Shree Krishna once again refers to the three modes of nature. In chapter 14, he had given an introduction about these modes, and described how they bind the soul to the
samsara
of life and death. Then in chapter 17, he went into great detail about how these three modes influence the kinds of faith people develop and also their choice of foods. He also explained the three categories of sacrifice, charity, and penance. Here, according to the three
guṇas
, the Lord will explain the three types of knowledge, action, and doers.
Amongst the six systems of thought in Indian philosophy, the
Sānkhya
philosophy (also called
puruṣh prakṛiti vāda
) is recognized as the authority in the matter of analysis of material nature. It considers the soul as the
puruṣh
(lord), and thus recognizes many
puruṣhas
.
Prakṛiti
is the material nature and includes all things made from it.
Sānkhya
states the cause for misery is the desire of the
puruṣh
to enjoy
prakṛiti
. When this enjoying propensity subsides, then the
puruṣh
is released from the bondage of material nature attains eternal beatitude. The
Sānkhya
system does not acknowledge the existence of the
Param Puruṣh
, or the Supreme Lord, and hence it is insufficient for knowing the Absolute Truth. However, in the matter of knowledge about
prakṛiti
(material nature), Shree Krishna refers to it as the authority.