Category Archives: taamasam

Bhagavad Gita Verse 39, Chapter 18

27 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.39, aatmanaha, agre, anubandhe, chapter 18 verse 39, mohanam, nidraalasyapramaadottham, sukham, taamasam, udaahritam

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yadagre chaanubandhe cha sukham mohanamaatmanaha |
nidraalasyapramaadottham tattaamasamudaahritam || 39 ||
 
That which deludes the self initially and in its result, caused by sleep, lethargy and intoxication, that joy is called taamasic.
 
yat : that which
agre : initially
cha : and
anubandhe : in its result
cha : and
sukham : joy
mohanam : deludes
aatmanaha : self
nidraalasyapramaadottham : caused by sleep, lethargy and intoxication
tat : that
taamasam : taamasic
udaahritam : is called
 
There are some people in this world for whom even ten hours of sleep is not enough. Some others do not want to start any task unless they are reminded several times. Or even worse, some people constantly seek alcohol, smoking or drugs. There has to be a reason why people gravitate to such methods. They derive joy, happiness and a sense of pleasure in these things, even if they know that they will lead to social, physical and mental ruin in the long run. Such a kind of joy is called taamasic sukha.
 
Shri Krishna says that such people are in moha. They are deluded into thinking that the state of stupor, created by indulging in excessive sleep, laziness and intoxication, is happiness. In other words, there is some sensation of joy which has to be acknowledged, but it is unwanted and destructive. Worse still, this perverse type of joy remains throughout the beginning, middle and end of the action. A lazy person will remain comfortably situated in his stupor throughout the day, and continue in his stupor through sleep in the night.
 
If we examine our lives, we may see that there are a few moments where we may sink into partaking taamasic joy. It is next to impossible to come out of this state once we are in it. Once someone has had a high quantity of alcohol, for instance, there is no way for them to recover. They just have to wait for it to leave the body naturally. Short of keeping a high level of awareness towards what we eat, drink, watch and think about, there is no clear antidote for taamasic joy.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 25, Chapter 18

13 Thursday Jun 2013

Posted by in 25.18, aarabhyate, anapekshya, anubandham, chapter 25 verse 28, himsaam, karma, kshayam, mohaat, paurusham, taamasam, ucchyate

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anubandham kshayam himsaamanapekshya cha paurusham |
mohaadaarabhyate karma yattattaamasamucchyate || 25 ||
 
That which is begun in delusion, without considering its consequence, loss, harm and capability, that action is called taamasic.
 
anubandham : consequence
kshayam : loss
himsaam : harm
anapekshya : without considering
cha : and
paurusham : capability
mohaat : in delusion
aarabhyate : begun
karma : action
yat : which
tat : that
taamasam : taamasic
ucchyate : is called
 
Shri Krishna now explains the nature of a taamasic action, listing its characteristics. As an example, a lot of new college graduates start a career path just because they get a lot of money, but they do not fully learn about the impact on their health, whether there is any ethical compromising going on etc. They also do not stop to think whether they have the aptitude, capability, training and passion for their role. Whenever we begin any action without fully understanding its impacts and consequences, that action becomes taamasic.
 
On similar lines, many people invest money in new ventures without having done the due diligence on the business plan, understanding the market and so on. They do not take into account the potential loss of their investment, since they only focus on the potential game. Furthermore, they do not assess whether their new venture could harm the economic, political or natural environment. Even if they know what the harm is, they conveniently choose to overlook those facts. Such kind of action is also called taamasic action.
 
The root of taamasic action is taamasic knowledge, which creates a highly perverse sense of attachment towards certain object, person, situation or end goal, that everything else becomes inferior and worthless. The underlying connectedness or unity of things is forgotten. Even a simple thing like cutting our face when shaving is a taamasic action, which has happened because our mental noise shifted our focus and attention away from the action. Similarly, whenever we eat food that is tasty but creates negative long term health impacts, whenever we give importance to our tongue, we are committing a taamasic action.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 18

10 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by in 18.22, ahaitukam, alpam, atattvaarthavat, chapter 18 verse 22, ekasmin, kaarye, kritsnavat, saktam, taamasam, udaahritam

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yattu kritsnavadekasminkaarye saktamahaitukam |
atattvaarthavadalpam cha tattaamasamudaahritam || 22 ||
 
But, that by which one clings to a single object as if it were everything, without logic, unconcerned with truth and trivial, that is called taamasic.
 
yat : by which
tu : but
kritsnavat : as if it is everything
ekasmin : single
kaarye : object
saktam : clings
ahaitukam : without logic
atattvaarthavat : unconcerned with the truth
alpam : trivial
cha : and
tat : that
taamasam : taamasic
udaahritam : is called
 
A teenager will not eat food unless her parents agree to let her go to a late night party. A businessman is so keen on protecting his profits that he will stoop to physically harming his competitors. A politician is so keen on lining his pockets that he will sell state secrets to the enemy. A hospital will order unnecessary and even potentially harmful tests on its patients in order to increase its bottom line. We read such stories everyday in the newspapers. Unfortunately, they are all too common these days.
 
There is a common theme in all these stories. A person is holding onto something trivial and giving it so much importance that they will stop at nothing to get it. The logic used to justify such actions is perverted. Such people have an extremely narrow vision, and are not at all concerned with any the bigger picture. Shri Krishna says that a worldview, a knowledge that displays such characteristics is considered taamasic. He hesitates to even use the word knowledge here, using a pronoun instead.
 
Let us compare the types of knowledge we have seen so far. A saattvic knowledge reports that there is one eternal essence, one aatmaa, one self in all. Raajasic knowledge reports that there is a different self in each body. Taamasic knowledge reports that the body itself is the aatmaa. Furthermore, anything is justified for ensuring the integrity of the body, including causing physical harm to others. Such people will never accept any other viewpoint, and hold on to their perverted viewpoint ceaselessly.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 22, Chapter 17

12 Sunday May 2013

Posted by in 17.22, adeshakale, apaatrebhyaha, asatkritam, avajnyaatam, chapter 17 verse 22, daanam, deeyate, taamasam, udaahritam

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adeshakale yaddaanamapaatrebhyashcha deeyate |
asatkritamavajnyaatam tattaamasamudaahritam || 22 ||
 
That which is donated at an incorrect place or time, to wrong persons, without respect and out of ignorance, that charity is called taamasic.
 
adeshakale : incorrect place or time
yat : that which
daanam : charity
apaatrebhyaha : to wrong persons
cha : and
deeyate : donated
asatkritam : without respect
avajnyaatam : out of ignorance
tat : that
taamasam : taamasic
udaahritam : is called
 
Having covered the nature of saatvic and raajasic charity, Shri Krishna now describes taamasic charity. He says that charity performed without considering a proper time and place is considered taamasic. If we donate on a whim rather than doing so on an auspicious day, for instance, we introduce a tinge of our ego into the donation. Also, gifts that trouble the recipient, gifts given out of complete ignorance, are taamasic as well. Donating an expensive TV to a person who is struggling to eat does not make sense.
 
Many people nowadays take pleasure in insulting their priest or their teacher while giving them a gift, simply because they are drunk with power and money. Such charity in which an insult, a slur or a taunt is given along with the gift also becomes taamasic. If we disrespect the recipient of our charity, we are harming ourselves and the recipient instead of performing an auspicious act. A gift should always be given with politeness and humility. Furthermore, gifts should never be given to unworthy persons such as robbers and criminals.
 
We should be careful, however, to use our judgement and our discretion while performing charity, and not abstain for charity just because we are worried about going against the rules prescribed here. There are millions of people around the world that struggle to survive, that are in need of food, water, clothing and medicine. If we donate money to any institution that provides needy people with these amenities, we may not have control over the time and place of the donation, but that should not stop us. More broadly, there are instances where our acts of sacrifice, penance and charity may have a defect in them. Shri Krishna gives us a formula to deal with them next.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 19, Chapter 17

09 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in 17.19, aatmanaha, chapter 17 verse 19, kriyate, moodhagraahena, parasya, peedayaa, taamasam, tapaha, udaahritam, utsaadanaartham

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moodhagraahenaatmano yatpeedayaa kriyate tapaha |
parasyotsaadanaartham vaa tattaamasamudaahritam || 19 ||
 
That which is performed out of a foolish notion, causing pain to oneself, or for ruining others, that penance is called taamasic.
 
moodhagraahena : foolish notion
aatmanaha : self
yat : that which
peedayaa : causing pain
kriyate : perform
tapaha : penance
parasya : other
utsaadanaartham : for ruining others
vaa : or
tat : that
taamasam : taamasic
udaahritam : is called
 
The story of a any captured terrorist is all too familiar. At some point in their life, they start holding on to an idea or a notion which ends up becoming their mission in life. They then spend a long time, sometime years, learning all kinds of tactics and techniques that are usually reserved for the military. Eventually, they carry out their mission, in which a great deal of harm is caused to others, and to themselves as well. Either they get captured or they harm themselves in the process.
 
Shri Krishna describes taamasic penance in this shloka. He says that penance based on a foolish notion, a misconception or an infatuation comes out of the minds of taamasic individuals. The end goal of such penance is to cause great harm to others or to oneself. We can always refer to the Puraanas for the fate of individuals who conduct severe penance just to bring about the downfall of someone else. So called “black magic” is also conducted for harming someone.
 
We may look at this and dismiss it, since it sounds so extreme and not applicable to our daily lives. But many of us sometimes perform actions with a malicious intent. Politics sometimes becomes a venue for one party to perform actions simply for bringing the other party down, and not for the welfare of the country. Similarly, many people run businesses based on a personal vendetta. For instance, a person fired from a business may join a competitor just to get back. Any action performed for bringing someone else down usually backfires.
 

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 17

03 Friday May 2013

Posted by in 17.13, adakshinam, asrishtaannam, chapter 17 verse 13, mantraheenam, parichakshate, shraddhaavirahitam, taamasam, vidhiheenam, yajnyam

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vidhiheenamasrishtaannam mantraheenamadakshinam |
shraddhaavirahitam yajnyam taamasam parichakshate || 13 ||
 
They call that sacrifice to be taamasic which is contrary to scripture, in which no food is distributed, without chanting of hymns or donations to priests, and performed without faith.
 
vidhiheenam : contrary to scripture
asrishtaannam : without distribution of food
mantraheenam : without chanting of hymns
adakshinam : without donation to priests
shraddhaavirahitam : performed without faith
yajnyam : sacrifice
taamasam : taamasic
parichakshate : they call
 
Here, Shri Krishna describes the attitude of taamasic individuals towards action, using the symbolism of a sacrificial ritual once again. He says that taamasic attitude towards action totally disregards shaastra or scripture. Scripture refers to a higher law, any notion of ethics or morality. There is no thought as to the consequence of the action to oneself and to other individuals whatsoever. Any task done without proper planning or performed haphazardly falls into this category.
 
Next, Shri Krishna says that there is no distribution of food in the sacrifice. In the taamasic attitude, the person not only claims the results of the action as their own, but goes to great lengths to ensure that no one else gains the benefit of the action, even if it is their due. For instance, if a business has a good year, the owner may hoard the profits instead of giving employees a bonus. Furthermore, the taamasic attitude does give respect or listen to advice of senior people, referred to as “priests” in this shloka.
 
The main problem with the taamasic attitude is that all actions are performed with lack of faith. In other words, actions are performed for all the wrong reasons – someone else told us to perform the action, we are just doing it for the sake of doing it, we are doing it grudgingly, we are not putting our heart into it, we are not involved in it and so on. The performance of actions is as if it is being done by a lifeless entity, a corpse.