Bhagavat Gita - 53

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Bhagavat Gita - 53

 

Faith as rooted in the Gunas (Chapter 17 verses 1-22)

 

The Lord now speaks of Faith (Shradha), the inner

intuition and natural receptivity of the mind to

ideals, which ultimately settles man's preference

for the scripture. " Man is verily constituted of

his Faith, and he is what his Faith is. " Man's

faith is determined by the dominance of one or the

other of the three qualities of Nature - Sattva,

Rajas and Tamas. His preference in respect of objects

of worship, food activities etc., will depend upon his

Shradha. Whatever is done without vanity, but is

motivated by the good of others and has the grace of

God in mind, is Sattva. Whatever is sought or done

with desire, vanity and for self-glorification is

Rajas and whatever is done indifferently, with evil

motives, thoughtlessly and in a grumbling spirit is

Tamas. Such conduct is futile in respect of man's

higher evolution.

 

Om Tat Sat (Chapter 17 verses 23-28)

 

Om Tat Sat are the holy syllables indicating the

sacrificial mentality. Whatever man does as an

offering unto God with the utterance of these

syllables, promotes his spiritual evolution. All

sacrificial rites, all austerity practised, all

charity done are of no spiritual efficacy if they

are not supported by Faith.

 

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Based on " Srimad Bhagavat Gita - The Scripture of Mankind "

a translation by Rev Swami Tapasyanandaji, published by

Sri Ramakrishna Math - Chennai. http://www.sriramakrishnamath.org/

 

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