No being, neither on Earth, nor among the celestial beings, on the higher planets, is free from the influence of the three gunas.
Scholarly sages, administrators or warriors, traders or farmers and labourers are distinguished by the qualities they manifest in action, according to the influence of the three gunas: virtue, passion and ignorance.
Serenity, self-control, austerity, purity, tolerance, integrity, wisdom, knowledge and piety are the qualities that accompany the act of the wise scholar.
Heroism, power, determination, ingenuity, courage in battle, generosity, and the art of governing are the qualities that accompany the act of the administrator or warrior.
The ability to cultivate the land, to care for livestock and to trade is linked to the act of the merchant or the farmer. As for the worker, it is in his nature to serve others by his work.
By following his own nature in his actions, every man can know perfection. How to accomplish this, hear Me tell you now.
By worshipping the Lord, the Omnipresent, the origin of all beings, man can, in the performance of his own duty, attain perfection.
It is better to perform one's own duty, even if imperfectly, than to assume the duty of another, even if it is to perform it perfectly. By the performance of the prescribed duties, which one's nature assigns to each, one never incurs sin.
As fire is covered by smoke, so every undertaking is veiled by some fault. Therefore, no one should abandon the act proper to his nature, even if it be stained.
Man can taste the fruits of renunciation through simple self-control, detachment from worldly things and disinterest in material pleasures. Therein lies the highest perfection of renunciation.
Briefly, learn from Me how, if one acts in the way I am about to explain to you, one can attain the supreme perfection, the spiritual level.
Entirely purified by the intellect, mastering the mind with determination, renouncing the objects that give pleasure to the senses, free from attachment and aversion, the man who lives in a secluded place, who eats little and controls the body and the tongue, who always remains in contemplation, detached, without false ego (who does not identify with his body, nor dominate matter or material nature), without vain power or glory, without lust or anger, who closes himself to material things, free from all feeling of possession, serene, this man is raised to the level of spiritual realisation.
He who attains the spiritual level at the same time realises the Supreme Being, and finds infinite joy in it. He never grieves, never aspires for anything; he is equal to all beings. He then gets to serve Me with pure love and devotion.