The Light of Sattwa

The Light of Sattwa

By Swami Jyotirmayananda


As a person advances on the path of Yoga, sattwa, the principle of purity and harmony, begins to unfold in his personality. The Srimad Bhagavata, a devotional purana, states that the expressions of sattwa are serenity, control of the senses, endurance, austerity, truthfulness, compassion, pure memory, contentment, renuncia­tion, noncovetousness, faith, feel­ing of shame towards sinful actions and others. Speaking of the Divine treasure that is possessed by a per­son who is endowed with sattwa, Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita mentions these virtues: fearless­ness, purity of mind, steadiness in wisdom, union with the Self, self-control, sacrifice, study of scrip­tures, austerity, uprightness, nonviolence, truthfulness, free­dom from anger, renunciation, tranquility of mind, aversion to finding faults in others, compas­sion, noncovetousness, gentleness, modesty, vigor, forgiveness, forti­tude, purity, and freedom from malice and pride. (17:1-3).

During sattwa the mind be­comes elevated, leading to the expansion of consciousness. The greater the sattwa, the greater is the expansion in consciousness. Consequently the intellect (buddhi) regains its luminosity, and the senses become bright and sensi­tive. The whole personality, includ­ing one’s physical body, begins to express happiness and vitality, as if one were flying a plane, looking down on the world of one’s daily realities with a sense of tran­scendence. Conditions that were once so dreadful now be­come insignificant, automati­cally resolving themselves. Where one might have frowned, now one simply smiles; where one might have become agitated, now he sim­ply maintains a serene attitude.

In the majority of people, however; sattwa comes to stay only for a short time. When a good karma of the past begins to fructify, a certain degree of sattwa manifests in the person­ality. But as soon as the good karma ends, sattwa is replaced by the other two principles of nature — rajas (distraction) and tamas (dullness). Thus, when sattwa subsides, the same world of severity manifests again with its problems, fears and anxieties, sorrows and sufferings, prob­lems and perplexities.

When the manifestation of sattwa is rare in the personality, it creates illusion and bondage. It is due to sattwa alone that a person experiences true happiness when he is near certain objects or in­volved in certain situations. How­ever, not knowing this spiritual fact, the moment sattwa subsides, the person begins to blame the objects and people around him for the loss of his happy mood. Further, he develops the wrong concept that happiness arises out of the objects of the world, and thus begins to intensify his raga klesha (the afflic­tion of attachment). When attach­ment increases, the mind begins to create impressions of hatred, and these two — attachment and ha­tred — continue to hurl the per­sonality into the influence of rajas and tamas. What is needed, therefore, is to make sattwa abide in the personality as a constant compan­ion. Then sattwa leads to all that is Divine and becomes the most pow­erful aid on the path leading to Self-realization.


Important Facts About Sattwa

An association is said to be satwic (pure) when it helps one practice meditation and spiritual enquiry, and enables him to de­velop virtuous qualities. That knowledge is satwic which enables one to realize the spiritual unity that underlies this world of multi­plicity. That renunciation is satwic which is based upon the healthy understanding that the objects of the world are illusory in nature and that the Self alone is the reality behind them. That happiness is satwic which inspires the mind to discover the source of happiness: the bliss of the Self. Since satwic happiness arises on the basis of the discipline of the mind and senses, although it appears bitter in the beginning, it becomes sweet in the end.

Satwic charity is that which does not expect a reward. Satwic austerity is that which enables one to control his mind and senses in order to promote meditation on the Self. That food is satwic which is nutritionally healthy to the body and is not simply a source excite­ment for the tongue. (Naturally, vegetarian foods such as fruits, milk, cereals, nuts, lentils, beans, and numerous vegetables and herbs provide a wide variety of nutritious articles of food for one who is satwic in nature.)

If sattwa were to predominate the mind at the time of death, one is lead to heavenly worlds. If sattwa is further absolutely free of the influence of rajas and tamas at the time death, one is not born again, for he attains enlightenment even in this very life.

An aspirant must be keen in recognizing the gunas that operate in his personality during the still­ness of meditation. He should not mistake tamas for sattwa. When there is increased tamas, a person tends to become passive and his mind dull. In such a state, even though he may stay seated in one pose for a long period of time, he is not practicing meditation. On the other hand, when sattwa pre­dominates he also becomes still, but this stillness is vibrant with joy and peace. During the stillness of sattwa, the mind becomes filled with inspiration.

Satwic action is that which is performed with the spirit of worshipping God or in a spirit of love and selflessness. A satwic actor is one who does not allow his mind to develop attachment to action or its fruit, or is not bound to the egoistic notion, “It is I who am the doer of this action.”

Sattwa must express in creative activities or in actions that are directed towards the service of hu­manity. He who plans to enjoy sattwa behind closed doors and without the spirit of dedicating himself to the service of others will not suc­ceed in amassing sattwa. Instead he will be amassing tamas or inertia. Similarly, actions without sattwa as their guiding light will continue to keep the mind in a state of rajas or distraction.

A satwica performs swadharma (his own duty as explained in the Gita) selflessly. A rajasica is inclined to perform actions not natural to his personality, done out of greed, pride, and vanity. Therefore, his mind swings from elation to depres­sion, and his personality becomes disbalanced. He sows seeds of dis­harmony within himself, and propagates disharmony around himself. A satwica, on the other hand, pro­motes harmony within and without.

A rajasica does not have a defi­nite goal; he is not a dedicated worker. A satwica has a definite goal — he works for the promotion of his spiritual evolution, which, in turn, promotes harmony in the world. A rajasica is constantly pres­sured by the load of action; a satwica, though performing actions, enjoys inner spiritual peace and satisfac­tion. Therefore, there is much “per­spiration” and little “inspiration” in the actions of a rajasica, while there is an abundance of inspiration in the effortless actions of a satwica.


The Four Gate-keepers to Liberation

The following four virtues, de­scribed as the four gate-keepers to liberation in Yoga Vasishtha, are dynamic aids in the development of sattwa:

Satsanga or Good Association: Nothing is as important for an aspirant as satsanga. In an atmo­sphere of satsanga, the mind be­comes elevated, entertains thoughts of selflessness, and is captivated by those qualities that adorn saintly personalities. Satsanga influences one’s uncon­scious mind in a mysterious man­ner. The study of scriptures also constitutes a powerful form of satsanga.

Shama or Serenity: An aspir­ant must keep his mind balanced in pleasure and pain, gain and loss, prosperity and adversity, and all the pairs of opposites. This is possible only when the unconscious is not laden with subtle desires for the pleasures of the senses. By reflecting upon the illusoriness of objects, one fills his mind with the impres­sions of peace. Then subtle de­sires melt and the mind becomes filled with the light of sattwa.

Santosh or Contentment: “Contentment gives rise to incomparable bliss" — so says Raja Yoga. Most people are given to the habit of comparing them­selves with others. Thus deem­ing others to be more fortunate than themselves, they fill their mind with discontent. An aspir­ant, on the other hand, has a profound understanding that no one is truly happy or prosperous due to wealth, fame or worldly glory. Further, he knows that within himself are all the resources needed to attain perfection and end misery. Endowed with con­tentment, therefore, an aspirant continues to strive for spiritual perfection.

Vichara or Enquiry (reflection): When purity grows in the mind, one’s intellect becomes subtle and sensitive. One pursues Vedantic reflection as outlined in the Upanishads, reflects upon the mean­ing of the great utterance, “tat twam asi (thou art That) and, through ceaseless contemplation, develops intuitional knowledge of the fact that he is essentially the supreme Self.

Having thus attained enlight­enment, he becomes a jivanmukta, one liberated in life. These four qualities are interdependent, and if one were to develop any of the four, the other three will join in automatically.


Beyond the Three Gunas

In the state of liberation, even sattwa is transcended. A sage no longer depends on sattwa for el­evating his mind because he is no longer confined to his mind and its moods. He is called a trigunatita — one who has tran­scended the three gunas. This is figuratively described through a parable:

Once a king was passing through a forest with a bag of precious gems when three thieves attacked him. They robbed him of his possessions, tied his hands and feet, threw him into a pit and then departed. But one of the thieves devel­oped compassion for the king, and escaping the notice of the other two, he went back to the king, untied him and led him across the forest. The king asked the kind thief to come along with him to the palace and there to receive a reward for his goodness. But the thief declined, and leaving the king, went back and joined his group.

Much in the same manner, the three gunas have deprived the soul of its spiritual treasure in the form of freedom. They have tied it up with karmic fet­ters, and thrown it into the pit of the world-process. Sattwa then comes to help the soul and frees it of its karmas, leading the soul to the edge of the world of relativ­ity. Sattwa points the way to the palace of liberation, to the path of transcendence, but it cannot go there itself. So an aspirant who has gained an insight into the gunas transmutes tamas into rajas, then channelizes rajas into sattwa, and finally transcends sattwa and be­comes established in the Self.

“International Yoga Guide” Vol. 34, NO. 11, July 1997



...