टीका

Commentary

If rajasic intellect is confused, tamasic intellect is completely inverted. It does not merely fail to distinguish right from wrong — it actively reverses them. Adharmam dharmam iti manyate — it considers irreligion to be religion, and treats dharma as if it were adharma.

The key phrase is tamasaa aavritaa — “covered by darkness.” This is not partial confusion but total inversion. Such an intellect calls truth lies and lies truth. It praises what the wise condemn and condemns what the wise praise. It considers an ordinary person a great soul and a great soul an ordinary person.

Sarvaarthaan vipareetaan — “all things in a perverted way.” This is the defining characteristic. Everything is seen upside down. They accept things that should be rejected and reject what should be accepted. They consider what binds to be liberating and what liberates to be binding.

This is the most dangerous state of mind, because the person trapped in tamasic intellect is utterly convinced of their rightness. They are not merely ignorant — they are confidently wrong, and their confidence makes them resistant to correction. The cure begins with association with sattvic persons and environments, which gradually lifts the covering of tamas.