Satvika ThyAgaha

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Could anyone explain in detail about " Satvika ThyAgaha " and it's significance.

 

adiyEn Malola Narasimha dasan,

 

Malolan Cadambi

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri Malolan,

 

This topic has been discussed in many previous posts

to the list. Here is a brief explanation, followed

by links to other elaborations contained in the archives.

 

sAttvika tyAgam is a moment of reflection in which one

dedicates the act one is performing (or has performed)

entirely to Bhagavan, with the realization that Bhagavan is

performing it for His own purposes through oneself

entirely for Himself.

 

It is well-known that Sri Krishna in the Gita urges

the seeker of liberation to act without expectation

for reward, performing the karma entirely as worship

of Him. In the 17th adhyAya, He again categorically

states that such action is of 'sattva' or motivated

by purity.

 

In contrast, outright renunciation of ordained religious

acts is tAmasa-tyAga, something that is regularly

warned against in the Gita.

 

In the Gita-bhashya, Sri Ramanuja beautifully describes

the mood of one who performs his or her religious duties

while established in sattva-guNa. This mental state

is formalized in our ritual practice as a sentence based on

Sri Ramanuja's words in the Gita (which themselves are

based on earlier tradition) and Nitya-Grantha which

should be uttered or at least reflected upon before and

after every religious act.

 

In an abbreviated form, here is one version:

 

bhagavAn eva svaniyAmya sva-Sesha-bhUtena mayA

sva-ArAdhanaika-prayojanAya, svasmai svaprItaye

sarva-seshI paramapurushaH sriyaH-pati svayam eva

kArayati.

 

Translation:

Bhagavan Himself,

Who is the Supreme Person,

Who is the Lord of Sri,

Who is the Independent Whole upon which

all else depend as dependent parts,

existing for His glory

Is performing this act through me who exists as His 'sesha',

Who is solely dependent on Him,

Who completely under His control,

For Himself,

Solely for the purpose of worshipping Him,

For His own pleasure.

 

After doing the karma, say the same thing, except replace the

last word "kArayati" ("is performing") with kAritavAn ("performed").

 

Some other links which explain this:

 

http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/nov95/0136.html

http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/jul98/0046.html

http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/jul98/0041.html

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan

Mani

[Guest guest]

A few more notes on sAttvika tyAga, to finish off my

knowledge of the topic:

 

The idea and terminology of sAttvika tyAga is taken

directly from the Gita, adhyAya 18. The context is

Sri Krishna's answer to Arjuna's question about the

correct mode of 'sannyAsa' (renunciation), which, we

learn from Sri Krishna, is synonymous with

'tyAga' (abandonment).

 

The problem is the following. 'tyAga' and 'nyAsa' are of

such fundamental importance that they have declared

to be means for attaining mOksha. The Vedanta shastra

says that

 

by tyAga alone do some attain immortality

 

(tyAgenaika amRtatvam AnaSuH -- mahAnArAyaNa up, 5.14),

 

and

 

being purified in mind by means of sannyAsa-yoga

ascetics, their bodies falling off, attain the Lord who

is higher than the freed selves and become liberated from

bondage

 

(sannyAsayogAd yatayaH SuddhasattvAH te brahmalokeshu

parAntakAlE parAmRtAH parimucyanti sarve -- muND up, 3.2.6)

 

What exactly is the mode of this tyAga or renunciation? How do

they affect our rites, rituals, and religious discipline?

 

Sri Krishna states that even the learned have disagreed on this

subject (even among followers of the Vedas, according to Sri Ramanuja's

commentary). Some say that acts such as sacrifice, charity, and

austerity are fundamentally opposed to liberation, and should be given

up entirely; others argue that such acts should continue to be performed.

 

Having laid out the problem, Sri Krishna offers his own opinion, and

distinguishes the various modes of tyAga:

 

The acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity should not

be given up, but should be performed, for each of them

are the means of mental purification for the wise.

 

( yajna-dAna-tapaH-karma na tyAjyam kAryam eva ca |

yajno dAno tapaS caiva pAvanAni manIshiNAm || -- 18.5 )

 

Here, Sri Ramanuja further clarifies that the word 'wise' (manIshiNAm)

means those given to meditative contemplation (mananam). For those

who seek to meditate on the Supreme throughout their lives, acts

should never be given up, for they are of great help in purifying the mind

of previous karmas. The acts serve as a gateway for God's grace to

purify the mind of the aspirant (commentary on 18.8).

 

So, what of tyAga itself? Sri Krishna continues that such work

should be done without attachment to the act itself or its fruits (18.6).

If these are given up through delusion (mOha), it is known as

'tAmasika tyAga'. If they are given up because of fear of bodily

suffering, it is known as 'rAjasika tyAga'. Neither of these help

purify the mind and therefore stall the seeker of liberation.

 

But, when one continues to act, but performs these actions with

dispassion concerning the actions themselves and their fruits,

it is 'sAttvika tyAga', and it is ennobling:

 

When actions are performed as what ought to be done, O Arjuna,

without attachment to the act as well as its fruit, such

abandonment is known as 'sAttvika tyAga'.

 

( kAryam ity eva yat karma niyatam kriyate'rjuna |

sangam tyaktvA phalam caiva sa tyAgaH sAttviko mataH || -- 18.9 )

 

Sri Ramanuja clarifies that this means that religious activites

such as one's daily and occasional duties according to one's

position in life must be performed for their own sake, as worship

of Sri Krishna and as a duty, without a hint of possessiveness

or personal motivation. Such action alone is rooted in the meaning

of the shastras as they are. Such an understanding alone will

generate true knowledge (ref. Gita 14.17).

 

 

This entire passage is a recapitulation of an earlier passage

in the Gita wherein Sri Krishna first propounds his idea of

selfless action performed as worship of himself. Sri Ramanuja's

commentary here presents perfectly the mental attitude with

which we should approach every action, whether religious or

not, and so I would like to reproduce this important section

here:

 

Surrendering all your actions to Me, with a mind focussed

on the self, free from desire and any sense of selfishness,

fight with the heat of excitement abated.

 

( mayi sarvANi karmANi sannyasya adhyAtma-cEtasA |

nirASIH nirmamo bhUtva yudhyasva vigatajvaraH || -- 3.30 )

 

An excerpt from Sri Ramanuja's comments:

 

Dedicate all actions to Me, the Supreme Person, considering

them as done by Me, by contemplating on the self -- this self,

as being actuated by Me because it constitutes My body. And do

everything, considering such action only as worship of Me. Free of

desire for the result and therefore free of selfishness

concerning the action, engage in (your duties) devoid of

"fever", i.e., the excitement caused by emotions such as

anger.

 

Contemplate that the Supreme Person, the Lord of all, the

Principal of all, gets His own work done for the sole purpose

of getting Himself worshipped with His own instrument, i.e.,

this individual self which belongs to Him and is His agent.

 

(original given below)

 

 

Let us try to wholeheartedly employ this idea to some extent

in our daily lives.

 

aDiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan,

Mani

 

 

.... mac charIratayA mat-pravartyAtmasvarUpa-anusandhAnena sarvANi

karmANi mayA eva kriyamANAni iti mayi paramapurushE sannyasya

tAni ca kEvalam mad-ArAdhanAni iti kRtvA tatphalE nirASIH tata

eva tatra karmANi mamatA-rahito bhUtvA vigatajvaro yuddhAdikam

kurushva |

 

svakIyEna AtmanA kartrA svakIyaiH eva karaNaiH sva-ArAdhanaika-

prayojanAya paramapurushaH sarveSvaraH sarva-SeshI svayam eva

svakarmANi kArayati, ity anusandhyAya ... sukhena karmayogam

eva kurushva ity arthaH |