Guest guest Posted December 4, 2001 Report Share Posted December 4, 2001 I find it useful to relate to the three Gunas as the tools of Maya . These questions are best answered, i have found (for me at least) addressing the practical uses and effect recognition of these gunas can have. Recognition, is half the battle... If that is useful, perhaps i may be allowed to look at it from that perspective, We do not doubt that the three gunas exist... Also Desire exists because of our wanting, craving for something other than within ourselves... Craving arises because of ignorance. But we cannot cure ignorance or DO anything, (because we do not know why we are ignorant unless to say it is because of Maya!) unless we control the effect it causes.... ie. control Desire. So we are told to control desire to remove ignorance...go within.. So it is useful to understand Maya then through the lenses of Desire...(because to recap...desire exists because of ignorance, ignorance exists because of Maya...so let us get a handle on Desire as that is something we can control...) Also looking within we are at any time covered with a coating of Sattva Rajas or Tamas usually a combination of all three in different measures Desire then can be looked on through the lenses of three gunas.. If i have a desire and i am in a tamasic state, i may not even recognize the presence of the desire within! a slightly more evolved state is recognition of the desire but not doing anything to eradicate it..or quench it...state of craving will persist in the former at the subconscious level and the latter at the conscious level. If i have a desire and am in a rajasic state, i will do my utmost to fulfill that desire, but it will be done with a view to get self-gratification, fueling my pride or to gain recognition. This is at a more evolved state than the tamasic state, yet the individual has not yet transcended the 'craving' plane. The greater the rajas the greater will be the pomp and circumstance behind the fulfilling of the desire... If i have a desire and am in a satvic state, i will fulfill it but do so only with a view to satisfying the needs of the other, i will do it as a mere witness...not fully getting enmeshed in the act, recognizing that this is a play that i have to go through...and the momentum of my karma is keeping me going... Swamiji had a good analogy in this respect...which i am sure is old hat, but it is worth repeating... If the two wheels of a speeding lorry break loose, and are still connected to each other by the axle-rod, they will still hurtle on. If a giant hand now breaks that axle-rod, making the wheels separate, the speed is slowed because of the impact of that hand, but the wheels still go their merry ways for a little while more.... Thus it is when we reach the " permanent " sattvic plane...our activities will continue for a while despite knowing that we are merely here because of the momentum of our previous desires... we remain witnesses to all our acts And so Maya is verily Desire... and it is Desire that holds us ignorant covering us with T, R or S...Sattva, however, is the thinnest of veils... Maya is Unreal. As Swamiji said there is no existence in Time and Space...as nothing here is permanent. If our dreams are real then so is this Maya real...in the cosmic order of things, both our dreams and Time Space existence occupy but a trifle... >Questions received: >(1) Could you explain the relationship between >Maya and the three gunas? > >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~response~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > >What Maya is cannot be classified in any sense >except perhaps to say it is neither real nor unreal. > >How this entity emerges as the three gunas >will stay beyond classification too. > >What it turns into ... the three gunas are considered to be the >very threads out of which the universe is created. They are then >explained in terms of 'qualities' (not with form... just qualities if you >like). > >The idea of world made out of three gunas has yet to be properly >investigated but I am pretty sure that the emerging new science will >also turn to this theme shortly. It is already inherited by classical >physics. >You may be surprised to see the following relationship. > >If you study Newton's 3 Laws of motion they are a classic example of >defining the three gunas... >The first law is defining 'inertia' (Tamas) > " A body will continue in its state of motion unless acted on by a force " . > >The second law connecting the concepts of 'Force and change in >motion' (Explains Rajas) > >The third law introducing the idea of balance. > " Action producing equal and opposite reaction " (Sattva). > >Hope this helps (it is certainly a novel way of looking at Physics!) > >===================question number 2============= >(2) Why can we not live at the Sattvic level ? >Why is it necessary to transcend this? >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~response~~~~~~~~~~ > >According to my thinking, everything is made of the three gunas >- there can be more or less of one or other but never an isolated >guna, but that is neither here nor there. > >In the quality of Sattva >we are more likely to dwell on 'spiritual matters' - that is still not >same as being totally free. As Vivekananda said - it is like being >tied up with golden chains - still chains. Hence the fact that we have >to rely on something outside ourselves (even Sattva) is considered >to be a limitation and hence one has to transcend this too. > >Sri Ramakrishna gave a good example. In order to get rid of >one thorn - we can use another thorn but finally one discards >both thorns. In the same way Sattva will overcome the other >two gunas but after it has done that - we have to discard it too. > >Hope this helped > >dilip (jay) >Vivekananda Centre London > Questions came from a person with the following email >address: jaytalm > >It will be nice if the list members respond directly or via the >list. > > > > > > >Sri Ramakrishnaye Namah >Vivekananda Centre London >http://www.vivekananda.co.uk > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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