The Three Gunas
The Talks of Upasani-Baba Maharaja
Volume I, Part A
(Pages: 20 -22)
Shri Baba looked at a man and said, “You look like God to me.”
Gentleman — How so?
Shri Baba — Because you show the qualities of Satva-Guna.
G. — What are the signs of Satva-Guna?
B. — A person, who is indifferent to all worldly pleasures, indifferent to
all desires, their objects and their attainment, indifferent towards the
affairs of the world, who does not like to act for anything in particular,
who is content with whatever comes to him, who is unconcerned about the
pleasures and pain affecting him, who always remains in the state of ‘Be as
it may,’ is a person who has Satva Guna. A person with these qualities
is like God. You are showing some of these qualities and so I said that you
look like God...
G. — What are the signs of Raja-Guna and Tama-Guna?
B. — A person, who desires to increase his field of activity, who desires
for various worldly pleasures, who undertakes to do many a thing to satisfy
his desires — from eating something that he likes to the attainment of a
Kingdom, who does some things and persists in doing them even if he does not
meet with much of success, who forms Prarabdha that can last for births on end by
committing all sorts of deeds, who always engages himself in some work or
tries repeatedly to attain various things, who coaches others in behaving
like himself, who is acutely affected by feelings like insult, who is
very careful about and desirous of increasing his personal honor and
prestige, who loves to have a large family depending on him, who is proud,
discontented, tough, envious and a sinner, who loves to study the Asat(the knowledge of ignorance), and so on, is the person who is full of Raja-Guna. Such men ultimately suffer for long for years — or for lives to come. Most persons in the world are like that.
A person, who does not know good from bad, who does what he likes without
any consideration as to how that action would affect others or affect
himself — if it will be advantageous to him or not, who never listens to
anything good or to anybody, who is always doubtful, who is always
suspicious about others and about whatever they tell him, who always puts
everything to improper use, who is full of vices, loves vicious company, and
spends all in satisfying his vices, who is very impulsive, who gets angry
quickly for nothing, and so on, is a person full of Tama-Guna.
G. — Are people with Raja and Tama are unable to know the
state of God, and are they completely void of Satva-Guna?
B. — Such people do possess Satva-Guna. But if a person begins to
increase his activities without controlling himself, the Raja and Tama
increase; all such actions, in course of time, completely cover — suppress
the Satva-Guna. Such men full of Raja-Guna and Tama -Guna are unable to know
the state of God. If the activities are controlled and decreased bit by bit,
then the influence of Raja and Tama decreases causing the spread of Satva.
In other words, the decrease in activities decreases the influence of Raja
and Tama, and in course of time the behavior of the man changes into the
Satvika one.
G.— How much time does it take for the influence of Raja and Tama to disappear?
What are the methods to decrease them?
B. — There are two methods to decrease the influence of Raja and Tama. It
disappears very quickly if one associates with a saint and behaves in
accordance with his instructions. The other way is a very long one.
Sufferings and pain, life after life, makes him tired of his sufferings,
tired of his activities; his spirits go down — die down; he simply comes to
terms. Slowly then, his activities go down and he begins to feel that there is not much use in acquiring this or that. As his sufferings absolve him from his Prarabdha,
his Raja and Tama go down and the Satva begins to rise to the surface. Very
soon then the Satva virtually replaces others, and he comes to a point from which he can know (acquire) the state of God, or a saint.
Volume I, Part A
(Pages: 20 -22)
Shri Baba looked at a man and said, “You look like God to me.”
Gentleman — How so?
Shri Baba — Because you show the qualities of Satva-Guna.
G. — What are the signs of Satva-Guna?
B. — A person, who is indifferent to all worldly pleasures, indifferent to
all desires, their objects and their attainment, indifferent towards the
affairs of the world, who does not like to act for anything in particular,
who is content with whatever comes to him, who is unconcerned about the
pleasures and pain affecting him, who always remains in the state of ‘Be as
it may,’ is a person who has Satva Guna. A person with these qualities
is like God. You are showing some of these qualities and so I said that you
look like God...
G. — What are the signs of Raja-Guna and Tama-Guna?
B. — A person, who desires to increase his field of activity, who desires
for various worldly pleasures, who undertakes to do many a thing to satisfy
his desires — from eating something that he likes to the attainment of a
Kingdom, who does some things and persists in doing them even if he does not
meet with much of success, who forms Prarabdha that can last for births on end by
committing all sorts of deeds, who always engages himself in some work or
tries repeatedly to attain various things, who coaches others in behaving
like himself, who is acutely affected by feelings like insult, who is
very careful about and desirous of increasing his personal honor and
prestige, who loves to have a large family depending on him, who is proud,
discontented, tough, envious and a sinner, who loves to study the Asat(the knowledge of ignorance), and so on, is the person who is full of Raja-Guna. Such men ultimately suffer for long for years — or for lives to come. Most persons in the world are like that.
A person, who does not know good from bad, who does what he likes without
any consideration as to how that action would affect others or affect
himself — if it will be advantageous to him or not, who never listens to
anything good or to anybody, who is always doubtful, who is always
suspicious about others and about whatever they tell him, who always puts
everything to improper use, who is full of vices, loves vicious company, and
spends all in satisfying his vices, who is very impulsive, who gets angry
quickly for nothing, and so on, is a person full of Tama-Guna.
G. — Are people with Raja and Tama are unable to know the
state of God, and are they completely void of Satva-Guna?
B. — Such people do possess Satva-Guna. But if a person begins to
increase his activities without controlling himself, the Raja and Tama
increase; all such actions, in course of time, completely cover — suppress
the Satva-Guna. Such men full of Raja-Guna and Tama -Guna are unable to know
the state of God. If the activities are controlled and decreased bit by bit,
then the influence of Raja and Tama decreases causing the spread of Satva.
In other words, the decrease in activities decreases the influence of Raja
and Tama, and in course of time the behavior of the man changes into the
Satvika one.
G.— How much time does it take for the influence of Raja and Tama to disappear?
What are the methods to decrease them?
B. — There are two methods to decrease the influence of Raja and Tama. It
disappears very quickly if one associates with a saint and behaves in
accordance with his instructions. The other way is a very long one.
Sufferings and pain, life after life, makes him tired of his sufferings,
tired of his activities; his spirits go down — die down; he simply comes to
terms. Slowly then, his activities go down and he begins to feel that there is not much use in acquiring this or that. As his sufferings absolve him from his Prarabdha,
his Raja and Tama go down and the Satva begins to rise to the surface. Very
soon then the Satva virtually replaces others, and he comes to a point from which he can know (acquire) the state of God, or a saint.
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