October 5, 2023
sattvaṁ sukhe saṁjayati rajaḥ karmaṇi bhārata
jñānam āvṛtya tu tamaḥ pramāde saṁjayaty uta (XIV-9)
rajas tamaś cā ’bhibhūya sattvaṁ bhavati bhārata
ajaḥ sattvaṁ tamaś cai ’va tamaḥ sattvaṁ rajas tathā (XIV-910)
XIV/9. Sattva leads to happiness; rajas to action, O Arjuna;
while tamas verily shrouding knowledge leads to heedlessness.
rajas and tamas; now rajas, having overpowered sattva
and tamas; and now tamas, having overpowered sattva and rajas.
Swamiji's Commentary
The introspective spiritual aspirant is amazed, shocked and terrified when he discovers that in spite of himself his moods continuously change. Now he is happy; now he is restless; now he is lazy. Now he is wise; now he is passionate; now he is idle. “How is it,” he wonders, “that in spite of being one whole, I am sometimes holy, sometimes human and at other times beastly?”
When he is advanced enough in meditation and when he has developed the witness- consciousness, he will realize that these passing moods need not necessarily affect ‘him’, that they do not ‘belong’ to him, but that they are the triple streams of sattva, rajas and tamas – part of the divine nature – which merely cast their shadows on him as they march past.
What is a personality if the wisdom, the dynamism and the stupidity it has are all removed? All of us, the greatest of saints and the worst of sinners, are subject to these three qualities, though the proportion may vary, because we are part of nature. However, in ignorance we superimpose their effects upon ourselves.
Even though these qualities may obstruct the vision of the true self, they do not affect or alter it. The soul is ever pure, unaffected by any of the three qualities of nature. This is the fountain-source of the sage’s strength. If a colored object is placed near a crystal, the crystal appears to undergo a complete change. In fact, it remains unchanged in its essential nature – it merely reflects the color of the object in front of it. A clear understanding of this truth frees man from fear, grief and delusion, and throws open the path to redemption.