Category Archives: tamasi

Bhagavad Gita Verse 15, Chapter 14

21 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.15, chapter 14 verse 15, gatvaa, jaayate, karmasangishu, moodhayonishu, pralayam, praleenaha, rajasi, tamasi, tathaa

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rajasi pralayam gatvaa karmasangishu jaayate |
tathaa praleenastamasi moodhayonishu jaayate || 15 ||
 
One who has reached his end in rajas is born among those attached to action, and one who is dying in tamas is born in the wombs of the ignorant.
 
rajasi : rajas
pralayam : end
gatvaa : one who has reached
karmasangishu : those who are attached to action
jaayate : born
tathaa : and
praleenaha : one who is dying
tamasi : tamas
moodhayonishu : ignorant wombs
jaayate : born
 
Previously, Shri Krishna explained the fate of one whose mental state is sattvic at the end of his life. Here, he says that one whose mental state is rajasic while dying is reborn in a family of action oriented individuals. Also, one whose mental state is tamasic while dying is reborn in the wombs of the ignorant and the inert. This includes plants, trees, creepers, birds, insects and other animals.
 
It is not just the mental state that determines one’s fate in the next life. Every action we perform leaves impressions in our mind, which also impacts our fate. One who has performed selfless actions throughout their life is born in a virtuous family. One who has performed selfish actions is born with a tendency to get attached to material objects. And one who has performed harmful actions is born with devilish tendencies. Such a person will not stop at anything to get their way, including physically harming others. In their current life and in their next life, it is totally up to each individual to cultivate their discrimination through selfless service, devotion and company of devotees so that they can counteract the effect of excessive rajas.
 
The Srimad Bhagavatam tells the story of the illustrious king Bharata who was one of the most sattvic individuals of his time. Through extreme attachment to his pet deer, he became steeped in tamas, and was born as a deer in his next life. But due to the selfless actions performed in his life as a king, he developed a degree of renunciation not even found in humans. He was finally born as a highly sattvic human who ultimately achieved liberation. Shri Krishna repeatedly urges us to employ rajas to perform selfless service, and cultivate sattva through reducing selfish activities.

Bhagavad Gita Verse 13, Chapter 14

18 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in 14.13, aprakaashaha, apravrittihi, chapter 14 verse 13, etaani, jaayante, kurunandan, mohaha, pramaadaha, tamasi, viviriddhe

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aprakaashopravrittishcha pramaado moha eva cha |
tamasyetaani jaayante viviriddhe kurunandan || 13 ||
 
Darkness, inaction, heedlessness and also error. These arise when tamas is predominant, O descendant of the Kurus.
 
aprakaashaha : darkness
apravrittihi : inaction
cha : and
pramaadaha : heedlessness
mohaha : error
eva : also
cha : and
tamasi : of tamas
etaani : these
jaayante : arise
viviriddhe : predominant
kurunandan : O descendent of the Kurus
 
Shri Krishna addressed Arjuna as “kurunandana” when explaining the marks of tamas, but addressed him as “bharatarshabha” when explaining the marks of rajas. He was probably hinting that some members of the Kuru dynasty, the Kauravas, were under the influence of tamas. When we are under the influence of tamas, we make erroneous decisions. We become inert like a stone, resorting to inaction. Even when we act, it is out of heedlessness. Our knowledge is covered by tamas, creating darkness within us.
 
Let us go deeper into what inaction really means. When we have a lack of drive to achieve anything in the world, when we wants to escape all sense of responsibilities, when all ambitions go away, that is inaction. Moha, error or delusion is even worse. We cannot accurately judge our relationship with the world, with other people, with our family, our friends, our job and so on. We become a “good for nothing”, and will remain in that state unless someone wakes us up.
 
Nature has its own scale of tamas, rajas and sattva. It is better to crawl like an insect than lie around like a stone, better to work like an ant rather than crawl like an ant, better to pollinate flowers like a bird than simply work like an ant, better to give milk to others like a cow than pollinate flowers like a bird, and it is better to work with one’s intellect like a human than to give milk to others like a cow. So one who is steeped in tamas, should start to act, even if the actions are without any planning or thinking, just to get into a higher mental state.