Wisdom alone can liberate man

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Wisdom alone can liberate man (An Article from the Religious Section of The

Hindu taken with permission: "Copyrights 2000 The Hindu & Tribeca Internet

Initiatives Inc.")

 

All embodied beings in the world are made up of the three qualities

(gun(n)-as), sattva, rajas and tamas. Though all the three gun(n)- as are

present together, their proportion lends the distinctive nature to an

individual. Moreover, a person may be influenced by any of the three at a

particular time which is responsible for his moods. Even if someone is

essentially sattvic it is evident that he will not always have a peaceful

frame of mind. The gun(n)-as are a manifestation of Prakrti (matter). The

soul (Atmaa(n)) at the time of creation becomes embodied due to contact with

Prakrti. The three qualities are responsible for the bondage of the soul and

make the soul forget its essential imperishable and blissful nature by

identification with the body.

 

Of the three gun(n)-as, sattva is flawless and illuminating, rajas is of the

nature of passion and attachment, and tamas, deluding and sluggish. Even

though sattva endows a person with sterling qualities, it binds him by

identifying with joy. When a person is under the influence of rajogun(n) he

becomes an extrovert, actively involved in worldly pursuits with attachment to

success in his enterprises, to the extent of being selfish. The involvement is

so much that he loses sight of other values in life. Under the influence of

rajas attachment results due to active involvement which is the cause of

bondage; in the case of one who is influenced by tamogun(n) there is delusion

due to total identification with the body. Such a person is prone to laziness,

excessive sleep and error in judgment.

 

A person who goes all the way to Kanyakumari to watch the sunrise which is

unique there, but fails to get up in the morning and misses it because of his

laziness, is a case in point. Though his intention is good, he is unable to

translate it into action because of the influence of tamogun(n). In his

lecture on the Bhagavad Gita, Swami Mitranand said that under the spell of

tamas a person misses many beautiful things in life even when endowed with a

perfect body, mind and intellect. Though all the three gun(n)-as cause

bondage, the difference in their intensity can be understood by comparison.

Sattva is like a bow- knot which can be easily untied; rajas like a reef-knot

which is slighty difficult to undo and tamas like a complicated knot requiring

much effort. Whichever gun(n) is predominant it holds sway over the mind

and hence only when the clear wisdom of the Self shines, do the gun(n)- as

leave their hold on man. Understanding one's disposition one must act upon

them to get over their influence.