|| 16.22 ||
एतैर्विमुक्तः कौन्तेय तमोद्वारैस्त्रिभिर्नरः। आचरत्यात्मनः श्रेयस्ततो याति परां गतिम्।।
etair vimuktaḥ kaunteya tamo-dvārais tribhir naraḥ ācaraty ātmanaḥ śreyas tato yāti parāṁ gatim
Word by Word
etaiḥ (from these) vimuktaḥ (being freed) kaunteya (O son of Kuntī) tamaḥ-dvāraiḥ (from the gates of darkness) tribhiḥ (three) naraḥ (a person) ācarati (performs) ātmanaḥ (for the self) śreyaḥ (benediction) tataḥ (thereafter) yāti (attains) parām (the supreme) gatim (destination).
Translation
The man who has escaped these three gates of hell, O son of Kunti, performs acts conducive to self-realization and thus gradually attains the supreme destination.
Meaning
Kṛṣṇa gives the ‘Escape Route’. He says that a person who has managed to escape the three gates of hell (Lust, Anger, Greed) begins to perform acts that are truly ‘Śreyas’—conducive to the welfare of the soul. Having cleared these major obstacles, they naturally and gradually attain the ‘Parāṁ Gatim’ or the supreme destination.
This is like a person who was stuck in a swamp finally reaching dry land. Once the heavy burdens of lust and anger are dropped, the soul becomes light. It naturally floats upward. Without the constant agitation of greed, the mind becomes a mirror for God. The energy that was wasted on selfish chasing is now available for spiritual flying. The path becomes easy and beautiful.
It teaches us that the first step to being ‘good’ is simply to stop being ‘bad’. By closing the three back doors of the ego, we automatically open the front door of grace. We don’t have to do complicated things; we just have to stop the three habits that are destroying us. This simplicity is the Lord’s great gift to humanity.