Perspective: Gita: How and what I understood it? (Part-3)

Gita, how and what I understood it.(Part-3)

3 qualities of a person’s nature and their consequences according to Gita

3 qualities that makes a person's nature:

Before starting Bhakti Yoga, let’s see overview of remaining parts, because it would clear what the supreme soul is.

As I said, I consider supreme soul is the fully enlightened soul. And we know that no one is fully enlightened in today’s world. Bitter truth. All souls have knowledge by default. But when the souls are bound with body by nature, it is bound by three qualities: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. These qualities make the nature of human. Your nature, and my nature. All men have only these three kind of nature. Now what are they? Let me explain.

Sattva – Sattva is said to be the purest quality. Sattva quality rises from happiness, knowledge and truth. When a person is respectful to everyone, nice to everyone and selfless, he has the Sattva quality inside it. The person who has such qualities generally lives happily and without worries.

Rajas – Rajas quality rises from affection, attraction, love (blind love), greed, blind faith, lust and such types of qualities. When a person is sunk in one of these qualities, he belongs to Rajas quality. The person who has such qualities, thinks that he is happy, but his after life becomes worse.

Tamas – Tamas quality rises from wrong knowledge (Agyan), laziness, anger (without reason) and such other qualities. When a person’s behavior becomes bad and worse, he has developed Tamas quality. This type of person never sleeps happily. He always thinks about greedy luxuries, lust and etc.

The person’s nature depends on the levels of these qualities. Each quality suppresses other two qualities and develops person’s nature.

E.g., Grandsire Bhishma in the Mahabharata, was a person of Sattva quality. Because he knew what was right and what was wrong. Unfortunately, he was bound in the results of his Karma (The vow which he gave to Dhritarashtra to protect him and his children).

Emperor Yudhishthira and all Pandavas, Karna, etc were of Sattva quality. Mahabharata describes that the persons who have too much Sattva quality in them usually find themselves apart from the world and they eventually give up everything and take Sanyas. They give up all their Karmas of proper life.

E.g., Emperor Pandu. He took Sanyas after the curse and didn’t think about his people.

King Dhritarashtra was a person of Rajas quality. He was in blind love for his son Duryodhana. And he forgot the right, despite of knowing it, due to that blind love. He never felt the condition of his people and the world.

Dronacharya, a combination of Sattva and Rajas. He was a good mentor and his deeds of lifetime makes him a person of Sattva quality, but his blind love for his son Ashwatthama, makes him a person of Rajas quality.

Duryodhana, a combination of Rajas and Tamas. Despite of his good deeds, he always had greed for the throne and the empire. That’s how he is in Rajas Quality. This particular character explains how a person’s nature can be affected by role model. He followed his maternal uncle Shakuni, and ended up in Tamas quality.

Dushasana, a combination of Rajas and Tamas. He was from Rajas quality, because he had blind faith in his elder brother and maternal uncle. He followed his elder brother’s each instruction without thinking over it. And he ended up in bad behaiour. A Tamas quality.

That’s how these three qualities makes a person’s nature, and presumes its outcomes.

Once Krishna was asked how he foresees the future. Despite of the fact that he was born with full powers like complete god and he could actually see the future, he just replied that he just presumes the future according to the person’s nature.

The Mahabharata also explains how the choice of wrong side and wrong leader ends up. Pandavas made Krishna their guide and leader because they knew that he would never lead them in wrong way.