Gita 17.28
Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga
अश्रद्धया हुतं दत्तं तपस्तप्तं कृतं च यत् | असदित्युच्यते पार्थ न च तत्प्रेत्य नो इह ||२८||
aśraddhayā hutaṁ dattaṁ tapas taptaṁ kṛtaṁ ca yat | asad ity ucyate pārtha na ca tat pretya no iha ||28||
In essence: The chapter's stark conclusion: Whatever is done without faith - sacrifice, charity, austerity, any action - is ASAT, unreal. It bears no fruit here in this life nor in the life beyond.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "Guruji, this sounds harsh. Even sincere people sometimes doubt. Does momentary faithlessness destroy their practice?"
Guru: "Krishna speaks of practice ROOTED in faithlessness - the habitual absence of śraddhā, not temporary wavering. The sincere practitioner who doubts but continues demonstrates deeper faith than surface confidence. Aśraddhā here means fundamental disconnection from the sacred - going through motions without any inner participation. Questioning and struggling within faith differs from absence of faith."
Sadhak: "Why 'asat' - unreal? The action still happens in the world."
Guru: "Physical action occurs, but spiritual action doesn't. Consider: two people bow before an altar. One connects to the sacred; the other thinks only of who is watching. The physical movements are identical; the spiritual realities are entirely different. The faithless bow is 'asat' - nothing real happened despite physical motion. Real (sat) action requires consciousness connecting matter to spirit; without this, only matter moves."
Sadhak: "Is this verse meant to frighten into faith? Can faith be forced?"
Guru: "Not to frighten but to illuminate. Krishna reveals the mechanics of spiritual reality: connection to source (śraddhā) enables energy-transfer; disconnection prevents it. This isn't punishment but natural law - like plants needing roots in soil. Can faith be forced? No, but it can be cultivated. Even 'as if' faith - acting with sincere willingness for faith to develop - creates conditions for genuine śraddhā to arise. Begin where you are; faith grows through practice."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Begin with honest śraddhā-assessment: What do you truly have faith in? Not what should you believe, but what actually orients your being? Begin practice from wherever genuine faith exists - even if small, even if uncertain. Offer that faith: 'With whatever śraddhā I have, I begin. May śraddhā grow.' Authentic partial faith trumps pretended total faith.
Notice what you do with śraddhā versus aśraddhā. Which actions feel connected to meaning, purpose, larger reality? Which feel mechanical, disconnected, merely going through motions? Without judgment, observe. When possible, bring śraddhā to faithless actions by consciously connecting them to something you DO care about deeply. Transform asat-tendency through intentional meaning-making.
The chapter ends with this verse - let it end your day. Review: what was Sat in today's actions? What was asat? Not to judge but to understand your own faith-landscape. Where is śraddhā strong? Where weak? Where absent? End with gratitude for whatever faith you have - it is precious, it connects you to reality. Rest in Sat - the truth of being that holds even our faithlessness. 'Om Tat Sat.'