The Death of Marcus Aurelius

The Death of Marcus Aurelius

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita 57


Arjuna said: 

1. Those who setting aside the ordinance of the Shâstra, perform sacrifice with Shraddhâ, what is their condition, O Krishna? Is it Sattva, Rajas or Tamas? 

The Blessed Lord said: 

2. Threefold is the Shraddhâ of the embodied, which is inherent in their nature—the Sâttvika, the Râjasika and the Tâmasika. Hear of it. 

3. The Shraddhâ of each is according to his natural disposition, O descendant of Bharata. The man consists of his Shraddhâ; he verily is what his Shraddhâ is. 

4. Sâttvika men worship the Devas; Râjasika, the Yakshas and the Râkshasas; the others—the Tâmasika men—the Pretas and the hosts of Bhutas. 

5-6. Those men who practice severe austerities not enjoined by the Shâstras, given to ostentation and egoism, possessed with the power of lust and attachment, torture, senseless as they are, all the organs in the body, and Me dwelling in the body within; know them to be of Asurika resolve. 

7. The food also which is liked by each of them is threefold, as also Yajna, austerity and almsgiving. Hear this, their distinction. 

8. The foods which augment vitality, energy, strength, health, cheerfulness and appetite, which are savory and oleaginous, substantial and agreeable, are liked by the Sâttvika. 

9. The foods that are bitter, sour, saline, excessively hot, pungent, dry and burning, are liked by the Râjasika, and are productive of pain, grief and disease. 

10. That which is stale, tasteless, stinking, cooked overnight, refuse and impure, is the food liked by the Tâmasika. 

11. That Yajna is Sâttvika which is performed by men desiring no fruit, as enjoined by ordinance, with their mind fixed on the Yajna only, for its own sake. 

12. That which is performed, O best of the Bhâratas, seeking for fruit and for ostentation, know it to be a Râjasika Yajna. 

13. The Yajna performed without heed to ordinance, in which no food is distributed, which is devoid of Mantras, gifts, and Shraddhâ, is said to be Tâmasika. 

Bhagavad Gita, 17:1-13 



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