3.33
सदृशं चेष्टते स्वस्याः प्रकृतेर्ज्ञानवानपि | प्रकृतिं यान्ति भूतानि निग्रहः किं करिष्यति ||३३||
sadṛśhaṁ cheṣhṭate svasyāḥ prakṛter jñānavān api prakṛtiṁ yānti bhūtāni nigrahaḥ kiṁ kariṣhyati
Translation
Even a man of knowledge acts according to his own nature, for everyone follows his nature. What can repression accomplish?
Interpretation
Even the wise are pulled by their own nature (svabhava). All beings follow their nature — prakṛti is powerful. Mere repression or force cannot change this; it requires transformation from within. This is not a counsel of hopelessness but a realistic acknowledgment that lasting change comes through understanding and reorientation, not force.