Ascetics Before the Shrine of the Goddess by Unknown Pahari painter
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That which a man hath faith in, that he is
KrishnaBhagavad Gita · Chapter 1717.3
Jnana Yoga
Path of Knowledge · Chapter 17 of 18
How Translators Differ

The aphorism 'shraddhAmayo ayam puruShaH' -- 'this person is made of faith' -- is one of the Gita's most psychologically penetrating statements. Arnold renders it as 'That which a man hath faith in, that he is' -- a formulation so clean it reads like William James avant la lettre. Swarupananda stays closer to the compound: 'The man consists of his shraddha; he verily is what his shraddha is,' using the Sanskrit 'shraddha' untranslated because it exceeds the English 'faith' (it encompasses trust, conviction, and innate disposition). Wilkins elegantly says 'what his faith is, that is he,' while Telang compresses it to the spare 'it is produced from dispositions,' losing the identity-claim entirely.

The Three PathsVerse 17.3
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Karma Yoga
Path of Action
Ch 1–6
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Bhakti Yoga
Path of Devotion
Ch 7–12
Jnana Yoga
Path of Knowledge
Ch 13–18
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Arjuna asks about those who worship sincerely but not according to scripture. Krishna explains that faith itself is threefold according to the gunas. Sattvic faith worships the gods, rajasic faith worships power, tamasic faith worships ghosts and spirits. A person’s faith reveals their essential nature.

Why This Matters

A profound psychological insight: we become what we believe. Our faith shapes our character, actions, and destiny.

faithidentitygunas
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Ascetics Before the Shrine of the Goddess
Unknown Pahari painter, 1810 · Public Domain
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