Three gunas, three cravings
Depending on their nature, all six-and-ahalf billion people of the world fall into one of the three categories of tamas, rajas and sattva.
Tamasic people have base instincts,are overly sense-oriented and prone to inertia.
Rajasic people are dynamic, go-getters,restless.
Sattvic people have soft, finer feelings, more interested in the workings of the inner world than the outer.
All of us are a combination of all three. But even if one of them is highly developed or suppressed,we lose balance and perspective.
For example, we cannot do without sleep,but sloth is tamasic.
Meditation is sattvic,but a certain amount of rajas is required to propel oneself towards that activity.
Once we actively sit for meditation, to fidget and get distracted is rajasic.
Being too soft in the outer world is also dangerous, as discovered by the sattvic snake who forgot to hiss and got beaten up in the bargain.
Spiritual master Sri Ramachandraji who advocates the sahaj marg identifies three kinds of cravings a human being needs to fulfil, at the physical, mental and spiritual levels.
At the physical level, we satisfy the needs of our senses with food and other inputs; at the mental level, we supply ourselves with interest in arts like music, dance and literature.
Our spiritual craving is fed with prayer, meditation and contemplation.
There are two ways in which we can fail to balance these three. One – we might ignore
one or more of these completely, and therefore become stilted in our all-round growth.
Two – we might use the wrong inputs to satisfy these cravings. Over-indulgence of physical cravings like consuming spicy food and alcohol everyday can lead to physical
and psychosomatic diseases.
Excessive inputs to the mind, like addictions to online networking sites , can wreak
havoc on the mind and intellect.
Getting involved with esoteric sciences that involve sacrifice of living beings, witchcraft and Tantra can be harmful for several lifetimes.
Sri Ramachandraji says that too much of tamasic (inertia-inducing) and rajasic (excitement-inducing) inputs like the above take us away from our centre, which
is sattva (truth, goodness, purity).
Sattvic food, music, worship and prayer soothe the body, mind and soul. They help us
stay on the right side of life and enjoy a healthy, balanced outlook on everything.
With an immoderate lifestyle, man can upset the balance of seven spiritual centres
or chakras, which will reflect in his aura.
The aura is nothing but a pulsating energy consisting of bio-rhythmic, biochemical
and bio-electrical vibrations of our body and mind. These can be regulated respectively with pranayama and meditation, eating clean, pure and soft food, and dropping negative thoughts and cultivating good thoughts,says Guru Shri Nimishananda.
Depending on their nature, all six-and-ahalf billion people of the world fall into one of the three categories of tamas, rajas and sattva.
Tamasic people have base instincts,are overly sense-oriented and prone to inertia.
Rajasic people are dynamic, go-getters,restless.
Sattvic people have soft, finer feelings, more interested in the workings of the inner world than the outer.
All of us are a combination of all three. But even if one of them is highly developed or suppressed,we lose balance and perspective.
For example, we cannot do without sleep,but sloth is tamasic.
Meditation is sattvic,but a certain amount of rajas is required to propel oneself towards that activity.
Once we actively sit for meditation, to fidget and get distracted is rajasic.
Being too soft in the outer world is also dangerous, as discovered by the sattvic snake who forgot to hiss and got beaten up in the bargain.
Spiritual master Sri Ramachandraji who advocates the sahaj marg identifies three kinds of cravings a human being needs to fulfil, at the physical, mental and spiritual levels.
At the physical level, we satisfy the needs of our senses with food and other inputs; at the mental level, we supply ourselves with interest in arts like music, dance and literature.
Our spiritual craving is fed with prayer, meditation and contemplation.
There are two ways in which we can fail to balance these three. One – we might ignore
one or more of these completely, and therefore become stilted in our all-round growth.
Two – we might use the wrong inputs to satisfy these cravings. Over-indulgence of physical cravings like consuming spicy food and alcohol everyday can lead to physical
and psychosomatic diseases.
Excessive inputs to the mind, like addictions to online networking sites , can wreak
havoc on the mind and intellect.
Getting involved with esoteric sciences that involve sacrifice of living beings, witchcraft and Tantra can be harmful for several lifetimes.
Sri Ramachandraji says that too much of tamasic (inertia-inducing) and rajasic (excitement-inducing) inputs like the above take us away from our centre, which
is sattva (truth, goodness, purity).
Sattvic food, music, worship and prayer soothe the body, mind and soul. They help us
stay on the right side of life and enjoy a healthy, balanced outlook on everything.
With an immoderate lifestyle, man can upset the balance of seven spiritual centres
or chakras, which will reflect in his aura.
The aura is nothing but a pulsating energy consisting of bio-rhythmic, biochemical
and bio-electrical vibrations of our body and mind. These can be regulated respectively with pranayama and meditation, eating clean, pure and soft food, and dropping negative thoughts and cultivating good thoughts,says Guru Shri Nimishananda.
Lovely Thoughts for Lovely People Just Like You
