Thursday, October 12, 2017
Sri Dasbodh (2.5) रजोगुण लक्षण
Sri Dasbodh (2.5) रजोगुण लक्षण
Even while all humans are alike, each person is different from the other. Even Sri Dnyaneshwar Maharaj or Sri Samartha that were Divine incarnations behaved as per their attributes alone. It is the nature of nature to project the ordinary behind every special ! Therefore thinkers and philosophers strived to discover the common denominators behind different traits of human behaviour since long. Sage Kapilacharya postulated long back that whatever manifests in form is formed from three attributes Satva, Raja and Tama. Vedanta philosophy accepted the doctrine and incorporated it with its philosophy.
As per Kapilacharya, if entire visible world is woven in the three attributes, humans the best of creations must also be made of the three. Satva-Guna envisages Effulgence, Knowledge, Peace, contentment, unselfish love etc. The Rajo-Guna exhibits Passion and desires, struggle, toil, industriousness, fighting spirit etc. Whereas laziness, excessive sleep, lethargy, inertia, fascination etc are traits of Tamo-Guna. Every person harbours harbours all the three ; however, one of those is predominant and the person is identified accordingly.
It is true that entire Saints are at the same status from spiritual point of view ; however, those enjoying bliss of Self-Knowledge equally have transcended the three attributes. And therefore, while dealing in worldly matters they appear to behave as per attributes. Common man behaves under the influence of the three attributes alone and he needs trudging path of spirituality through those only.
Therefore Sri Samartha differentiated each of the attributes as pure and mixed (शुध्द आणि शबल). Pure attribute leads to spiritual leanings whereas the impure or mixed one unto worldly matters.
Sri Samartha describes the three attributes one by one in detail during next three chapters.
Basically human body is made of three attributes, namely Satva, Raja and Tama. Satva-Guna happens to be the best among the three.
Satva-Guna encourages developing devotion unto the Lord. Raju-Guna necessitates re-birth and Tamo-Guna leads to taking birth in non-human lower species.
He mentions 18th stanza from 14th chapter of the Bhagwat Geeta thus :-
ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसा: / जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसा: ॥ १४/१८ ॥ It means, those humans possessing benevolent traits reach highest pedestals of evolution; those with pleasure loving ones keep hanging around intermediate state, while the lazy indolent are doomed.
Qualities are distinguished as Pure and Mixed : I shall speak about both. Whatever clean, spotless, immaculate is Pure and whichever mixed is ‘Shabala’. Shabala is obstructive, harmful.
I shall enumerate characteristics of Pure and Shabala ; let thinkers listen to those intently. Pure traits are spiritual, whereas Shabala ones are worldly. A worldly person harbours all three attributes. ; while one predominates the other two are relegated. Life continues of the three attributes, namely Satva Raja and Tama.
I shall now demonstrate the way Rajo-Guna works.
Dynamism in life, penchant to overcome situations, enthusiasm for change etc should be considered as manifest form of Rajo-Guna. This trait is necessary to achieve anything big and lofty.. however, it is misused when directed towards worldly matters. The wise should listen carefully as to how a person behaves when Rajo-Guna predominates. Rajo-Guna questions very propriety in greatness of God when the house, worldly matters etc belong to the person alone. Indeed, the one that cares for mother, father, wife, children alone is Rajo-Guni. He craves to eat good, wear good and acquire things belonging to others. He abhors religion, charity, recitation and meditation. He does not bother about merit or sin. Moreover, he doesn’t engage in pilgrimages, vows and does not entertain guests or visitors. In addition, the one pursuing immoral actions is to be considered Rajo-Guni. Besides, even while possessing plenty of grain and money the one running after money and spending it miserly are the signs of Rajo-Guna.
The one considering himself as youthful, beautiful, powerful and clever is Rajo Guni. In addition, the one arrogant of his land, village, place of residence is Rajo Guna.
The one wishing ill of others vis a vis his own welfare is Rajo Guna. In addition, the one nurturing envy and malice is a Rajo guni. The one possessing passion and considering others as mean and negligible is Rajo Guna. The one nurturing extraordinary affection unto son, wife etc is Rajo Guna. When one is concerned about a close relative and feels sad, entry of Rajo Guna is certain. One is worried over travails in worldly matters and nurtures doubts about overcoming those ; such is the state in Rajo Guna. In addition, lamenting over pleasures enjoyed in the past and their unavailability presently makes him despondent. That is Rajo Guna ! Moreover, witnessing wealth of others and its absence with him brings in dejection; that too is Rajo Guna. Besides non-availability of whatever seen makes him sad ; it is Rajo Guna for sure.
The one engrossed in cheap humour all the time, engages in exotic songs and forgets his own self applauding and mimicking those is indeed a Rajo guni.
One engaging in calumny, ridicule and mockery and the one leading to argumentalism due to his talk is a Rajo guni indeed.
The one indulging in vice, laziness, addiction etc is Rajo guni. He is an artiste that dons various roles, nurtures penchant for drama and the likes and wastes money over trivial sports is Rajo Guna personified. He is fond of intoxicating things, loafing around and likes company of low and mean people.
A person with Rajo Guna is engrossed in worldly matters all the time. Moreover, he is ever engaged in satisfying the body and senses alone.
Rajo Guna makes entire desires getting entangled in worldly matters and the only way to get rid of its clutches is Devotion unto the Lord. One should surrender his mind unto the Lord alone and learn to Love Him. Mixed Rajo Guna leads one toward worldly matters, whereas pure Rajo Guna unto devotion to Lord. One discovers characteristics of pure Rajo Guna in Satva Guna or benevolent traits, which indeed happen to be the basis of Lord’s Devotion.
The audience have understood characteristics of Rajo Guna by now. Therefore, it would be useful to know those of Tamo Guna as well !
“ Hari Om Tat Sat “
Even while all humans are alike, each person is different from the other. Even Sri Dnyaneshwar Maharaj or Sri Samartha that were Divine incarnations behaved as per their attributes alone. It is the nature of nature to project the ordinary behind every special ! Therefore thinkers and philosophers strived to discover the common denominators behind different traits of human behaviour since long. Sage Kapilacharya postulated long back that whatever manifests in form is formed from three attributes Satva, Raja and Tama. Vedanta philosophy accepted the doctrine and incorporated it with its philosophy.
As per Kapilacharya, if entire visible world is woven in the three attributes, humans the best of creations must also be made of the three. Satva-Guna envisages Effulgence, Knowledge, Peace, contentment, unselfish love etc. The Rajo-Guna exhibits Passion and desires, struggle, toil, industriousness, fighting spirit etc. Whereas laziness, excessive sleep, lethargy, inertia, fascination etc are traits of Tamo-Guna. Every person harbours harbours all the three ; however, one of those is predominant and the person is identified accordingly.
It is true that entire Saints are at the same status from spiritual point of view ; however, those enjoying bliss of Self-Knowledge equally have transcended the three attributes. And therefore, while dealing in worldly matters they appear to behave as per attributes. Common man behaves under the influence of the three attributes alone and he needs trudging path of spirituality through those only.
Therefore Sri Samartha differentiated each of the attributes as pure and mixed (शुध्द आणि शबल). Pure attribute leads to spiritual leanings whereas the impure or mixed one unto worldly matters.
Sri Samartha describes the three attributes one by one in detail during next three chapters.
Basically human body is made of three attributes, namely Satva, Raja and Tama. Satva-Guna happens to be the best among the three.
Satva-Guna encourages developing devotion unto the Lord. Raju-Guna necessitates re-birth and Tamo-Guna leads to taking birth in non-human lower species.
He mentions 18th stanza from 14th chapter of the Bhagwat Geeta thus :-
ऊर्ध्वं गच्छन्ति सत्वस्था मध्ये तिष्ठन्ति राजसा: / जघन्यगुणवृत्तिस्था अधो गच्छन्ति तामसा: ॥ १४/१८ ॥ It means, those humans possessing benevolent traits reach highest pedestals of evolution; those with pleasure loving ones keep hanging around intermediate state, while the lazy indolent are doomed.
Qualities are distinguished as Pure and Mixed : I shall speak about both. Whatever clean, spotless, immaculate is Pure and whichever mixed is ‘Shabala’. Shabala is obstructive, harmful.
I shall enumerate characteristics of Pure and Shabala ; let thinkers listen to those intently. Pure traits are spiritual, whereas Shabala ones are worldly. A worldly person harbours all three attributes. ; while one predominates the other two are relegated. Life continues of the three attributes, namely Satva Raja and Tama.
I shall now demonstrate the way Rajo-Guna works.
Dynamism in life, penchant to overcome situations, enthusiasm for change etc should be considered as manifest form of Rajo-Guna. This trait is necessary to achieve anything big and lofty.. however, it is misused when directed towards worldly matters. The wise should listen carefully as to how a person behaves when Rajo-Guna predominates. Rajo-Guna questions very propriety in greatness of God when the house, worldly matters etc belong to the person alone. Indeed, the one that cares for mother, father, wife, children alone is Rajo-Guni. He craves to eat good, wear good and acquire things belonging to others. He abhors religion, charity, recitation and meditation. He does not bother about merit or sin. Moreover, he doesn’t engage in pilgrimages, vows and does not entertain guests or visitors. In addition, the one pursuing immoral actions is to be considered Rajo-Guni. Besides, even while possessing plenty of grain and money the one running after money and spending it miserly are the signs of Rajo-Guna.
The one considering himself as youthful, beautiful, powerful and clever is Rajo Guni. In addition, the one arrogant of his land, village, place of residence is Rajo Guna.
The one wishing ill of others vis a vis his own welfare is Rajo Guna. In addition, the one nurturing envy and malice is a Rajo guni. The one possessing passion and considering others as mean and negligible is Rajo Guna. The one nurturing extraordinary affection unto son, wife etc is Rajo Guna. When one is concerned about a close relative and feels sad, entry of Rajo Guna is certain. One is worried over travails in worldly matters and nurtures doubts about overcoming those ; such is the state in Rajo Guna. In addition, lamenting over pleasures enjoyed in the past and their unavailability presently makes him despondent. That is Rajo Guna ! Moreover, witnessing wealth of others and its absence with him brings in dejection; that too is Rajo Guna. Besides non-availability of whatever seen makes him sad ; it is Rajo Guna for sure.
The one engrossed in cheap humour all the time, engages in exotic songs and forgets his own self applauding and mimicking those is indeed a Rajo guni.
One engaging in calumny, ridicule and mockery and the one leading to argumentalism due to his talk is a Rajo guni indeed.
The one indulging in vice, laziness, addiction etc is Rajo guni. He is an artiste that dons various roles, nurtures penchant for drama and the likes and wastes money over trivial sports is Rajo Guna personified. He is fond of intoxicating things, loafing around and likes company of low and mean people.
A person with Rajo Guna is engrossed in worldly matters all the time. Moreover, he is ever engaged in satisfying the body and senses alone.
Rajo Guna makes entire desires getting entangled in worldly matters and the only way to get rid of its clutches is Devotion unto the Lord. One should surrender his mind unto the Lord alone and learn to Love Him. Mixed Rajo Guna leads one toward worldly matters, whereas pure Rajo Guna unto devotion to Lord. One discovers characteristics of pure Rajo Guna in Satva Guna or benevolent traits, which indeed happen to be the basis of Lord’s Devotion.
The audience have understood characteristics of Rajo Guna by now. Therefore, it would be useful to know those of Tamo Guna as well !
“ Hari Om Tat Sat “
