Good question. Here are some ways to reduce tamas guna, or to balance your
tamasic energy:
- *Avoid tamasic foods*: Avoid heavy meats, processed foods, alcohol,
and root vegetables. Instead, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
- *Avoid overindulgence*: Avoid oversleeping, overeating, and inactivity.
- *Practice yoga*: Practice yoga asanas like sun salutations, or
pranayamas like kapalbhati.
- *Practice meditation*: Practice meditation that involves movement,
like walking meditation or labyrinth meditation.
- *Get out into nature*: Spend more time in nature.
- *Seek activity and adventure*: Seek out activities and adventures.
- *Shake your hands*: Shake your hands as you lift your arms overhead
several times.
- *Move to music*: Move to music.
- *Chant*: Chant to lift energy and focus your mind.
Some qualities associated with tamas include laziness, anger, attachment,
depression, dependency, self-doubt, guilt, boredom, irritation, addiction,
apathy, confusion, grief, and ignorance.
*Guna* means attribute, quality, strand. This word has many
connotations, but the most common usage belongs to the vocabulary of the
*yoga* and *Samkhya* traditions, where it refers to the well-known triad of
forces—*sattva**, **rajas*, and *tamas*—that are thought to be the
fundamental qualities of *prakriti *(Nature). These qualities are
considered the primary dynamic forces of Nature, as they represent the
principles of activity and dynamism (*rajas*), inertia (*tamas*), and
harmony (*sattva*). Their combined interaction creates the entire manifest
world. They underlie all material as well as psycho-mental phenomena.
*Sattva* is regarded as buoyant and illuminating. Its corresponding color
is white.* Rajas* is stimulating and mobile. Its corresponding color is red.
* Tamas* is inert and concealing. Its corresponding color is black. As
qualities of Nature, they all (even *sattva guna*) essentially represent a
limiting aspect, as the *Bhagavad Gita *(14:6-8) affirms: “*Sattva* binds
through attachment toward knowledge and happiness; *rajas* binds the
incarnated spirit though attachment toward action, and *tamas* binds
through negligence, indolence and sleep.”
*Sattva Guna*
The word *sattva* comes from the Sanskrit root *sat*, meaning
“existence.” *Sattva
guna* represents the principle of harmony and balance. The *Bhagavad
Gita* (14:6)
characterizes *sattva guna* as “immaculate, illuminating, without ill.”
However, *sattva*, by virtue of being one of the *gunas*, also has a
binding effect—it can cause attachment to joy and knowledge.
When tranquility, light, happiness, purity, calmness, harmony, kindness,
forgiveness, patience, and compassion predominate in the mind, we call it
sattvic. People with sattvic minds love tranquility, a simple life, higher
thoughts, the study of spiritual books, philosophical discussions,
concentration, meditation, and the company of spiritual beings. Spiritual
aspiration, noble ideals, empathy, love, devotion, inspiration, and
genius—all these pertain to the sattvic mind. A sattvic mind is always
steady and finds delight internally. This purity of the mind always brings
about purity of the Heart.
*Rajas Guna*
The Sanskrit word *rajas* is derived from the root *raj or ranj*, meaning
“to be colored, affected, excited, charmed.” *Rajas* represents the
principle of dynamism and activity. Its fruit is the joy of acting, but
also the distress of fault. *Rajas* tendencies create both *raga* (attraction,
attachment) and *dvesha* (aversion, hate) for external objects. The *Bhagavad
Gita* (14:7) describes *rajas* as being of the nature of attraction,
springing from “thirst” and attachment. It is also said to produce bondage
through our clinging to action.
In *Maitrayanaya Upanishad *(3:5), we find the characteristics of
*rajas* listed
as follows: thirst, affection, passion, greed, violence, lust, false
vision, contradictoriness, jealousy, desire, instability, fickleness,
possessiveness, material acquisitiveness, nepotism, dependence on our
environment, repulsion from undesirable sense objects, and fondness for
what is desirable. However, *rajas* can be directed positively and lead to
creativity and a constructive attitude.
When competition, dynamism, activity, restlessness, passion, sensorial
desires, lust, and excitement predominate in the mind, we call it a
“rajasic” mind. People with this kind of mind prefer big cities, material
and professional gain, the pleasures of the senses, luxury, competition,
challenges, adventures, hard work, and activism. This kind of mind (also
referred to as *kama manas*) is the instinctive mind, full of desires and
passions. The rajasic mind always wants new sensations and variety. It has
a tendency to look for the defects of others. It also remembers bad deeds
or wrongs done by others and easily forgets their good acts. These two
tendencies intensify hatred and cause frequent disturbances in the mind. It
is the rajasic mind that splits, separates, divides, and deceptively shows
plurality.
*Tamas Guna*
The “quality of darkness,” refers to the principle of inertia and
ignorance. The darkness of *tamas* is the shadow of knowledge and produces
confusion and disappointment. *Tamas *is opposed to *sattva*, because the
essence of *sattva* is *prakasha *(illumination), and the essence of *tamas* is
the absence of light, *aprakasha* (ignorance).
In the *Bhagavad Gita* (14:8), it states that *tamas guna* springs from
*ajnana *(spiritual ignorance) and deludes all beings, binding them by
heedlessness, sloth, and sleep. In the *Maitrayanaya Upanishad* (3:5), we
can find a long list of characteristics of *tamas*. These include fear,
confusion, despondency, grief, hunger, and thirst. *Tamas* produces
ignorance and destroys all sense of discrimination. It creates
disappointment and difficulty in making decisions. In this way, inaction
appears and the mind becomes dizzy, full of opposing ideas and thoughts of
helplessness.
When ignorance, indifference, carelessness, drowsiness, inertness,
dullness, apathy, indulgence in laziness, and stupidity predominate in the
mind, it is called tamasic. People with tamasic minds prefer the company of
inferior, degraded beings or simply indulge in an inert solitude.
Generally, they do not read books, are afraid of work, are melancholic,
have no refinement or elegance, and are disinterested in the important
aspects of humanity. Often, they are unable to despise others but cannot
love either. Through their attitude, they maintain thoughts of
helplessness, suspicion, indifference, and stupidity.
Transcending the 3 *Gunas*
Only by transcending the qualities of Nature (a condition known as
*gunatita*) can yogis reveal their true essence, *atman*. As qualities of
Nature, all of the *gunas* have a binding effect. However, while the
qualities of activity (*rajas*) and inertia (*tamas*) tend to maintain the
ego-illusion, the predominance of the quality of harmony (*sattva*) helps
create the conditions for *moksha* (liberation). That is why yogic texts
and great *yoga* masters have always emphasized the importance of
cultivating sattvic conditions and states.
For Hridaya Yoga practitioners—who know that Self-realization is
instantaneous but deconditioning is a process—this is the most relevant
aspect of the *gunas*. Therefore, we should cultivate *sattva guna* in our
beings in order to create the proper conditions for Self-realization. Only
by overcoming *rajas* and *tamas* through the enhancement of *sattva* is
Self-realization possible.
In *The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna*, Ramakrishna describes the three
*gunas’* influence
in connection with the feeling of devotion:
“There are three kinds of formal devotion: tamasic, rajasic, and sattvic.
If a person, while showing devotion to God, is actuated by malevolence,
arrogance, jealousy, or anger, then his devotion is tamasic, since it is
influenced by *tamas*, the quality of inertia. If he worships God from a
desire for fame or wealth, or from any otherworldly ambition, then his
devotion is rajasic, since it is influenced by *rajas*, the quality of
activity. But if a person loves God without any thought of material gain,
if he performs his duties to please God alone and maintains towards all
created beings the attitude of friendship, then his devotion is called
sattvic, since it is influenced by *sattva*, the quality of harmony.
But the highest devotion transcends the three *gunas*, qualities, being a
spontaneous, uninterrupted inclination of the mind towards God, the Inner
Soul of all beings; and it wells up in the Heart of a true devotee as soon
as he hears the name of God or mention of God’s attributes. A devotee
possessed of this love would not accept the happiness of heaven if it were
offered him. His one desire is to love God under all conditions—in pleasure
and pain, life and death, honor and dishonor, prosperity and adversity.”
We have to lead the horses to good ponds, KR IRS 211024
On Mon, 21 Oct 2024 at 05:52, yeddanapudim <[email protected]> wrote:
> In Kerala a minister openly killed a cow and ate it.Where is the Hindu
> spine?
> YM
>
> On Sunday 20 October, 2024 at 07:31:55 pm IST, Bala N. Aiyer <
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> So, ask the Education minister, if he will support similarly with
> government if you get 40,000 Gurukulas, and Hindu schools with support for
> the teachers' salary and also similar support to all Temple priests.
>
> Bala N. Aiyer
>
>
> On Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 01:27:20 AM CDT, Rama <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
> Prof. A. V. Thamarakshan Ex MLA
>
> *An open letter to all secular believers..*
>
> In recent days, discussions are going on in social media regarding the
> number of madrasas in Kerala. It was then that I felt the need for a little
> more in-depth study on this subject and felt that the knowledge gained
> through it should be conveyed to others.
>
> 1- Total Population of Kerala: 35699443.
>
> 2- Muslim population of Kerala: 8873472 (26%)
>
> 3- Number of Madrasas in Kerala: 21683.
>
> 4- Number of madrasa teachers in Kerala: 204683.
>
> 5- Number of Panchayats in Kerala: 941.
>
> 6- Average number of Madrasas per Panchayat (21683/941) = 23 Madrasas. NB
> : More than one madrasa per ward.
>
> 7- Salary of a Madrasa Teacher = 25000/- per month (excluding those who
> are paid at the rate of Rs. 300/- per hour).
>
> 8- Salary for madrasa teachers per month from exchequer :( 204683x 25000)
> = 5117075000.
>
> 9- Pension given to Madrasa teachers per month (implemented by Pinarayi
> Govt.): 6000 x 200000 = 1200000000.
>
> 10- Total one month Madrasa salary and pension from exchequer: (5117075000
> + 1200000000) = 6317075000/-
> 11- Money spent in Kerala in a year including madrasa salary and pension
> (6317075000 x 12 ) = 75804900000 (seven thousand five hundred eighty crore
> forty nine lakh rupees) NB : Those checking this number do not need to use
> a calculator. With the size of the number, the error will be displayed.
>
> *Information Credit: Hon'ble Minister of Higher Education - KT Jalil
> presented in the Legislative Assembly...*
>
> Now a question for the secular minds. What is special about this community
> that you don't have...?
>
> The tax money of Hindus, Christians and Muslims is misused in this way.
> Should this injustice still be allowed...?
>
> The only word to say to those who say that Kerala is a secular land!
> Kerala is not secular, it is a land of fanaticism...
>
> 😡😡😡
>
> Cheers
> Rama
>
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