Sattvic, Rajasic and Tamasic Spirituality
Understanding this can be a great help on the spiritual journey.
Dr Roshan Singh – Jyotishacharya Shastri Pundit
What is the difference between the Sattvic, the Rajasic and the Tamasic ways of worship?
Bhagavad-gita 17.4
यजन्ते सात्त्विका देवान्यक्षरक्षांसि राजसा: ।
प्रेतान्भूतगणांश्चान्ये यजन्ते तामसा जना: ॥ ४ ॥
yajante sāttvikā devān
yakṣa-rakṣāṁsi rājasāḥ
pretān bhūta-gaṇāṁś cānye
yajante tāmasā janāḥ
Sattvic mode of worship
The man who worships from the very depth of his heart without the least ostentation or vanity is a Sattvic worshipper.
The sattvic (peaceful) worshiper is the highest form of worshiper, pure of heart and of intent. Studies the holy scriptures, chants the holy names of the Lord, partakes of prashad (food offered to the Lord) and keeps proper association. They do not make a great grand show of their spirituality and care not for outer forms, unlike the rajasic one.
Rajasic mode of worship
The man who gives much attention to decorating his house, makes much fuss about music and dancing, and makes all costly and elaborate arrangements for a rich feast when celebrating the worship of the Deity, is a Rajasic worshipper.
The rajasic (passionate) worshipper tends to be concerned more about appearances, pleasure and activity. They may pay great attention to decoration, dress, ceremony, outward appearance and what others think of them. They may tend to wear spiritual-looking clothes and have spiritual-looking paraphenalia and accesories and make a show of spiritual-looking rituals. They may look and sound more spiritual than they actually are. Still lower than them is the tamasic one.
Tamasic mode of worship
The person who immolates innocent goats and chicken, has dishes of meat and wine for offerings, imitates the devas, torments his body with sharp instruments and is absorbed only in listening to loud music, dancing and singing while conducting worship, is a Tamasic worshipper according to scripture.
The tamasic (dull) one here is essentially shows to be a hedonist, one who is interested in sense-pleasures and, for this end, they are willing to abuse their own body (eg. with excessive food and alcohol that is offered and thereafter consumed) and engage in inhumane activity (eg. the unnecessary slaughtering of animals) in order to satisfy their wants and appetites. They display a sense of spirituality but consume alcohol and smoke after they pray.
Whilst the above may perhaps sound judgemental, I think it is better not to think of it in this way: we can instead see them as descriptions of stages of spiritual growth that many of us often go though, and each stage often has a role to play:
For example in the tamasic stage, we are often dealing with supressed emotional pain and trauma, in the rajasic stage we are often developing self-esteem and self-worth, and in the sattvic stage we are learning to be more peaceful and pure, perhaps having already healed ourself of many of our psychological traumas and developed a healthy sense of self-esteem.
We can also use this as a way to guage where spiritual teachers/groups/teachings themselves are – are they sharing a tamasic, rajasic or sattvic type of spirituality?
These three (sattva, rajas and sattva) are known as the three energies of Maya or the three gunas.
One therefore is given an opportunity in this lifetime to rise above the three gunas and serve the Lord without any motive, want or gain in order to develop pure unalloyed devotion or bhakti and break away from all material ties and bondage in order to return back home back to Godhead.
The following are the sixteen qualities of a devotee.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
अभयं सत्त्वसंश्रुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थितिः |
दानं दमश्र्च यज्ञश्र्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम् || १ ||
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्यागः शान्तिरपैश्रुनम् |
दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् || २ ||
तेजः क्षमा धृतिः शौचमद्रोहो नातिमानिता |
भवन्ति सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत || ३ ||
TRANSLATION
The Blessed Lord said: Fearlessness, purification of one’s existence, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, self-control, performance of sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity and simplicity; nonviolence, truthfulness, freedom from anger; renunciation, tranquility, aversion to faultfinding, compassion and freedom from covetousness; gentleness, modesty and steady determination; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy and the passion for honor-these transcendental qualities, O son of Bharata, belong to godly men endowed with divine nature.
