श्रीभगवानुवाच | त्रिविधा भवति श्रद्धा देहिनां सा स्वभावजा | सात्त्विकी राजसी चैव तामसी चेति तां शृणु ||
śrī-bhagavān uvāca tri-vidhā bhavati śraddhā dehināṁ sā svabhāva-jā sāttvikī rājasī caiva tāmasī ceti tāṁ śṛṇu
Translation
The Blessed Lord said: The faith of embodied beings is of three kinds, born of their innate nature — sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic. Hear now about these.
Interpretation
Krishna's answer is revolutionary in its scope: faith itself is subject to the three gunas. Faith is not monolithic — it takes the quality of the consciousness that holds it. Sattvic faith inclines toward the Divine, the true, the beneficial. Rajasic faith inclines toward power, status, and desire-fulfillment. Tamasic faith inclines toward darkness, ignorance, and destructive forces. The 'innate nature' (svabhava) means one's accumulated character from previous evolution. Understanding one's own faith is thus understanding one's own nature — a profoundly self-revealing inquiry.