The subject here is how to make our samskaras sattvic or on the platform of sattva-guna. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, 11th canto, 13th chapter, 4th sloka, Lord Sri Krsna has told how it can be done;
agamo pah praja desah kalah karma ca janma ca
dhayanam mantro tha samskaro dasaite gunah hetavah
The ten items mentioned above possess superior and inferior qualities and are thus identified as being in goodness, passion or ignorance. One can increase the mode of goodness by selecting religious scriptures in goodness, pure water, friendship with other persons in goodness, and so on. One should scrupulously avoid any of these ten items that may be polluted by an inferior mode of nature. (Lord Krsna to Uddhava)
These ten things are sattvic or filled with sattva-guna. In the Gita, Lord Krsna has said that gradually a person can overcome these worldly desires. If somebody falls down from the spiritual platform, then we should not respond, “Oh how is it possible that he has fallen down in his spiritual life?” In reality, since time immemorial, we have been consumed by these material identifications. In the Ramayana, it is also mentioned what people will be like in the Kali-yuga. It is said that such degraded persons will manifest only in Kali-yuga, not in Dvapara, Satya, or Treta. In the Bhagavatam also, there is the description of such low class personalities.
Lord Rama has declared in the Ramayana, how such mean, tribal persons, are of rajo-guna and tamo-guna. Such personalities are not seen in Satya, Treta or Dvarpa-yugas. Though in Satya-yuga there was Hiranyakasipu, in Treta there was Ravana, but such persons are very rare, but in Kali-yuga there are many persons like this, many small demons.
In Dvapara such a class are less, but in Kali-yuga, individuals are mad under the spell of ‘rajo-guna’ and ‘tamo-guna’, such is the characteristic of Kali-yuga. In the ‘Devi Bhagavat’ it is said that in the Satya and Treta-yugas, there are divine persons with ‘devi sampati’(divine qualities), they are born in the Satya and Treta-yugas. In Dvapara, some persons are affected by the inferior mode of rajo-guna.
In the Ramayana, Tulsi Das Goswami has described the essence of the Devi Bhagavat, how such low class persons come in Kali Yuga, unlike Dvapara or Treta. Again, such degraded persons were not on this earthly plain during the Satya and Treta-yugas, but were in hell at that time, for thousands and thousands of years. After 17 lac years(17,000,000), Satya-yuga is 30 million years, 17 million in Treta-yuga, and Dvapara is 12 million, and Kali Yuga is 4 lac 32,000 years(432,000). In Satya, Treta, and Dvapara, we were in complete darkness at that time. [This means for 59 million years we lived in hell and after that Kali yuga comes and then we appear on this earth] Then we come to fulfil our material and sensual desires. In the Kali-yuga the persons who were in Satya, Dvapara, and Treta , they go to the heavenly planets, the svarga lokas. This is every important to under stand. We should not consider that we are very qualified, or a high devotee.
This Kali-yuga has a very rare quality, which makes it the foremost period, it is ahead of Satya, Treta and Dvapara. What is this special quality of Kali yuga? It is stated in the Ramayana that there is no yuga like Kali-yuga… Why so? Only in the Kali-yuga is there Harinama sankirtan, only by chanting the glories of the Lord can one cross this material ocean. This is the main important feature of Kali-yuga. In Satya-yuga one has to do hard tapasya, and Treta, they have to do some sacrifices, but in Kali-yuga; if someone has the association of pure devotees, then very easily one crosses over maya and will achieve Lord Krsna. If there is such association, then he can participate in the chanting of the holy names. Only by the sanga of a pure devotee, can one give up material desires and pleasures and move forward in spiritual life.
Therefore, in our sastras, from many angles, there is the appreciation of Kali yuga, in the Srimad Bhagavatam also, the question is there why King Pariksit allowed Kali-yuga to stay, why did he give sanction for this Kali-yuga? It was because of one reason, to facilitate the yuga dharma, the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. The Srimad Bhagavatam Mahatmya, delineates that there are no good qualities in Kali, everything is zero, but it has one rare quality, if you put one before zero, then it is ten, Kali-yuga is zero, then if you put some number before zero, then its importance increases. In the Srimad Bhagavatam it is said yat phalum nasti tapasa na yogena samadhina. As in Treta-yuga people do yogas and are in samadhi for millions of years, but only in Kali-yuga by performing Harinam sankirtan, singing the glories of the Lord, can one be delivered. Even in the Satya-yuga, people pray to be born in the Kali-yuga, which provides the same results that one can get after millions of years of mediation, sacrifice, and deity worship as practiced in the Satya, Treta, and Dvapara-yugas. In the Bhagavatam , 11th canto, 5th chapter, and 20th sloka it says:
krtam treta dvaparam ca, kalir ity esu kesavah, nana varnabhidhakaro, nanaiva vidhinejyate
‘Sri Karabhajana replied: In each of the four yugas, or ages—Krta, Treta, Dvapara and Kali—Lord Kesava appears with various complexions, names and forms and is thus worshiped by various processes’.
In the Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.38 the great persons of Satya-yuga and Treta, pray that they could appear in Kali-yuga.
krtadisu praja rajan, khalu bhavisyanti narayana parayanah
kvacit kvacin maha raja dravidesu ca bhurisah
My dear King, the inhabitants of Satya-yuga and other ages eagerly desire to take birth in this age of Kali, since in this age there will be many devotees of the Supreme Lord, Narayana. These devotees will appear in various places but will be especially numerous in South India.
In the Kali-yuga there is only sin, then why should they want to take birth in Kali-yuga? It was because in the Kali-yuga there are many great persons who were to appear. The great saints and pure devotees were to make their appearance in Kali Yuga. These great devotees would be taking the darshan of Lord Narayana, Lord Krsna. It means that only in the Kali-yuga, the devotees depend only on their Krsna consciousness and devotion to the Lord to survive. In Satya and Treta, devotion is mixed with knowledge, tapasya, and actions mixed in yoga. However, pure devotion is truly found in Kali-yuga, not being mixed with these external things.
In Kali-yuga, the pure devotees are filled with unalloyed devotion; their bhakti is not mixed with knowledge, tapasya or yoga. Wise persons in Kali-yuga do not take shelter of any other medium like jnana, vairagya, tapasya, and samadhi. The wise person does not concentrate on such things for spiritual perfection. The saintly persons in Kali-yuga, are filled with pure devotion, focussing only on Harinam.
Brihad-naradiya Purana 3.8.126
harer nama harer nama harer namaiva kevalam
kalau nasty eva nasty eva nasty eva gatir anyatha
In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverance is the chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.
In Kali-yuga there is only the shelter of the Harinam. This is the main quality of the Kali-yuga. If we don’t take the shelter of the Harinam, then men will fall down again and again. There is no opportunity for him to go ahead. In the Gita 16 chapter 20th sloka, Lord Krsna says:
asurim yonim apanna mudha janmani
janmani mamaprapyaiva kaunteya tato yantyadhamam gatim
Attaining repeated birth amongst the species of demoniac species of life, O son of Kunti, such persons can never approach me. Gradually they sink down to the most abominable type of existence.
‘Those persons who are in dveṣa (hatred), I throw them into ‘astari yonis’(84 lakhs of species), millions of varieties for an infinite period.’ Every time they are going to lower and lower positions. The Lord also says in 9th chapter, 3rd sloka of the Gita:
asraddadhanah purusa dharmasyasya parantapa
aprapya mam nivartate mrtyu samsara vartmani
Those who are not faithful in this devotional service cannot attain Me, O conqueror of enemies. Therefore they return to the path of birth and death in this material world.
There are also many persons in the age of Kali-yuga, who are chanting the Harinam even though their heart is not purified, why they are falling down? Why this happens even while they are chanting Harinama kirtan? In the Gita, Lords Krsna says, “Slowly, slowly, somebody crosses this ocean of maya because their heart is dirty from so many distractions” It is gradually purified, but may take some time. We should aspire for purity where all the bad qualities will just go away. The only medium is ‘satsanga’, association with pure devotees, and because of this we can have a change of heart.
In the Bhagavatam it is said that 10 things are essential, 1) devotional literatures should always be with us; Gita and Bhagavatam etc., 2) association with devotees 3) engagement in devotional service 4) karmas, action in Krsna consciousness, Lord Krsna has made every living entity free in their actions, where every man is free, his inborn nature, he is under the bondage of maya, but he is free. A creature has so many material bondages. There are 4 bondages of Maya, where a man is not free, but the śastras declare in the Ramayana, Tulsi das says “God has made this world of karmas and actions, what ever somebody does, he gets the result of that action”. This human life is important in its karmas or actions. Lord Krsna has also said in the Gita
yad karosi yad asnasi yaj juhosi dadasi yat yat tapasyasi kaunteya tat kurusva mad-arpanan
What ever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away and whatever austerities you perform, do that, O son of Kunti as an offering to me .
This means the Lord is giving some freedom, inaction in some affairs, and bondage in doing others, but the jiva is under the grip of maya, or ‘kala’. There are four ropes of kala(time), which reveal maya’s internal qualities and habits. Man is free because he is the part and parcel of Lord Krsna. In the Gita, the Lord says ‘He is related with me’. This is one aspect of liberation as outlined in the 15th chapter, 7th sloka;
mamaivamso jiva loke jiva bhuta sanatanah
manah sasthanindriyani prakrti sthani karsati
The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses which include the mind.
All the creatures, who are part and parcel, are in this predicament. Now what is God, Who is God? God is filled with sat, cit, ananada vigraha. He has three important qualities. Sat, cit, ananda, are the three qualities that are infinite, that is God, or the isvara. What is sat? Sat mean’s life or action. If some one is alive then he has action, he has life. If he is lying down and his life is gone, he is dead. In death there is no action. Every thing is finished. So life and action is one thing. In God there is infinite power. His power can never come to an end and it is said for the jiva creature, that his life also does not end, that he is immortal, he never dies, for the soul neither birth nor death. In the Gita, it is described {na jayate mriyate kadacin}. The soul is never born and never dies, it definitely cannot die, the soul is immortal. Neither is it born or will it die, it is birthless. Everyone lives in this world. The body is finished but the soul is immortal. In the Gita it is stated {nainam chindanti sastrani} “No one can destroy the soul”. {nainam dahati pavakah} Fire can not burn the soul. {na caiman kledayanty apo} Water can not drown it. {na sosayati marutah} Wind can not dry it. {acchedyo yam adahyo yam akledyo sosya eva ca} The soul cannot be broken or burned. {nityah sarva gatah stanur} It is everlasting. {acalo yam sanatanah} It is the same essence as God. The soul cannot die, only this body dies. When the soul considers that I am this body, then he gets sorrow and pain in life.
The second quality in God is knowledge. There are 3 things, sat, cit, ananda. Sat means infinite life, cit means knowledge, and ananda means delight or bliss. Sat, I have described, that the soul can never die, it is infinite and immortal. In the Gita, 2.19, the soul is described as everlasting. The second quality is knowledge, infinite knowledge, but the difference with the soul it can be covered by maya. In stone and such things, they have no knowledge. But for the marginal entities, rajo-guna and tamo-guna, clouds our pure knowledge. By sattva-guna, knowledge increases, in the Gita in the 14th chapter, sloka 17, it is stated;
sattvat sanjayate jnanam rajaso lobha eva ca
pramada-mohau tamaso bhavato jnanam eva ca
From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; from the mode of ignorance develop foolishness, madness and illusion.
As your sattva-guna increases, your knowledge will increase, and when rajo-guna comes your knowledge is lost. As you drive a vehicle, you will stop at the red light, and await the yellow, and green colours. If it is a red colour, all the vehicles stop and when there is a green light all the vehicles will go. When there is red nobody can go ahead. In the same way when sattva-guna comes, everything increases, but when the red light, rajo-guna comes, all this knowledge, everything is finished. What is this rajo-guna? It encourages desires of lust and greed. When rajo-guna comes, then greed and material desires suddenly manifest.
Now what is tamo-guna? Tamo-guna is the lowest quality, where there is no knowledge, but idleness. As animals, they have no knowledge when they will die, what will happen after death, where they will go. Most of the people in the kali-yuga possess these animal qualities, no knowledge of where they will go after death. In the sastra, it is stated that most of the persons in the Kali-yuga have these animal qualities {aha nidra bhaya maithunam ca}, eating, sleeping, mating and defending. After this they do not know anything else, but these survival instincts, engaging in eating, sleeping, and immersion in their material desires. But they have some knowledge, of course, if there is none, then how can they be part and parcel of God? Their knowledge is just covered. In the Gita 18.22, Lord Krsna states:
yat tu krtsna-vad ekasmin karye saktam ahaitukam
atattvartha-vad alpam ca tat tamasam udahrtam
And that knowledge by which one is attached to one kind of work as the all in all, without knowledge of the truth, and which is very meager is said to be in the mode of darkness.
Somebody may become a dog after death, but his knowledge is up to only one body, he has partial knowledge, and it is covered. He thinks ‘I am this dog body’. Having acquired this body, he completely identifies with it. If the dog has sexual desires, then he goes to a female dog. And chun, chun, chun, chun, consorts with female dog. And when there are some rotis served, he will not let her eat, and then he will quarrel with the female dog, but and when there is sexual desire, then he must exhibit his doggliness. This is selfishness. In the kali-yuga the people only have such qualities. This is tamo-guna, such a leaning does not make sense to saintly persons. Persons like us have such qualities.
In animal bodies there is no delight. In rajo-guna and tamo-guna bodies there is no true bliss. When someone tastes a few sweets, then there is some pleasure. This sensitivity is not accessible within the beastly rajo-guna and tamo-guna bodies, the availability of sensual pleasure. There is some knowledge in every creature, but that knowledge is limited, mixed with tamo-guna. That knowledge can never increase. After this there is rajo-guna, some jnana, where a person understands “Oh this man is good, this man is bad”.
rajo rajatmakam viddhi trsna sanga samudbhavam
tan nibadhnati kaunteya karma sangena dehinam
The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kunti, and because of this the embodied living being is bound to material fruitive actions.(Gita 41.7)
Now he becomes a human being, the main current of human life, is rajo-guna. When in tamo-guna, there was the consciousness of the beast animal, where they have no ability to comprehend. Knowledge in rajo-guna, which human being exhibits, ‘this is good, this is bad’, is higher and superior to this is ‘sattva-jnana’, knowledge of sattva-guna. When there is sattva-guna, then he sees in every person, where God is situated, and that in the heart of every creature Lord Krsna is living. In sattva-guna, when his knowledge increases, he perceives God is present everywhere. Krsna says in the Gita; {isvara sarva bhutanam hrd-dese rjuna tishati}.
The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities.(Gita 18.61)
Such knowledge is not available in the creatures in rajo-guna and tamo-guna. In tamo-guna, knowledge is totally covered, and in rajo-guna, some knowledge is covered. But knowledge is there in every species, because the jiva experiences sorrow and delight, but in animal file, 100% are attached to only to their special body, as a dog, cow, or ox, they only do eating, for survival they require sleep and shelter, this is knowledge in the mode of tamo-guna. By the influence of sattva-jnana, actions are filled with sattva–guna, sattvic karmas. In Srimad bhagavatam, the Lord has said “There are actions in sattva-guna that make us sattvic”. Actions in rajo-guna that will make us rajasic, and actions in tamo-guna, that will make us ‘tamoguni’, tamasic. In the Gita, 14th chapter, 16th sloka, Lord Krsna states:
karmana sukrtasyahuh sattvikam nirmalam phalam
rajas as tu phalam duhkani ajnanam tamasah phalam
The result of pious actions is pure and is said to be in the mode goodness. But action done in the mode of passion results in misery, and action performed in the mode of ignorance results in foolishness.
These are the universal laws, when there are sattvic actions, there is purity, without contamination or unhappiness. When there is real knowledge there is no sadness or impure things, but in rajas, jnana is awakened for sensual pleasure. When rajo-guna comes, there is a desire for sensuality, resulting in rajo-guna activity, then followed by sorrow. After sensual pleasure there is grief. But in tamas, actions in tamo-guna are done without knowledge. The only knowledge is how to eat and how to have sexual pleasure, like the animals. From morning to evening, even in the human form, people are not doing any ‘Hari bhajan’, they are only talking and gossiping. This is tamas karma, actions in tamo-guna. This is the science of karma, where actions are very intricate; I will describe more at a later time.
[ Bhamani Sharan: This subject is now about actions. In the Srimad Bhagavatam, ten things are described that make us sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic. If the ten things are filled with sattva-guna, then they will make us sattvic and if ten things if are filled with rajo-guna, that will invite rajas, and when the ten things are in tamo-guna, then they will make us tamasic. These are all described in the 11th canto, 13th chapter of the Srimad Bhagavatam. There are four things baba is describing with respect to the different karmas in action].
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Summary
• If somebody falls down from the spiritual platform, then we should not respond, “Oh how is it possible that he has fallen down in his spiritual life?” In reality, since time immemorial, we have been consumed by these material identifications.
• After 17 lac years(17,000,000), Satya-yuga is 30 million years, 17 million in Treta-yuga, and Dvapara is 12 million, and Kali Yuga is 4 lac 32,000 years(432,000). In Satya, Treta, and Dvapara, we were in complete darkness at that time. [This means for 59 million years we lived in hell and after that Kali yuga comes and then we appear on thi earth].
• What is this special quality of Kali yuga? It is stated in the Ramayana that there is no yuga like Kali-yuga… Why so? Only in the Kali-yuga is there the Harinama sankirtan, only by chanting the glories of the Lord can one cross this material ocean. This is the main important feature of Kali-yuga.
• Therefore, in our sastras, from many angles, there is the appreciation of Kali yuga, in the Srimad Bhagavatam also, the question is there why King Pariksit allowed Kali-yuga to stay, why did he give sanction for this Kali-yuga; it was because of one reason, to facilitate the yuga dharma, the chanting of the holy names of the Lord.
• It means that only in the Kali-yuga, the devotees depend only on their Krsna consciousness and devotion to the Lord to survive. In Satya and Treta, devotion is mixed with knowledge, tapasya, and actions mixed in yoga. However, pure devotion is truly found in Kali-yuga, not being mixed with these external things.
• In the Gita, Lords Krsna says, “Slowly, slowly, somebody crosses this ocean of maya because their heart is dirty from so many distractions” It is gradually purified, but may take some time. We should aspire for purity where all the bad qualities will just go away. The only medium is ‘satsanga’, association with pure devotees, and because of this we can have a change of heart.
• In the Bhagavatam it is said that 10 things are essential, 1) devotional literatures should always be with us; Gita and Bhagavatam etc., 2) association with devotees 3) engagement in devotional service 4) karmas, action in Krsna consciousness.
• God is filled with sat, cit, ananada vigraha. He has three important qualities. Sat, cit, ananda, are the three qualities that are infinite, that is God, or the isvara. What is sat? Sat mean’s life or action. If some one is alive then he has action, he has life.
• In the Gita, it is described {na jayate mriyate kadacin}. The soul is never born and never dies, it definitely cannot die, the soul is immortal. Neither is it born or will it die, it is birthless. Everyone lives in this world. The body is finished but the soul is immortal. In the Gita it is stated {nainam chindanti sastrani} “No one can destroy the soul”. {nainam dahati pavakah} Fire can not burn the soul. {na caiman kledayanty apo} Water can not drown it. {na sosayati marutah} Wind can not dry it. {acchedyo yam adahyo yam akledyo sosya eva ca} The soul cannot be broken or burned. {nityah sarva gatah stanur} It is everlasting. {acalo yam sanatanah} It is the same essence as God.
• God is knowledge. There are 3 things, sat, cit, ananda. Sat means infinite life, cit means knowledge, and ananda means delight or bliss. Sat, the soul can never die, it is infinite and immortal. In the Gita, 2.19, the soul is described as everlasting. The second quality is knowledge, infinite knowledge, but the difference with the soul it can be covered by maya.
• As your sattva-guna increases, your knowledge will increase, and when rajo-guna comes your knowledge is lost. As you drive a vehicle, you will stop at the red light, and await the yellow, and green colours. If it is a red colour, all the vehicles stop and when there is a green light all the vehicles will go. When there is red nobody can go ahead. In the same way when sattva-guna comes, everything increases, but when the red light, rajo-guna comes, all this knowledge, everything is finished. What is this rajo-guna? It encourages desires of lust and greed. When rajo-guna comes, then greed and material desires suddenly manifest. Now what is tamo-guna? Tamo-guna is the lowest quality, where there is no knowledge, but idleness.
• Somebody may become a dog after death, but his knowledge is up to only one body, he has partial knowledge, and it is covered. He thinks ‘I am this dog body’. Having acquired this body, he completely identifies with it. If the dog has sexual desires, then he goes to a female dog. And chun, chun, chun, chun, consorts with female dog. And when there are some rotis served, he will not let her eat, and then he will quarrel with the female dog, but and when there is sexual desire, then he must exhibit his doggliness. This is selfishness. In animal bodies there is no delight. In rajo-guna and tamo-guna bodies there is no true bliss.
• When there is real knowledge there is no sadness or impure things, but in rajas, jnana is awakened for sensual pleasure. When rajo-guna comes, there is a desire for sensuality, resulting in rajo-guna activity, then followed by sorrow. After sensual pleasure there is grief.
• But in tamas, actions in tamo-guna are done without knowledge. The only knowledge is how
to eat and how to have sexual pleasure, like the animals. From morning to evening, even in the human form, people are not doing any ‘Hari bhajan’, they are only talking and gossiping. This is tamas karma, actions in tamo-guna. 20