The Bhagavad Gita (19 page)

17  “Stuffed until choking with pride and conceit, drunk with their own wealth, they pay mere lip service to Divinity. They make offerings to the deities only for name and fame, outward show and self-promotion.

18  “Because they have fully given themselves to the dark forces of egoism, insolence, desire, and wrath, these cruel beings loathe Me, who dwells in their own bodies. They deny My presence in themselves and in others.

19  “Time after time, according to their
karma,
I cast these malicious evildoers into the wombs of like-minded parents, subjecting them to the wheel of death and birth.

20  “Life after life they take birth in similar degradation without ever reaching Me or even reaching toward Me. Thus they sink to the worst possible depths.

21  “The three main causes of this depravity are the so-called three gates to hell: desire, greed, and anger. Any one of them is enough to bind you to this darkness, so abandon all three.

22  “Those who finally pass by these three dark gates and turn Godward do eventually reach Me, the Supreme Goal. In fact, progress can be rapid once the degenerate person turns his or her aggressive energy toward Me and takes the Divine way.

23  “The function of the scriptures is to guide people toward living a perfected life on earth and repeatedly remind them of the goal, which should be nothing short of achieving Divinity Itself. But those who spurn the teachings and guidance of the scriptures and act only on the impulses of their desires will not achieve perfection and Divinity, only misery.

24  “Let the scriptures tell you what you should and should not do, Arjuna. Know what the right choices are and live up to them. It is simpler than you think. When you, or anyone, is firmly on the road to enlightenment there is no conflict at all between what you do and what the scriptures advise.”

1  “But Krishna,” Arjuna asks, “some people in all good i faith pursue the right path without having elaborate knowledge of the scriptures. What will be their spiritual attainment? Is the nature of their faith
sattva
(purity),
rajas
(activity), or
tamas
(dark)?”

2-3 Krishna answers: “People are in fact the sum total of the beliefs they hold in their hearts, Arjuna, and there are indeed various kinds of faith. One’s faith corresponds to one’s nature, and one’s nature is equivalent to one’s faith. Every individual is born with one of three kinds of faith:
sattvic, rajasic,
or
tamasic,
depending on their temperament.

4  “Those of
sattvic
temperament revere the gods in heaven.
Rajasic
people worship power and wealth, even though they may not acknowledge those as their gods.
Tamasic
people worship the spirits of the dead — ghosts and hurtful deities (those with negative qualities and those who do harm) — which again are in tune with their own disposition.

5-6  “Some people, due to excessive passions and desires, invent harsh ways to inflict pain on themselves. In their foolishness they hurt their bodies and senses and outrage Me, the
Atma
who lives within them. They may seem to be endowed with ‘faith,’ but such practices are harmful to their spiritual growth.

7  “There are other behaviors that bear on spiritual attainment. One’s eating habits play a part in it, a fact that few recognize. And the way one performs the three main spiritual disciplines — sacrifice
(yajna,
offering up), purification (
tapas,
austerities), and charity
(dana,
alms giving) — also influences one’s spiritual development. Each of these three disciplines can also be understood in light of the three
guna
types.”

8  “Regarding dietary practices, know that there are subtle elements in food that significantly influence the mind, and therefore shape mental attitudes. This creates a cycle similar to the situation with one’s faith: you are what you eat, and you eat based on what you are. And know, Arjuna, that due to the subtle impact of food on one’s mind, sooner or later all serious spiritual aspirants have to face up to the issue of what they consume.

“Sattvic
people, for example, consume pure, mild, nourishing food that strengthens them physically and brings pure thoughts and mental cheerfulness. Their foods are fresh, juicy, soothing, and agreeable to the body’s digestive system. Breakfast is light; the daytime meal is as substantial as required but not more; supper is as light as possible so bodily organs can rest through the night. Only
sattva
knows the real taste of food.

9  
“Rajasic
people are drawn to spicy, hot, bitter, salty, acidic, and burning food. Like the people who eat it, this food produces pain, grief, and disease, and hinders spiritual attainment.

10  
“Tamasic
people eat old, overcooked, stale, tasteless, impure, empty, and dead food with no nutritional value. This food returns these qualities in kind to the eater.”

11   “Contemplate the three spiritual practices (sacrifice, austerity, and charity) with regard to the
guna
qualities.

“First, consider sacrifice
(yajna),
the ‘loving offering’ and ‘fundamental law of nature’ I mentioned earlier.
^*
Sacrifice is
sattvic
when it is offered up for its own sake with no desire in it, no expectation of reward or attachment to the fruits of the offering.

12  “Sacrifice is
rajasic
when performed for self-glorification, for the sake of show and the benefits it will
bring, or as an attempt to barter a favor from God. Selfish sacrifice is detrimental to spiritual growth.

13  
“Tamasic
persons offer up empty sacrifice devoid of solemnity, without any solemn earnestness, lacking even the proper
mantras
(chants) or rituals — with no faith whatsoever.”

14  “Consider purification,
tapas,
which literally means ‘to melt,’ as in refining ore. The purpose of purification is not pain and penance, but to deliberately refine one’s life, to melt it down and recast it into a higher order of purity and spirituality. The goal is very important; it is not self-punishment but refinement — to shift from human existence into Divinity!

“There are three main methods of purification: the refinement of one’s thoughts, words, and deeds — also called the purification, respectively, of one’s instruments of mind, speech, and body. When you modify these three you automatically change for the better.

“Purifying one’s deeds (‘bodily austerities’) consists of four key practices: veneration of the Gods (which are all facets of the one Divinity); veneration of holy ones, persons who have so dedicated their careers; veneration of
gurus
(spiritual teachers, older people who set good examples); and veneration of the sages, those who already know
Atma
and have transcended body-mind.

15  “Purifying one’s words (‘speech austerities’) also includes four key practices: truth telling; not hurting; not flattering; and devotional chanting (reading aloud).
“I will briefly elaborate each:

“Always tell the truth, Arjuna, and present it in as pleasant a way as possible. If you cannot do that, remain silent. If something absolutely needs to be said you must uphold the truth, but find a way to do it that is gentle and obliging.

“Do not hurt others through harsh words. Words can be more painful than physical violence, and the hurt lasts longer. Words meant to excite negativity are an act of violence; shun such words. Abstinence from harmful speech is very important.

“Scrupulously avoid flattery, even if what you say is pleasant and contains truth. Promoting vanity does not help spiritual growth. The point is to express (even under your breath) only beneficial words that promote movement toward Divinity.

“Finally, devotional chanting, the regular reading aloud of sacred texts, is a purification of speech that can contribute much to spiritual progress.

16  “Consider now, lastly, the purification of thought (‘mind austerity’). This is more important than the other two refinements (words and deeds), because good words and deeds are spontaneous in the mind that is saturated with good thoughts. Maintain a calm and gentle state of mind and you will not be speaking wayward words or doing unwanted deeds. To develop equanimity of mind, allow
only
good thoughts and noble sentiments to arise in you. This may sound impossible to most people, but as we know now, one can indeed cleanse the mind through constant, intense, direct practice.

17  “When you relentlessly practice these acts of purification of thought, word, and deed with firm faith and no expectation of reward, your practices are
sattvic.

18  “When you practice these acts of purification to gain admiration or respect, your practices are
rajasic. Any
selfish motive to receive a return, whether in this world or the next, makes the act
rajasic,
and this extinguishes its value for spiritual attainment.

19  “When you perform these three purification practices without understanding the reasons for doing them, or if they are body centered, or include sorcery or harm to yourself or others — then your too-austere efforts are
tamasic.”

20  “Now, Arjuna, consider the three types of charity
(dana,
alms giving). As I already stressed, it is one’s duty to give. When you offer charity out of a positive sense of duty with no feeling of obligation in it and no expectation of reward, and furnish it at the right time and place to a deserving person who can make no return, that giving is
sattvic.

21  “Handing over a gift with strings attached to it makes both giver and receiver uncomfortable. Charity presented with the hint of desire for receiving a return (either here or hereafter) is
rajasic.

22  “And finally, gifts given at the wrong time and place to unworthy persons (people of questionable character who squander their money or do not help others), or gifts presented disrespectfully or accompanied by an insult — those charities are
tamasic.”

23   “Although these three spiritual activities — sacrifice, purification, and charity
(yajna, tapas,
and
dana) —
are the most elevating actions going on in the world, they all have a tinge of worldly impurity in them, even the best
sattvic
practices of them. To cleanse these practices, invoke the declaration
‘Om Tat Sat’
as you undertake them. This ancient, three-word phrase echoes far back to the very beginning of time to when Divinity first projected Itself as sound. Each word —
Om, Tat,
and
Sat —
represents the Supreme Consciousness from which everything else comes.

24  “Consider them one by one. The syllable
Om
(essentially an appellation of the Godhead) is what spiritually knowledgeable people utter whenever they perform spiritual activities. This lends a sacred and blessed tone to their acts and begins to dissolve the tinge of impurity in them.

25  “Saying
Tat
while performing these activities (literally, ‘It,’ God) reminds one that all actions are God’s and not one’s own. This removes the sense of ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ the ego, from the doing.

26   “Voicing
Sat
(literally, ‘That which is,’ Existence Itself) invokes an overall attitude of goodness and serves as a reminder that the action about to be done is a noble deed conducive to God realization. Uttering
Sat
purifies your own activities and reforms the world as well.

27  
“Sat
has other shades of meaning and other purposes. Any action performed for the sake of the Divine is
Sat.
To engage steadfastly in the spiritual activities (sacrifice, purification, and charity) is also
Sat.

“Repeating
Om Tat Sat
creates an uplifted attitude toward any activity. The implication is that
Sat
(‘That which is’) is both the means and the goal, both the Godhead and the way to reach It.

28  “Finally, Arjuna, know that faith comes first. These spiritual activities must be done with
sraddha,
faith that contains determination, zeal, and momentum for spiritual growth. To do these without this firm faith is considered
Asat
(‘not That’), which means the act is of no account spiritually and nothing worthwhile will come of it here or in the hereafter.”