. We very often display exactly this kind of stubborn tenacity, but pointed in entirely the wrong direction: clinging tightly to our fear long after it's stopped being useful or protective, gripping our grief well past the natural point of healing, maintaining our depression almost as if it were a fixed identity, holding onto our defensive arrogance, staying stuck in dullness and avoidance. There's a strange, almost perverse stubbornness in how we refuse to release inner states that are clearly and obviously hurting us. We can be remarkably, impressively 'steady' at maintaining exactly the things that damage us most. The key phrase is 'does not let go' (na vimuncati) — the active refusal to release. The tamasic person isn't usually actively pursuing harm; they're stubbornly failing to release it, gripping the harmful out of habit, fear of change, or deep identity-attachment to their own suffering. The lesson: honestly notice where you're displaying this perverse, backward 'steadiness' — stubbornly refusing to let go of inner states that are clearly hurting you. Do you cling to fear that's no longer actually protecting you? Grip grief well past the point of healing? Maintain depression or dullness as a familiar, almost comfortable identity? Hold onto defensive arrogance? Stay stuck in avoidance because change feels scarier? This grim tenacity pointed in the wrong direction is precisely tamasic. The genuine remedy is the active practice of RELEASE — deliberately, repeatedly letting go of the harmful states you've been stubbornly holding onto. Real strength isn't always about holding on and gripping tighter; very often the deepest strength is actually the willingness to let go. So redirect your real tenacity: instead of stubbornly maintaining what hurts you, practice steadily releasing it. Let go of what's been gripping you — that release is itself a genuine kind of steadiness, just finally pointed in the right direction.

Krishna describes the WORST kind of steadiness — tamasic! And it's a sad twist: it's when someone is STUBBORNLY HOLDING ONTO bad feelings that are HURTING them — like sleepiness/laziness, fear, sadness, depression, and stubborn pride! They WON'T let go of these things even though the things are hurting them! Here's the surprising idea: normally we think 'steadiness' means holding on tightly to things. But there's a backward kind of steadiness where someone stubbornly holds on to exactly the things that are making them miserable! It's like grabbing a hot, painful thing and REFUSING to drop it, even though it's burning you! Think about it: have you ever stayed sad way longer than you needed to, almost like you didn't want to let the sadness go? Or stayed scared of something even when you knew it couldn't really hurt you? Or stubbornly held onto being grumpy and proud when letting go would feel so much better? That's this backward 'steadiness' — gripping the very things that hurt us! So here's the wise lesson: sometimes the strongest, bravest thing isn't to HOLD ON — it's to LET GO! When you're stubbornly clinging to fear, sadness, or grumpiness that's hurting you, the brave move is to gently RELEASE it! Real strength includes knowing when to let go of what's hurting you. So practice letting go! Drop the hot painful thing! When you find yourself stubbornly holding onto bad feelings, gently open your hand and let them go. That kind of letting-go takes real strength — and it sets you free!