Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

Transcript of Bhakti-Shastri class on this verse by Chaitanya Charan

Bg 14.16

karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ
sāttvikaṁ nirmalaṁ phalam
rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham
ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam

Synonyms: 

karmaṇaḥ — of work; su–kṛtasya — pious; āhuḥ — is said; sāttvikam — in the mode of goodness; nirmalam — purified; phalam — the result; rajasaḥ — of the mode of passion; tu — but; phalam — the result; duḥkham — misery; ajñānam — nonsense; tamasaḥ — of the mode of ignorance; phalam — the result.

Translation: 

The result of pious action is pure and is said to be in the mode of goodness. But action done in the mode of passion results in misery, and action performed in the mode of ignorance results in foolishness.

karmaṇaḥ sukṛtasyāhuḥ,

So Karma is of sukṛtasyāhuḥ, so when one is in mode of goodness one does good work pious work and it results in nirmalaṁ phalam, nirmalaṁ means purification, so one attains purification because of action in the mode of goodness, the karma is sukriti and the phala is Nirmala, 

rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham, whereas when one is on rajo guna the phalam is duhkham, 

and when one is in tamo guna, ajñānaṁ tamasaḥ phalam, 

The phala of tamo guna is ajnana.

In terms of next life one will go upward or stay in same planetary system or go to lower planetary system or lower species.

But in this life time also there is effect as per the mode one lives in.

If one lives in ignorance he ruins his life, if one live in mode of passion the result is duhkham, rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham.

The male-female attraction is in rajo guna which ultimately results in duhkha because it increases bodily consciousness in both male and female, and when bodily consciousness increases that leads to bondage and suffering, rajasas tu phalaṁ duḥkham, in rajo guna no matter what one has one wants more and more and more, because the idea is the pleasure is out there in something material, and when I will get that I will become happy but even if I get that nothing happens I don’t get anything by that.

End of transcription.