Link to purport by A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada

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

17th chapter is called Sraddha Trai Vibhaga Yoga, the three divisions of faith. The connection between 16th and 17th chapter is logical and self-evident. 16th chapter ends with talking about the contrast those who rejects scripture they don’t attain any perfection those who accept scripture attains perfection. Therefore one should follow scripture then one will be able to act properly. 

Regarding those who reject scripture Krishna talks 

ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya
Vartate kama Karatha

they acts according to lust, according to self-centered desire.

Now Arjuna ask another possibility what about those people who reject scripture and act according to some other faith which is not based on scripture then what happens to them?

So that is the connection and then Krishna’s essential answer is that actually one has to look at the three modes of material nature and see how a person is situated within three modes, and then he gives behavioral characteristics of understanding which mode a person is situated in and thereby we can understand what the level of faith of that person is? 

Chp17 Overview

1-4: Recognize faith level through the modes

5-6: Demoniac austerity

We should not just mislead by externals and certain austerity can be demoniac also

And then Krishna talks about four behavioral characteristics which can help us understand the mode in which a person is doing food sacrifice, austerity and charity in the three modes.

7-22: Food, sacrifice, austerity and charity in three modes

After describing this Krishna says whatever sacrifice one is doing we can make it transcendental by uttering “OM TAT SAT”.

So OM TAT SAT is not just utterance it is profound philosophical understanding and consciousness when we will come to that part.

23-28: Making sacrifices transcendental by uttering “om tat sat”

Bg 17.1

arjuna uvāca
ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya
yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ
teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa
sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ

Synonyms: 

arjunaḥ uvāca — Arjuna said; ye — those who; śāstra–vidhim — the regulations of scripture; utsṛjya — giving up; yajante — worship; śraddhayā — full faith; anvitāḥ — possessed of; teṣām — of them; niṣṭhā — the faith; tu — but; kā — what; kṛṣṇa — O Kṛṣṇa; sattvam — in goodness; āho — or else; rajaḥ — in passion; tamaḥ — in ignorance.

Translation: 

Arjuna inquired: O Kṛṣṇa, what is the situation of those who do not follow the principles of scripture but worship according to their own imagination? Are they in goodness, in passion or in ignorance?

ye śāstra-vidhim utsṛjya, those who reject Shastra but yajante śraddhayānvitāḥ, they worship śraddhayānvitāḥ, with faith. 

teṣāṁ niṣṭhā tu kā kṛṣṇa, what is the nature of their faith O Krishna, 

sattvam āho rajas tamaḥ, in Goodness, Passion or Ignorance.

So what is Arjuna asking over here? Going back to metaphor of tree of material existence, the enjoying mentality is the seed of the tree. 15 chapter describes the tree, 14th chapter describes the modes which leads to nourishment of the tree, 16th chapter describes the two extremities the Godly / Devine and demoniac natures. And this question is talking somewhere in between those people who are not following the scriptures and not motivated by selfish desire they have some kind of faith, non-scriptural faith what happens to those people?

End of transcription.