Vedic Literature | Ekamsat | Uddhava-Gita | Gunas and Freedom from them
2. The signs of sattva are control of mind and senses, forbearance, discrimination, austerity, truthfulness, compassion, memory, contentment, self-sacrifice, desireless-ness, faith, revulsion from evil, charity and absorption in the Self.
3. The signs of rajas are desire, activity, pride, greed, haughtiness, longing for one’s selfish ends, sense of difference between man and things, sensuality, enthusiasm arising from excitement, craving for name and fame, indulgence in ridicule of others, demonstrativeness and aggressiveness.
4. The signs of tamas are anger, greed, perfidy, cruelty, beggarliness, hypocrisy, languor, quarrelsomeness, depression, delusion, despondency, wretchedness, lassitude, vain expectation, fear and lack of initiative, and vigour at work.
5. The above is a description of the modes of mind in succession, generated by the gunas of sattva, rajas and tamas individually. Now listen about the qualities produced by their combination and interaction.
6. Oh Uddhava! In the feelings of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, the gunas of Prakrti function, in combination, simultaneously. All the activities of the mind, tanmatras, senses and pranas are the result of the combined functioning of the three gunas.
7. When man is firm and resolute in his pursuit of artha, kama and dharma, then is generated in him earnestness, attachment and desire to possess and enjoy. This is the result of the combination of the gunas.
8. Even adherence to dharma can arise from a combination of the gunas in the case of a house-holder. His resolve to do action prompted by desire is rajas. His resolve to perform swadharma is sattva. His resolve to stay idle and do no work is tamas.
9. If one is in a state of tranquility and possesses qualities allied to it, it may be inferred that he is predominantly constituted of sattva. If he is dominated by craving for acquisition, it may be inferred that he is predominantly constituted of rajas. If his chief characteristic is anger, it may be inferred that he is predominantly constituted of tamas.
10. Know one, whether it be man or woman, to be possessed of sattva, if he or she is found to adore Me with devotion, by the performance of all works that one ought to do, eschewing all self-centred desires.
11. Whenever anyone is found adoring Me with the performance of his duties, entertaining many desires to be fulfilled thereby, know him to be possessed of rajas. Whenever anyone does so for the destruction of his enemies, know him to be possessed of tamas.
12. Sattva, rajas and tamas, which manifest in the mind, affect the Jiva, but not Me, the Lord of all. And even among the Jiva, they affect only those who are attached to the body and material objects, and not those un-attached.
13. When sattva, brilliant, pure and peaceful, dominates over the other two gunas, then man is happy, established in morality and knowledge.
14. When rajas, characterized by attachment, sense of difference, and consciousness of one’s power, dominates over sattva and tamas, then man becomes subject to suffering, following as he does the path of desire-prompted actions seeking wealth and fame.
15. When tamas, characterized by lack of discriminative power, lethargy and inertia, dominates over rajas and sattva, then man becomes subject to pessimism, delusion, sloth, cruelty and indulgence in vain expectations.
16. When the mind is serene and the senses are at rest, when the body is free from affliction and disease and the heart from attachment, then know that there is dominance of sattva, the quality through which I manifest.
17. When there is a plethora of activity and man becomes a confirmed extrovert, when his mind and senses cease to have any rest, and when he becomes subject to physical ailments and mental excitement and confusion, then know that rajas is dominant.
18. When the drooping mind, unable to sustain consciousness, dissolves into sleep, when thought ceases to function owing to dominance of inertia and pessimism, then know that tamas is prevalent.
19. At the ascent of sattva, the introspective power of the senses represented by the Devas increases; at that of rajas, the active tendencies represented by the asuras dominate; and at that of tamas, the delusive mood represented by the rakshasas (demons) prevails.
20. The waking state is from sattva; the dream state, from rajas; and the state of sleep, from tamas. The turiya (fourth) state is the Spirit which prevails in all the three states, and transcends the gunas.
21. Those that follow the vaidika rites and way of life will, with the predominance of sattva, go to heavenly regions and become celestials. With the predominance of tamas, one degenerates to the level of plants. With the predominance of rajas, one is re-born man who is at a middle stage of evolution, between the above two.
22. Those, who die when sattva is dominant, go to the heavenly region; those, when rajas is dominant, become men; and those, when tamas dominates, go to infernal regions. But those who are beyond any of these gunas of Prakrti attain to Me.
23. Swadharma (performance of legitimate and ordained duties), performed as offering unto Me or without any desires, is influenced by sattva. Actions done with desire for the fruits of the works are influenced by rajas; and those involving cruelty and other expressions of brute-nature are influenced by tamas.
24. The knowledge of the atman as unconnected with the body is an expression of sattva. The acceptance of it as tenanting a body is an expression of rajas. The acceptance of the atman as the body itself, characteristic of children and ignorant people, is the effect of tamas. The consciousness that grasps Me is beyond the three gunas.
25. Dwelling in the solitude of a forest is sattva; in a village, rajas; and in a gambling den, tamas. The holy places associated with Me are beyond the realm of the three gunas.
26. The man devoid of attachment to works is under the influence of sattva; the one blinded by attachment is under the influence of rajas; and the one in delusion is under the influence of tamas. But the devotee self-surrendered to Me is beyond all the three gunas.
27. Faith in the spiritual verity is born of sattva; faith in action, of rajas; and faith in the evil and the unrighteous, of tamas. But faith in service to Me is beyond the gunas of Prakrti.
28. The food which is pure, healthy and obtained easily is characterized by sattva; the food that is delightful at the time of eating is characterized by rajas; and the food that is impure and unhealthy is characterized by tamas. But the food offered to Me is free from the influence of the gunas.
29. The happiness born of spiritual contemplation is of sattva; that born of the sense contacts is of rajas; and that which springs from delusion owing to practices like drinking, and from the pitiable state of dependence on others is of tamas. But the happiness born of devotion to Me is beyond the gunas.
30. Substance, place, results, time, knowledge, action, agent, faith, the three states of waking, dream and sleep, forms like those of Devas, man etc, and abidance in realms like heaven are based in the three gunas.
31. In short, Oh the best of men! Whatever there are seen, heard and thought of, being based on Prakrti and Purusa, are constituted of the three gunas.
32-34. The Jiva goes round and round the trans-migratory cycle according to the gunas it is associated with, and the karma springing from them. He who overcomes the influence of these gunas manifesting in the mind, becomes established securely in Me through devotion, and becomes fit for My state. So let all persons of intelligence that have got this human body, which is a means for spiritual enlightenment, abandon attachment to objects of material life, and adore Me and Me alone. Let a man of discrimination adore Me, and let him master his senses and practise non-attachment, being extremely vigilant in his spiritual striving.
35. The sage should cultivate sattva by taking in only pure food, and accepting pure and holy sense-impressions. By means of sattva, he should overcome rajas and tamas. By making the mind free of desire, tranquil and one with the Divine, he should overcome sattva, too, thus allowing the mind to dissolve in its substratum.
36. The Jiva, on abandoning its causal body, is free from the gunas of Prakrti and attains to Me. The Jiva, on its liberation from the ego-sense and the subtle impressions of the mind, becomes filled with Me, the Brahman and seeks no more satisfaction within or without.