Bhagavad Gita (17)

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CHAPTER 17THE PATH OF THREEFOLD FAITH(Sraddha Traya Vibhaga Yoga)"Faith

comes first... faith that contains determination, zeal, and momentum for spiritual growth."1.

"But Krishna," Arjuna asks, "some people in all good faith pursue the

right path without having elaborate knowledge of the scriptures. What

will be their spiritual attainment? Is the nature of their faith sattva (purity), rajas (activity), or tamas (dark)?"2-3.

Krishna answers : "People are in fact the sum total of the beliefs they

hold in their hearts, Arjuna, and there are indeed various kinds of

faith. One's faith corresponds to one's nature, and one's nature is

equivalent to one's faith. Every individual is born with one of three

kinds of faith : sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic, depending on their temperament.4. "Those of sattvic temperament revere the gods in heaven. Rajasic people worship power and wealth, even though they may not acknowledge those as their gods. Tamasic

people worship the spirits of the dead - ghosts and hurtful deities

(those with negative qualities and those who do harm) - which again are

in tune with their own disposition.5-6. "Some people, due to

excessive passions and desires, invent harsh ways to inflict pain on

themselves. In their foolishness they hurt their bodies and senses and

outrage Me, the Atma who lives within them. They may seem to be endowed with 'faith', but such practices are harmful to their spiritual growth.7.

"There are other behaviors that bear on spiritual attainment. One's

eating habits play a part in it, a fact that few recognize. And the way

one performs the three main spiritual disciplines - sacrifice (yajna, offering up), purification (tapas, austerities), and charity (dana,

alms giving) - also influences one's spiritual development. Each of

these three disciplines can also be understood in light of the three guna types."SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE OF FOOD8.

"Regarding dietary practices, know that there are subtle elements in

food that significantly influence the mind, and therefore shape mental

attitudes. This creates a cycle similar to the situation with one's

faith : you are what you eat, and you eat based on what you are. And

know, Arjuna, that due to the subtle impact of food on one's mind,

sooner or later all serious spiritual aspirants have to face up to the

issue of what they consume."Sattvic

people, for example, consume pure, mild, nourishing food that

strengthens them physically and brings pure thoughts and mental

cheerfulness. Their foods are fresh, juicy, soothing, and agreeable to

the body's digestive system. Breakfast is light; the daytime meal is as

substantial as required but not more; supper is as light as possible so

bodily organs can rest through the night. Only sattva knows the real taste of food.9. "Rajasic

people are drawn to spicy, hot, bitter, salty, acidic, and burning

food. Like the people who eat it, this food produces pain, grief, and

disease, and hinders spiritual attainment.10. "Tamasic

people eat old, overcooked, stale, tasteless, impure, empty, and dead

food with no nutritional value. This food returns these qualities in

kind to the eater."TYPES AND EFFICACY OF SPIRITUAL SACRIFICE11. "Contemplate the three spiritual practices (sacrifice, austerity, and charity) with regard to the guna qualities."First, consider sacrifice (yajna), the 'loving offering' and 'fundamental law of nature' I mentioned earlier. Sacrifice is sattvic

when it is offered up for its own sake with no desire in it, no

expectation of reward or attachment to the fruits of the offering.12. "Sacrifice is rajasic

when performed for self-glorification, for the sake of show and the

benefits it will bring, or as an attempt to barter a favor from God.

Selfish sacrifice is detrimental to spiritual growth.13. "Tamasic

persons offer up empty sacrifice devoid of solemnity, without any

solemn earnestness, lacking even the proper mantras (chants) or rituals

- with no faith whatsoever."TYPES AND EFFICACY OF SPIRITUAL PURIFICATION14. "Consider purification, tapas,

which literally means 'to melt', as in refining ore. The purpose of

purification is not pain and penance, but to deliberately refine one's

life, to melt it down and recast it into a higher order of purity and

spirituality. The goal is very important; it is not self-punishment but

refinement - to shift from human existence into Divinity!"There

are three main methods of purification : the refinement of one's

thoughts, words, and deeds - also called the purification,

respectively, of one's instruments of mind, speech, and body. When you

modify these three you automatically change for the better."Purifying

one's deeds ('bodily austerities') consists of four key practices :

veneration of the Gods (which are all facets of the one Divinity);

veneration of holy ones, persons who have so dedicated their careers;

veneration of gurus (spiritual teachers, older people who set good examples); and veneration of the sages, those who already know Atma and have transcended body-mind.15.

"Purifying one's words ('speech austerities') also includes four key

practices : truth telling; not hurting; not flattering; and devotional

chanting (reading aloud)."I will briefly elaborate each :"Always

tell the truth, Arjuna, and present it in as pleasant a way as

possible. If you cannot do that, remain silent. If something absolutely

needs to be said you must uphold the truth, but find a way to do it

that is gentle and obliging."Do not hurt others through harsh

words. Words can be more painful than physical violence, and the hurt

lasts longer. Words meant to excite negativity are an act of violence;

shun such words. Abstinence from harmful speech is very important."Scrupulously

avoid flattery, even if what you say is pleasant and contains truth.

Promoting vanity does not help spiritual growth. The point is to

express (even under your breath) only beneficial words that promote

movement toward Divinity."Finally, devotional chanting, the

regular reading aloud of sacred texts, is a purification of speech that

can contribute much to spiritual progress.16. "Consider now,

lastly, the purification of thought ('mind austerity'). This is more

important than the other two refinements (words and deeds), because

good words and deeds are spontaneous in the mind that is saturated with

good thoughts. Maintain a calm and gentle state of mind and you will

not be speaking wayward words or doing unwanted deeds. To develop

equanimity of mind, allow only

good thoughts and noble sentiments to arise in you. This may sound

impossible to most people, but as we know now, one can indeed cleanse

the mind through constant, intense, direct practice.17. "When

you relentlessly practice these acts of purification of thought, word,

and deed with firm faith and no expectation of reward, your practices

are sattvic.18. "When you practice these acts of purification to gain admiration or respect, your practices are rajasic. Any selfish motive to receive a return, whether in this world or the next, makes the act rajasic, and this extinguishes its value for spiritual attainment.19.

"When you perform these three purification practices without

understanding the reasons for doing them, or if they are body centered,

or include sorcery or harm to yourself or others - then your

too-austere efforts are tamasic."TYPES AND EFFICACY OF CHARITY20.

"Now, Arjuna, consider the three types of charity (dana, alms giving).

As I already stressed, it is one's duty to give. When you offer charity

out of a positive sense of duty with no feeling of obligation in it and

no expectation of reward, and furnish it at the right time and place to

a deserving person who can make no return, that giving is sattvic.21.

"Handing over a gift with strings attached to it makes both giver and

receiver uncomfortable. Charity presented with the hint of desire for

receiving a return (either here or hereafter) is rajasic.22.

"And finally, gifts given at the wrong time and place to unworthy

persons (people of questionable character who squander their money or

do not help others), or gifts presented disrespectfully or accompanied

by an insult - those charities are tamasic."OM TAT SAT23. "Although these three spiritual activities - sacrifice, purification, and charity (yajna, tapas, and dana) - are the most elevating actions going on in the world, they all have a tinge of worldly impurity in them, even the best sattvic practices of them. To cleanse these practices, invoke the declaration 'Om Tat Sat'

as you undertake them. This ancient, three word phrase echoes far back

to the very beginning of time to when Divinity first projected Itself

as sound. Each word - Om, Tat, and Sat - represents the Supreme Consciousness from which everything else comes.24. "Consider them one by one. The syllable Om

(essentially an appellation of the Godhead) is what spiritually

knowledgeable people utter whenever they perform spiritual activities.

This lends a sacred and blessed tone to their acts and begins to

dissolve the tinge of impurity in them.25. "Saying Tat

while performing these activities (literally, 'It', God) reminds one

that all actions are God's and not one's own. This removes the sense of

'I' or 'mine', the ego, from the doing.26. "Voicing Sat

(literally, 'That which is', Existence Itself) invokes an overall

attitude of goodness and serves as a reminder that the action about to

be done is a noble deed conducive to God realization. Uttering Sat purifies your own activities and reforms the world as well.27. "Sat has other shades of meaning and other purposes. Any action performed for the sake of the Divine is Sat. To engage steadfastly in the spiritual activities (sacrifice, purification, and charity) is also Sat."Repeating Om Tat Sat creates an uplifted attitude toward any activity. The implication is that Sat ('That which is') is both the means and the goal, both the Godhead and the way to reach It.28. "Finally, Arjuna, know that faith comes first. These spiritual activities must be done with sraddha,

faith that contains determination, zeal, and momentum for spiritual

growth. To do these without this firm faith is considered Asat

('not That'), which means the act is of no account spiritually and

nothing worthwhile will come of it here or in the hereafter."(From : The Bhagavad Gita (A Walkthrough for Westerners) by Jack Hawley)Copyright reserved by author Visit : Sai Divine Inspirations : http://saidivineinspirations.blogspot.com/ Sai Messages : http://saimessages.blogspot.com/ Love Is My Form : http://loveismyform.blogspot.com/