|| The qualities of Sattva , Rajas and Tamas described - 2 || Just as the fire , while burning a piece of wood , appears to take its shape , or the sky takes the form of an earthen pot or a lake full of water has the reflection of the moon , so the embodied Self is bound by the fetters of the Gunas and imagines through ignorance , that he possesses their properties . Sattva draws one to joy and Rajas to action ; while Tamas , clouding wisdom , impels one to error , sleep and sloth Arjuna . Overpowering Rajas and Tamas , Arjuna , Sattva prevails ; Overpowering Sattva and Tamas , Rajas prevails ; even so , overpowering Sattva and Rajas , Tamas prevails { 14 / 9 - 10 } . Just as the bile , after suppressing phlegm and wind , increases in the body and makes it heated or the cold sets in after the hot and the rainy seasons are over , or the mind falls into the state of deep slumber for a while , when the states of waking and dream disappear , in the same way , when the Sattva increases , overpowering Rajas and Tamas , a person says , I am so happy . Similarly when Tamas becomes strong , overpowering the qualities of Sattva and Rajas , the embodied Self is prone to commit blunders . In the same way , when Rajas overpowers and exceeds the Sattva and Tamas qualities , then this Lord of the body , feels that nothing is more desirable than action . Thus I have described to you the characteristics of the three qualities . Now listen carefully to the symptoms of the growth of these qualities . When light and discernment dawn in this body , as well as in the mind and senses , then one should know that Sattva is predominant . With the preponderance of Rajas , Arjuna , greed , activity , undertaking of action with an interested motive , restlessness and a thirst for enjoyment make their appearance . With the growth of Tamas , Arjuna , obtuseness of the mind and senses , disinclination to perform ones obligatory duties , frivolity and stupor -- all these appear . When a man dies during the preponderance of Sattva , he obtains the stainless ethereal worlds { heaven etc., } attained by men of noble deeds . Dying when Rajas predominates , he is born among those attached to action ; even so , the man who has expired during the preponderance of Tamas is reborn in the species of the deluded creatures such as insects and beasts etc.{ 14 / 11-15 } . When the Sattva increases in the body , overpowering Rajas and Tamas , then the following are the characteristics of the embodied Self . Just as in the spring the lotus blooms and spreads its fragrance all around , so the light of his knowledge spreads outside , overflowing the interior . The discrimination remains watchful in all the sense-organs and even the hands and feet acquire vision . Just as swan decides which is milk and which is water , so the senses themselves decide what is proper and what is improper and sense-restraint becomes their servant . The ears avoid hearing what they ought not to hear , the eyes avoid seeing what they ought not to see , their tongue avoids speaking what ought not to be uttered . Just as darkness flees from light , so prohibited actions dare not stand before the senses . His intellect delves into all lore’s , as the river is flooded in the rainy season . Just as the light of the full moon floods the whole sky , so all knowledge spreads in his mind . All his desires wane , his predilection for activity ebbs and his mind abhors sensuous pleasures . If death intervenes when his Sattva is on the increase he takes birth in an excellent body , as though a person has got a bumper harvest and has received as guests his forefathers on the festive occasion of their death anniversary { shraddha } day .If there be great riches in the house with generosity and courage of mind to match , would not such a person receive plaudits in this world and attain to heaven ? If such a person who has a pure and spotless conduct , with his Sattva on the increase dies , what would be his destination ? If such a person leaves his body , the best seat of sensuous enjoyments , being endowed with the Sattva , he becomes Sattva incarnate and takes his next birth among men of knowledge . O archer , if a crowned king goes to the forest , does he suffer any want there ? O Arjuna , if the lamp is taken to another hamlet , it continues to be a lamp there and so when the Sattva of a person becomes pure , his knowledge increases and his intellect floats on that knowledge . Then thinking over the order in which the world has sprung from the Great Principle , he becomes merged in the Self , along with his thought . When the Sattva increases , he takes birth and assumes the best body in the family of those , who have got an access to the Self which is the twenty-fifth principle of the Sankhyas or the fourth which transcends the Gunas . In the same way , when the Rajas increases , overpowering Sattva and Tamas , he runs riot in the terrain of the body , by his actions . Then he is possessed of the following characteristics . Just as when the whirlwind gathers all things from the earth and whirls them high in the sky , so he allows a free hand to the senses , to indulge in sensual pleasures . He does not think it against the scriptures to cast a lustful eye on anther’s wife and so his senses indulge freely in sensual enjoyments , as sheep graze wherever they want .His greed becomes so inordinate , that only things escape his clutches , which are beyond his reach . And he does not flinch from undertaking any business . He develops an extraordinary fancy to build a temple or perform a horse sacrifice . He undertakes huge works , like establishing townships or constructing reservoirs or planting forests . But even then , his desires for happiness in this or the next work remain unfulfilled . His desires become so inordinate and intolerable , that even the sea accepts defeat or the burning power of the fire proves mild before it . His hopes and expectations gallop ahead of the mind and his desire remains unsatisfied , even if he traverses the whole world . Such signs make it known that his Rajas quality is on the increase , and if he dies in this state , he enters a new human body and becomes endowed with the same characteristics . Does a beggar become a king , if he sits in a palace with all means of enjoyment at his beck and call ? If a bull goes in a marriage procession of a rich person , he does not get anything better than Jo war-stalks { grass } to eat . He therefore , finds himself after death in the company of men who are engrossed in worldly affairs day and night , without a moments rest . In short , if a person dies after being drowned in the deep waters in the form of Rajas tendencies , he takes birth in the family of a person , engrossed in actions . || OM TAT SAT ||
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 20:36:10 +0000
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