Gita
essays – 24
While discussing Purusha-Prakrithi Jnanam in chapter 13, Lord
Krishna made four points; 1) “Whatever being,
moving or stationary, is born --- know that to be out of the union of Purusha (Khṣetrajna) and Prakrithi (Kshetram); 2) Purusha
and Prakrithi are both without
beginning and all forms and gunas are
born of Prakriti; 3) Purusha seated in Prakriti, seemingly experiences the qualities (gunas) born of Prakriti.
It is attachment to the gunas that
is the cause of birth in good and evil wombs; 4) He who thus knows the Purusha and Prakriti along with the gunas
is not born again. In chapter 14, where Lord discusses mainly the three gunas, Satvam, Rajas and Tamas that constitute Prakrithi, Lord starts with the the
glorification of Athma Jnanam (Purusha-Prakrithi viveka) praising
it as an important knowledge that is worth repetition since those attaining
this wisdom and being established in it will not ever be born again after they
shed their mortal coil in death. He also restates the point no.1 referred to
earlier from a different angle. He presents Purusha-the Nirguna, Nirvikara, Chetana, Sathya tatvam and Prakrithi-the Saguna, Savikara, Achetana. Mithya tatvam
symbolically as the father-principle and mother-principle bestowing on every
created being Conscious and material aspects representing Purusha and Prakrithi respectively. The
three gunas in varying proportions in
each created being contribute to the variety in creation.
After the brief introduction
Lord analyses the three gunas under four
heads:
1) Chief
characteristics of each guna and the nature of their bondage
2) Indications
that reveal the predominance of each guna (lingam)
3) Their
effect on life
4) Effect
after death
This knowledge of the
gunas can be used to transcend them
when that Jnanam will liberate one from samsara, while alive and
from the cycle of birth and death, on death.
So let us see the details as revealed by the Lord in these verses.
The characteristics
of Satva guna is descrbed in the
verse 14-6: “O Arjuna, Satva, is bright and harmless due to its purity,
and binds by causing attachment to knowledge and to happiness”. Satva Guna is marked by brightness and
calmness. A calm and bright mind can
learn things, absorb knowledge and engage in meditation. But this too can cause bondage as a Satvic
mind seeks always seclusion and a tranquil environment, free from noise
pollution. As the external circumstances
are not under one’s control, one’s longing for quietude and solitude, causing
restlessness in noisy crowded environs, becomes a bondage. Further, the knowledge that it seeks is
mainly worldly knowledge which is not totally fulfilling and satisfying however
much one acquires it.
Rajo guna is
described in the next verse (14-7): “O Arjuna, know Rajas to be of the
nature of passion, born of thirst (desire for sensual enjoyment) and attachment
and binds the embodied one through attachment to action”. Rajo Guna is of the nature of
attachment and passion; a Rajasic mind is highly extrovert and it always
wants to relate with things and people.
This thirst for sense-enjoyment propels one to action and so Rajas is
characterised by activity. A Rajasic mind seeks always company and
action and will go mad in seclusion. As Rajasic mind is of competitive nature,
it is always anxious and restless. This
restlessness and longing for activity and sense-enjoyment is the cause for samsara
and samsara is bondage
Tamo guna is
described in next verse (14-8): “O Arjuna, understand Tamas as born of
ignorance and as the deluder of all beings. It binds by (causing) negligence,
indolence, and sleep”. Under the
influence of Tamo guna one’s capacity for discrimination gets veiled and
the person suffers from Ajjnanam and delusion. It is just the antithesis of Rajo guna
in that it dislikes activity and takes pleasure in laziness and lethargy;
physical, mental and intellectual. So
the person’s attention span and absorption capacity are at a low level and he
is ignorant or uncaring for the higher purposes of life.
Lord Krishna is non-judgemental as He
outlines the characteristics, but we can grade them depending on their positive
influence on one’s mental personality, ranking Satva that stands for
brightness and knowledge as highest and Tamas that stands for lethargy
and ignorance as lowest. We can also define them, in short, based on the
aptitude of the person for activity at the time of predominance of the guna as
non-activity, activity and inactivity. The three gunas compete among
themselves for supremacy and try to dominate overpowering the other two. Satva
predominates overpowering Rajas and Tamas; Rajas
predominates overpowering Satva and Tamas
and Tamas predominates overpowering Satva and Rajas (14-10).
Lord
Krishna gives also the indicators that reveal which is the predominant guna
at any moment. When Satva is predominant all the jnanendriyas
radiate the light of knowledge (14-11). This state of light comes from inner
peace and tranquillity that Satva pradhana person enjoys and of his
desire for knowledge. When Rajas is predominant, greed and activity, the
undertaking of worldly actions with a selfish motive and longing for enjoyment
are on the rise. (14-12). Rajas pradhana
people are great achievers and material progress is due to them, no doubt,
but in their quest for success they tend to be impatient and intolerant of
persons who do not measure up to their standard. They are restless in their
longing for things not yet acquired and for tasks not yet accomplished. Selfish interests and desires mark their
activity. When Tamas is
predominant, darkness, inertia, miscomprehension, delusion flourishes (14-13). Tamas
pradhana person has no interest in learning and doing with the result he is
slow to act and understand. Even where
he acts, action is liable to suffer due to negligence and misunderstanding. In
short, when one’s study and contemplation increases and when one becomes more
calm and reflective we can say then Satva guna is predominant. When activity increases and one becomes more
competitive, selfish, aggressive and egoistic, Rajo guna is the dominant
guna then, we can conclude. When one
becomes lazy, lethargic and procrastinating spending more time in sleep and
idleness, one is under the influence of Tamo guna, we can infer.
When Satva guna
increases, knowledge and contemplation increases and so the fruit of Satvic
action is stated as Punya.. When Rajo
guna increases activity and ambition increases generating tension, anxiety,
worry and sorrow and so the fruit of Rajasic action is termed as
sorrow. When Tamo guna increases sleep,
negligence, idleness and dullness increases and so the fruit of Tamasic
action is dubbed as ignorance. So Lord
tells in verse 16 & 17; “The result of Satvic action is pure puṇya;
the result of Rajasic (action) is sorrow; whereas the result of Tamasic
(action) is ignorance.” (14-16). “Knowledge is born out of Satva; greed
is born out of Rajas; negligence and delusion along with ignorance are
born out of Tamas.” (14-17).
Lord Krishna goes on to say
that gunas not only influence this life but they also have an impact on next
life as well. When one is Satva pradhana at the time of death, then he will
go to the higher lokas where he enjoys greater happiness. When he is reborn he is born in a pious
family. If one is Rajas pradhana at the time of death, he goes to the
middle worlds and takes birth in the family of those who are attached to action. If Tamas is predominant at the time of
death, one goes to the lower worlds and is reborn in the family of dull and
ignorant or even goes down the order of evolution being born in the animal
kingdom.
Lord Krishna talks more on
the topic of classification of various subjects like Yajna, Dhana,
Tapas, food, happiness etc. under the three gunas in
the chapters 17 & 18 to enable one to shape one’s life on Satvic
path, and eschew Tamasic ways in life.
One can make use of this knowledge of the gunas to change oneself to a Satva pradhana
person as an initial step to transcend the gunas and attain Jivan Mukthi while living and Videha Mukthi at death, as a Gunatheetha, the person who has transcended the gunas, of whom Lord Krishna talks about
in the rest of this chapter.
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