Bhagavad Gita | The Essence of Vedanta 89 - Combining Sattva Guna with Spiritual Strength | Swami Tattwamayananda
Sep 24, 2021
01:05:50
-9th chapter: verses 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on September 24, 2021.
-11th verse: “People who are not aware of my higher nature, they consider me as a human being. They do not recognize Me in my spiritual dimension as the divine principle in everything.”
-Our concept of God depends on our own spiritual evolution. Hinduism doesn’t consider anyone’s view of God as wrong. Among seven billion people of the world, each person’s idea of the highest reality represents that person’s spiritual evolution. At the highest level, God is one divine reality present everywhere and in everything.
-Lord Krishna says in the Gita: “Everyone follows his or her own path. Whether they are aware of it or not, every person is approaching Me.”
-12th verse: “Certain people, who do unnecessary, useless things out of vain knowledge, ignorance, haughtiness – they are possessed of the quality of evil-doers (asuri-sampat).
-13th verse: “The great souled ones, they are possessed of the divine nature (daivi-sampat). They know Me as the origin and as immutable. They worship Me with a dedicated mind.”
-Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.
-None of the gunas can exist alone in anyone. Every human temperament is a combination of these gunas. For example, a person cannot have just sattva-guna. To practice, sattva-guna, he needs intelligence, strength and the ability to see through the game played by others.
-Asuri-sampat is natural to asuras. They have a combination of rajo-guna and tamo-guna, with tamo-guna being the dominant. They have no sattva-guna. Their actions are guided by evil motives.
-Daivi-sampat is natural to noble-hearted persons. They have a combination of sattva-guna and rajo-guna, with sattva-guna being the dominant. They have no tamo-guna. Their actions are guided by noble motives. They are active but self-restrained.
-Verses 1, 2 and 3 of 16th chapter provide the characteristics of people endowed with divine wealth (daivi-sampat). Examples of such characteristics are fearlessness, purity, interest in scriptures, practice of non-violence, boldness and fortitude. Those who possess these virtues have entered the path of manifesting their inner divinity.
-Fortitude and boldness are mentioned in the qualities of a sattvic person. They help to protect the good qualities from being hijacked by others. Goodness, to be good, should be combined with spiritual strength. This strength is necessary in spiritual practice to help us raise ourselves and to face obstacles from the external world and from our own mind.
-Lord Krishna introduces daivi-sampat and asuri-sampat in the 9th chapter to help us understand the true meaning of spirituality. Sattvic qualities have to be combined with spiritual strength, to practice and defend the high values. Characters in Mahabharata, such as Yudhishthira and Bhishma, show that only sattvic qualities do not make one perfect – it needs to be combined with spiritual strength. In Mahabharata, only Lord Krishna had the sattvic qualities and the strength to implement them.
-14th verse: “These great souled persons – they uphold these values and worship Me. They live in this world, do their duties, but are not deluded by the phenomenal world, which is impermanent.”
-15th verse: “These people of divine qualities, they practice jnana-yajna. Some of them devote their life to the realization and practice of the Advaitic spiritual truth – the unity and oneness of existence. Others practice dualistic philosophy, ritualistically worshipping God as a divine, compassionate being. Both are following the same spiritual path.”
-Yajna in Gita refers to any noble activity done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, for the good of others, without selfish motives, and as an offering to God.
-One may begin spiritual life at a temple with rituals. As he evolves, his idea of God evolves. At the highest level, he sees God everywhere and in everything.
-Shankaracharya gives a way to determine whether one has reached the highest level of seeing the divine present everywhere and in everything. Such a person starts practicing sama (calmness) and dama (self-control).
-We can develop dispassion when we understand the limitations of the phenomenal world. Health, wealth, friendships – all are of a fleeting nature. Once we understand it, the natural result is that we look for something higher.
-In dualism, God is seen and distinct and different from creation. In non-dualism, the creator is seen as present in creation. Non-dualism is a matter of one’s experience – it is not philosophy. At the mystical level, monotheism becomes non-dual.
-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on September 24, 2021.
-11th verse: “People who are not aware of my higher nature, they consider me as a human being. They do not recognize Me in my spiritual dimension as the divine principle in everything.”
-Our concept of God depends on our own spiritual evolution. Hinduism doesn’t consider anyone’s view of God as wrong. Among seven billion people of the world, each person’s idea of the highest reality represents that person’s spiritual evolution. At the highest level, God is one divine reality present everywhere and in everything.
-Lord Krishna says in the Gita: “Everyone follows his or her own path. Whether they are aware of it or not, every person is approaching Me.”
-12th verse: “Certain people, who do unnecessary, useless things out of vain knowledge, ignorance, haughtiness – they are possessed of the quality of evil-doers (asuri-sampat).
-13th verse: “The great souled ones, they are possessed of the divine nature (daivi-sampat). They know Me as the origin and as immutable. They worship Me with a dedicated mind.”
-Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three gunas – sattva guna, rajo guna and tamo guna. Sattva guna is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. Rajo guna manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. Tamo guna manifests itself as laziness and delusion.
-None of the gunas can exist alone in anyone. Every human temperament is a combination of these gunas. For example, a person cannot have just sattva-guna. To practice, sattva-guna, he needs intelligence, strength and the ability to see through the game played by others.
-Asuri-sampat is natural to asuras. They have a combination of rajo-guna and tamo-guna, with tamo-guna being the dominant. They have no sattva-guna. Their actions are guided by evil motives.
-Daivi-sampat is natural to noble-hearted persons. They have a combination of sattva-guna and rajo-guna, with sattva-guna being the dominant. They have no tamo-guna. Their actions are guided by noble motives. They are active but self-restrained.
-Verses 1, 2 and 3 of 16th chapter provide the characteristics of people endowed with divine wealth (daivi-sampat). Examples of such characteristics are fearlessness, purity, interest in scriptures, practice of non-violence, boldness and fortitude. Those who possess these virtues have entered the path of manifesting their inner divinity.
-Fortitude and boldness are mentioned in the qualities of a sattvic person. They help to protect the good qualities from being hijacked by others. Goodness, to be good, should be combined with spiritual strength. This strength is necessary in spiritual practice to help us raise ourselves and to face obstacles from the external world and from our own mind.
-Lord Krishna introduces daivi-sampat and asuri-sampat in the 9th chapter to help us understand the true meaning of spirituality. Sattvic qualities have to be combined with spiritual strength, to practice and defend the high values. Characters in Mahabharata, such as Yudhishthira and Bhishma, show that only sattvic qualities do not make one perfect – it needs to be combined with spiritual strength. In Mahabharata, only Lord Krishna had the sattvic qualities and the strength to implement them.
-14th verse: “These great souled persons – they uphold these values and worship Me. They live in this world, do their duties, but are not deluded by the phenomenal world, which is impermanent.”
-15th verse: “These people of divine qualities, they practice jnana-yajna. Some of them devote their life to the realization and practice of the Advaitic spiritual truth – the unity and oneness of existence. Others practice dualistic philosophy, ritualistically worshipping God as a divine, compassionate being. Both are following the same spiritual path.”
-Yajna in Gita refers to any noble activity done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness, for the good of others, without selfish motives, and as an offering to God.
-One may begin spiritual life at a temple with rituals. As he evolves, his idea of God evolves. At the highest level, he sees God everywhere and in everything.
-Shankaracharya gives a way to determine whether one has reached the highest level of seeing the divine present everywhere and in everything. Such a person starts practicing sama (calmness) and dama (self-control).
-We can develop dispassion when we understand the limitations of the phenomenal world. Health, wealth, friendships – all are of a fleeting nature. Once we understand it, the natural result is that we look for something higher.
-In dualism, God is seen and distinct and different from creation. In non-dualism, the creator is seen as present in creation. Non-dualism is a matter of one’s experience – it is not philosophy. At the mystical level, monotheism becomes non-dual.