The eighty-sixth in a series of talks by Swami Nirmalananda Giri (Abbot George Burke) on the Bhagavad Gita, India's most famous scripture: the unforgettable dialog between Sri Krishna and Arjuna about the essence of spiritual life.In this talk, beginning with Chapter 18:29, Swamiji discusses three types of intellect according to the gunas: sattwa, rajas, and tamas, as well as three types of firmness of intellect.Three Types of Intellect (Buddhi)Sattwic Intellect: • Clearly understands what should and should not be done. • Knows the difference between action and renunciation, bondage and liberation, right and wrong. • Grounded in reality, inner clarity, and moral discernment. • Essential for liberation (moksha) and rooted in yoga sadhana.Rajasic Intellect: • Confused and passionate. • Mistakes adharma for dharma. • Often driven by desire, ego, and self-interest. • Does the wrong thing sincerely but without understanding.Tamasic Intellect: • Completely inverted: calls evil good and good evil. • Justifies delusion and wrongdoing as righteousness. • Lives in darkness, stubbornly refuses to change. • Example: those who use fear-based religion, or sabotage others out of pride or negativity.Three Types of Steadfastness (Dhriti)Sattwic Steadfastness: • Controls mind, prana, and senses through yoga. • Not mere suppression—true mastery and transmutation. • Leads to purification and spiritual freedom.Rajasic Steadfastness: • Clings to pleasure, duty, and wealth out of attachment and ego. • Motivated by desire for results and personal gain.Tamasic Steadfastness: • Refuses to abandon sleep, fear, depression, and arrogance. • Inertia, victim mentality, and self-pity define this state. • Often cloaked in false spirituality or rigid delusion.Key Insights • The Gita provides a diagnostic tool for inner transformation—not to judge others, but to understand ourselves. • True intellect is not about cleverness, but clarity, sincerity, and right direction. • Real strength comes not from repression but from yogic mastery and inward purity.