Bhagavad Gita (14)

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CHAPTER 14GOING BEYOND THE THREE FORCES OF NATURE(Gunatraya Vibhaga Yoga)"... beyond time, space, and circumstances to the placewhere the mind is tranquil and ego disappears."1. "Arjuna, I will now explain in more detail the very nature of nature (prakriti), and how the three gunas function within each individual's life. The term guna

refers not only to the three properties of nature but also to the

corresponding three underlying attitudes of mind that shape all human

behavior. When you know these secrets, you possess the spiritual wisdom

that can take you beyond birth and death. Through this wisdom the sages

were guided to supreme perfection.2. In fact, those who live by

this wisdom definitely unite with Me and will not have to be reborn

even when the cosmos is recreated at the dawn of a cycle.3. "It is I who instills the seed of all births into the vast womb of nature (prakriti). Nature in turn gives birth to the infinitely diverse temperaments of all creatures.4.

"Everything that is born, Arjuna, comes from this subtle union of

Spirit and nature. Whatever forms are produced in any of the wombs of

the universe, know that My nature (prakriti) is the cosmic mother of all creation, and that I am the seed-giving father."GUNAS, THE THREE STRANDS OF NATURE5. "All life evolves from the differentiating power of three forces or strands in nature; sattva (purity, light, calmness), rajas (passion, action), and tamas (ignorance, darkness, inertia)."Everyone,

Arjuna, has all three forces within them in differing proportions and

will, as I have mentioned, exhibit the type of behavior that is in

accord with their predominating guna. Thus, the gunas explain why you think, feel, speak, and act as you do. This is the entire map. The sattvic person (a rare type) will be calm and harmonized. Rajasic persons (certainly the majority) are full of restless energy. Tamasic people (also quite common) will be lethargic, indolent, and unmotivated to act."The word guna also means strand in a directly literal sense. Gunas are the forces that weave together to form a strong rope that binds the Self (Atma, soul) to one's worldly body and thus to life, death, and rebirth."The objective of life is to reshape one's

character upward in pursuit of a higher ideal - changing from indolence or inertia (tamas) into passionate effort (rajas), and then channeling that into calmness (sattva).6. "Of these forces, sattva, being pure, provides an unobstructed view of Atma. But even here a problem can arise when one finds pleasure in sacred knowledge and begins yearning for it. Any

pleasure, even good pleasure, creates attachment and subsequent desire.

All attachments, even golden ropes, bind the individual (jiva) to the pain and sadness of the material world.7. "Desireful action is the very nature of rajas, the second guna.

Desire goads one into action and creates a sense of doership in the

mind. It spawns a thirst for acquiring and clinging to worldly things -

to people and sensations that attract the senses. As fuel feeds fire, rajas breed attachments to action and its fruit. This attachment turns on itself, bringing greed and greed's close relative, anger.8. "Tamas (literally darkness) is saturated with ignorance and instills nothing but indolence and stupor. This guna bewilders people, stealing their capacity for work (their rajasic energy) as well as their composure (their sattvic calmness).9-10. "So, Arjuna, sattva ties the calm person to joy, rajas bind active doers to incessant activity, and tamas fastens indolent people

to delusion and sloth. Over the course of a day all three gunas ebb and flow within each person. Sattva rises to the fore by overpowering rajas and tamas. Rajas rules when sattva and tamas are weak. Tamas prevails when the other two qualities lie dormant and yield to lethargy.11-13. "One should be aware of which guna predominates. I will describe some of the signs : When sattva rises

it is as if the light of the True Self is shining out through all your

gates (senses). Your seeing is sharper, hearing is more acute, and

thinking and actions steadier, more precise. When rajas

takes over your personality it is as if impatience, greed, and longing

have sprung to the forefront, as if your own restlessness is compelling

you to action. Tamas has taken charge when your mind feels lazy, bewildered, and uncaring.14-15.

"The particular state of mind uppermost at the time of your death is

the deciding factor of your next birth. If your soul departs when sattva is predominant, you to to the pure heavens of beings who know the Creator. If you die in a rajasic

state - full of unfulfilled desires, excitements, fears and sorrows -

you are reborn into the wombs of people similarly driven. If you die in

a tamasic mentality you

depart in an unconscious state, only to be reborn into a situation of

equal dullness and ignorance, perhaps even as a subhuman or lower

animal.16-17. "I repeat, Arjuna, always seek to move to the next higher level (from tamas to rajas to sattva), because the consequences of the various actions are clear. Sattvic actions result in wisdom, purity, and happiness. Rajasic activities always bring greed, anger, and great pain. Tamasic behavior leads to ignorance and dull inertia."But also know that the anger and pain of driven, rajasic

people may be heaven sent, because nothing motivates a person to mend

his or her ways as much as the misery that always accompanies

desire-driven action. Suffering is the training ground where one shapes

good character and right conduct (dharma). It is dharma (living a truth-based life) that lifts one to the serenity of sattva.18. "Those who live in sattva rise upwards, whether in this world or the next. Those stuck in rajas stay in the middle, ever caught up in earthly activity. Those mired in tamas sink even lower.19-20. "Remember, Arjuna, the gunas are nature (prakriti), and all actions, whether sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic, take place in nature. All things in nature are just permutations of the three strands, the guna forces - even the mind, senses, and objects that attract the senses are permutations of these three."The purpose of earthly life, as I have said, is to outgrow the two inferior gunas and reach the serenity of sattva - and then to ascend beyond even sattva. The person who climbs beyond all three guna

states is in essence transcending nature itself, and is thereby freed

of the natural body, and is thus liberated from the awful cycle of

birth, decay, death, and rebirth. This person enters the realm of Pure

Consciousness and attains the supreme bliss of My Being, Brahman, the

Godhead."HOW TO TRANSCEND THE GUNAS21.

Arjuna asks, "What are the hallmarks of those jnanis (wise yogis) who

have transcended the three gunas? How do they conduct themselves? And

how do they rise beyond these entangling strands?22-23. "Good question," Krishna says. "Those who transcend the gunas

are in essence watchers, beyond the worldly. Although constantly aware

of the inevitable cycle of birth, disease, senility, grief, and so

forth, they dwell above it all and merely witness it. They feel no

attraction or aversion to any of the gunas - no desire even for the calm joy of sattva or for the excitement of rajas, and no repulsion toward the lethargy of tamas.

They have nothing to gain by adhering to any of these earthly behaviors

and nothing to lose by turning from them. While the waves of guna

forces ebb and flow, these transcended persons remain calm, steady,

unaffected, unconcerned, and unmoved. As they do not tie their moods to

guna-created circumstances, they cease being uplifted or depressed by their own likes or dislikes.24-25.

"Thus balanced in the face of pleasure and pain, these yogis are no

longer a party to the machinations of the three forces within nature

and in the body. They dwell always within Self, Atma.

Dualities such as pleasure and pain, praise and blame no longer have

any meaning. As they are established in this attitude of holy

indifference, to them lumps of clay, stone, or gold are all the same.

They have progressed beyond time, space, and circumstance, to the place

where the mind is tranquil and ego disappears.26. "The way to traverse the gunas is through steadfast practice of the three paths (yogas) I have prescribed : One, be thoroughly devoted to the Divine One (bhakti yoga); two, faithfully serve Divinity (karma yoga); and three, be constantly aware of this same Divinity in all others and in everything you do (jnana yoga).27.

"Finally, beloved Arjuna, be always cognizant that I, the Divine One,

am the foundation of both the manifested and unmanifested Godhead; I am

the imperishable, immutable Brahman above all, who dwells within all as

Atma. I am eternal truth and everlasting bliss."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/