Arjuna asked Sri Krishna a question, which we all ask. He said to Sri Krishna,

I can understand that effort and faith go hand in hand, so faith alone cannot provide the means of achieving the final goal; there has to be an effort, there has to be discipline. You mentioned that other aspects of life are governed by the three gunas. What are those aspects?

Sri Krishna said to Arjuna,

You first asked about faith and effort, shraddha and purusharthas. You have understood that faith and effort go hand in hand. Now if you want cultivate the highest kind of faith, there are other aspects of your life that influence your nature, so you need to know about them.

The food which is dear to all is of three kinds, as is sacrifice, austerity and charitable giving. Hear about their distinctions. – (17:7)

Sri Krishna continued,

Your food, your worship or religious sacrifice and rituals, your religious concepts and the precepts by which you live in the world affect your mentality. They can make it tamasic, rajasic or sattwic. Before you ask any more questions, let me explain to you the whole thing.

Sri Krishna then described the diet, and it summed the gist of the entire Ayurveda. Foods which increased longevity, health and happiness were juicy, oily, nourishing and agreeable to sattwic people. (17:8)

Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, excessively hot and pungent causing dryness, pain and burning in the stomach and cause illness are liked by rajasic people. (17:9)

Food that is stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten, and impure are liked by the tamasic people. (17:10)

Therefore, your worship also falls into three categories. Prayers offered without motive and benefit are sattwic. Prayers offered for seeking a reward are rajasic. Prayers offered without prasad, mantras and lack of faith are tamasic.

This sums the description of the three gunas. Sattwa is when we are karma yogis and offer unconditional love to the divine being. Rajas is when we are motivated by ambition and ego. Tamas is when we are attempting to destroy and harm others.

Gita Darshan: Extracted from Swami Niranjananda writings.

Aim Hrim Klim

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