Hari
Om
'Freedays' are the 'gather our thoughts' days;
Q&As; a general review of the week so far…
On
Choose-days, currently, we are taking our reading from a small booklet by
Swamini Vimalananda (Not Too Loose, Not Too Tight, Just Right!) which looks at the application of the three qualities
(trigunas) in life.
It
is very important, when reading these posts, to understand that nobody (other
than very rare individuals) are ever wholly one or the other of sattvic,
rajasic or tamasic. Certainly any one of us can fall into the depths of each of
them for short periods of time, but for the majority of time, we are a mixture
of the three; however, for each of us, there is a common denominator. Even that
will change, according to where we are in life and at what stage of life we
are.
Teenagers,
for example, are well known for wanting to 'veg out', to avoid responsibility
and to experiment with things best left unmentioned...yes, a generalisation,
but not without foundation! Therefore, the tamasic qualities are often
expressed during that period of life. This is fine - as long as a way out of it
is found and, thankfully, this is pretty much always the case. The rajasic
qualities will be identifiable to most who are reading this. Life happens. It
gets in the way of spiritual pursuits and, often, can seem more immediately
attractive or carry more urgency. It is all to easy to become anchored in the
external, leaving the internal for 'later, when there is time' - rather missing
the point that attention to the internal strengthens one's base for dealing
with the immediate and the urgent. Now is the time, later is never.
The
sattvic quality, for those who are wrapped up in either of the other two, can
seem an elusive ideal and beyond practical. It is also often noted that, by
embracing a more sattvic approach to things, the immediate and the urgent do
not abate - indeed, there are those who would argue that, due to increased
sensitivity, such events actually increase… the Lord sending tests for the
faithful, sort of thing.
This
may be so, however, by living a more sattvic life, there is a different
perspective on these things and very often, they can be let to go; just as
water drops from the lotus leaf, not really touching the surface, but rolling
across it. The raindrop was present, but affected not the leaf. The event takes
place, but is dealt with in a state of vairaagya; knowing that this too shall
pass away.
This
is the point of the booklet. To highlight the benefits of attempting to shift
ourselves ever more towards the sattvic life, thus gaining a greater level of
stability and steadiness in our life journey. It is not to sit and bemoan or
belittle either our own condition or that of others. There can be a tendency to
look around and point fingers, using such basic understanding to build our
arguments and gripes against another. This would be foolish and damaging, not
just to the person we seek to attack, but to our own nature. Rajas and tamas
will do this. Sattva cannot.
One
of the other things which can be confusing when starting out in the learning of
the triguna is the interpretation between sattva and tamas. Rajas is easy to
identify, for the restless speaks loud! However, to the beginner, the other two
can be mistaken.
The
stillness and vairagya of the saatvica can, by the rajasica, be misunderstood.
All that is seen is the surface and that, apparently, the saatvica is 'doing
nothing' - thus the assumption is that of laziness, a tamasic tendency. What
has not been appreciated by the restless one is that there may be much action
going on within the silent one. There will be lots of teaching to come on the
'action within non-action', not least from Bhagavad Gita. Conversely, there
have been occasions when the tamasica has been mistaken for a saintly type by
virtue of having perfected the art of sleeping in a sitting position! This is
not an innovator or meditator - no, this is a defaulter and deceiver. There will come a time when the sattvica will act or speak and, due to the inner work
which has been going on, such action and speech will hold quality and meaning.
The tamasic will continue to sit and when questioned will have little to offer.
Rajas
drives the society, the community, the world. Even the most sattvic, if they
are to remain in it, must have a small element of rajas to balance life. The
tamasica has no interest in being rajasic - why bother when it is not seen that
there can be more gained from life than drink, eat, sleep, procreate and sleep
again?
Be
careful, too, not to fall into the trap of thinking that tamas belongs to the
realms of poverty and 'lesser classes'… far from it. More often than not, the
greatest amount of industry (rajas) is to be found in these echelons as they
seek to rise from their lot. No. Tamas lurks even at the top of society; indeed
many of its traits such as the misuse of substances, the 'wine, women song'
lifestyle, the lust and the greed and the total lack of social care, are to be
found in so called 'civilized' places.
Enjoy
the readings we will follow on Choose-days for a while, but always bring it
into yourself and assess your stance accordingly. Do nothing more than that,
for it is but a mirror, allowing you time to reflect and adjust so that things
are 'not too loose, not too tight, just right!'
