Text 45 ll
Contents of the City Summarized
120
for understanding the self, it is called  samādhi .”  Samādhi  is never possible for persons interested in material sense enjoyment, nor for those who are bewildered by such temporary things. They are more or less condemned by the process of material energy.
TEXT 45
त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन । निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् ॥४५॥
traigunya-viṣayā vedā  
 nistraigunyo bhavārjuna  
 nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho  
 niryoga-kṣema ātmavān
traiguṇya —pertaining to the three modes of material nature;  viṣayāḥ —on the subject matter;  vedāḥ —Vedic literatures;  nistraiguṇyaḥ —in a pure state of spiritual existence;  bhava —be;  arjuna —O Arjuna;  nirdvandvaḥ —free from the pains of opposites;  nitya-sattva-sthaḥ —ever remaining in  sattva  (goodness);  niryoga-kṣemaḥ —free from (the thought of) acquisition and preservation;  ātmavān —established in the Self.
TRANSLATION
The Vedas mainly deal with the subject of the three modes of material nature. Rise above these modes, O Arjuna. Be transcendental to all of them. Be free from all dualities and from all anxieties for gain and safety, and be established in the Self.
PURPORT
All material activities involve actions and reactions in the three modes of material nature. They are meant for fruitive results, which cause bondage in the material world. The  Vedas  deal mostly with fruitive activities to gradually elevate the general public from the field of sense gratification to a position on the transcendental plane. Arjuna, as a student and friend of Lord Kṛṣṇa, is advised to raise himself to the transcendental position of  Vedānta  philosophy where, in the beginning, there is  brahma-jijñāsā , or questions on the Supreme Transcendence. All the living entities who are in the material world are struggling very hard for existence. For them the