Sattva

Ye caiva sattvika bhava rajasas tamasas ca ye, matta eveti tan viddhi na tv aham tesu te mayi

All states of being — whether in goodness, passion, or ignorance — proceed from Me alone. Know this, yet I am not in them; they are in Me. The three gunas arise from God, but God transcends them. This establishes both divine immanence and divine transcendence simultaneously.

Tatra sattvam nirmalatvat prakasakam anamayam, sukha-sangena badhnati jnana-sangena chanagha

O sinless one, sattva (goodness), because of its purity, is illuminating and free from disease. It conditions the soul by binding it to happiness and knowledge. Even the mode of goodness is a binding force — its subtle attachment to happiness and knowledge must ultimately be transcended.

Sarva-dvaresu dehe 'smin prakasha upajayate, jnanam yada tada vidyad vivriddham sattvam ity uta

When all the gates of the body are illuminated with the light of knowledge, one may know that sattva is predominant. The symptom of sattva is the illumination of consciousness — when all senses and gates of perception are bright with awareness.

Yada sattve pravriddhe tu pralayam yati deha-bhrit, tadottama-vidam lokan amalan pratipadyate

When one dies in the mode of goodness, one attains the pure higher worlds of the great sages. The guna predominant at death determines one's next destination — those who die in sattva ascend to higher planes of purity and knowledge.

Karmanah sukritasyahuh sattvikam nirmalam phalam, rajasas tu phalam duhkham ajnanam tamasah phalam

The result of pious action is said to be pure sattva. The result of rajasic action is distress. The result of tamasic action is ignorance. Each guna generates its corresponding fruit — goodness yields purity, passion yields suffering, ignorance yields further ignorance.

sri bhagavan uvaca: tri-vidha bhavati sraddha dehinam sa svabhava-ja, sattviki rajasi caiva tamasi ceti tam srinu

Krishna answers that the innate faith of embodied beings is of three kinds — sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic — each arising from one's own nature. He invites Arjuna to hear the distinctions.

yajante sattvika devan yaksha-rakshamsi rajasah, pretan bhuta-ganams canye yajante tamasa janah

Those in sattva worship the gods; those in rajas worship yakshas and rakshasas (demigods of wealth and power); and those in tamas worship ghosts and spirits. The object of worship reveals the quality of one's faith.

ayuh-sattva-balarogya-sukha-priti-vivardhanah, rasyah snigdhah sthira hridya aharah sattvika-priyah

Foods that increase longevity, vitality, strength, health, happiness, and joy — foods that are juicy, fatty, nourishing, and pleasant — are dear to those in sattva.

Aphala-kāṅkṣhibhir yajño vidhi-diṣhṭo ya ijyate, yaṣhṭavyam eveti manaḥ samādhāya sa sāttvikaḥ

Sacrifice that is performed as a duty, without desire for reward, according to scriptural injunctions, with a concentrated mind—that is of the nature of goodness.

sraddhayanvitah, anasuyanto 'bhyasuyanti ye tu dharma-nitya-krit-anustita tat tapas tri-vidham naraih, phalam akankshabhir yuktaih sattvikam paricakshate

This threefold austerity — of body, speech, and mind — practiced with supreme faith by men who seek no personal fruit is called sattvic.

Datavyam iti yad danam diyate 'nupakarine, deshe kale cha patre cha tad danam sattvikam smritam

Charity given to a worthy person simply because it is right to give, without consideration of anything in return, at the proper time and place—such charity is of the nature of goodness.

karyam ity eva yat karma niyatam kriyate 'rjuna sangam tyaktva phalam caiva sa tyagah sattviko matah

When obligatory action is performed simply because it ought to be done, with attachment and desire for results abandoned, that renunciation is considered sattvic. This is the highest form of tyaga and the one Krishna recommends.

na dvesty akusalam karma kusale nanusajjate tyagi sattva-samavisto medhavi chinna-samsayah

The sattvic renunciant, filled with goodness and free from doubt, neither hates disagreeable action nor clings to agreeable action. Such a wise person has cut through all doubts and acts with equanimity in all situations.

Sarva-bhūteṣhu yenaikaṁ bhāvam avyayam īkṣhate, avibhaktaṁ vibhakteṣhu taj jñānaṁ viddhi sāttvikam

That knowledge by which one sees the imperishable reality in all beings, undivided in the divided—know that knowledge to be of the nature of goodness.

niyatam sanga-rahitam araga-dvesatah kritam aphala-prepsuna karma yat tat sattvikam ucyate

Action that is prescribed, performed without attachment, without love or hatred, and without desire for its fruit is called sattvic action. Such action flows from pure duty and is the model for all karma yoga practice.

mukta-sango 'naham-vadi dhrityutsaha-samanvitah siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikarah karta sattvika ucyate

The doer who is free from attachment, free from the language of ego, filled with steadiness and enthusiasm, and unaffected by success or failure is called a sattvic doer. This is the portrait of the ideal karma yogi.

pravrittim ca nivrittim ca karyakaryec bhayabhaye bandham moksam ca ya vetti buddhi sa partha sattviki

The intellect that knows what is to be done and what is not to be done, what is to be feared and what is not to be feared, what leads to bondage and what leads to liberation — that intellect is sattvic, O Arjuna.

dhritya yaya dharayate manah-pranendriya-kriyah yogenavyabhicarinya dhriti sa partha sattviki

The steadiness by which one holds the functions of mind, life-force, and senses in check through unwavering yoga — that steadiness is sattvic, O Arjuna. Sattvic dhriti is the unshakeable inner strength of a disciplined yogi.