The Lost Guna of the .com Era. Have you ever wondered why do we…
By: Bharghvi Prajapati
Tags: Capitalism, Consumerism, Spirituality, Jyotish

Have you ever wondered why do we experience different moods and feelings at different times? Why do we feel out of control of our emotions sometimes? The answer to these questions is given in the chapter 14, verse 5 of Bhagwat Geeta, it quotes:

सत्वं रजस्तम इति गुणा: प्रकृतिसम्भवा: |

निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम् || 5||

Which translates to: O mighty-armed Arjun, the material energy consists of three guṇas (modes) — sattva (goodness), rajas (passion), and tamas (ignorance). These modes bind the eternal soul to the perishable body.

All the three gunas compete to become more authoritative. Since the human being is a slave to all these gunas, there is always an ongoing battle for supremacy among them. “Sattva” associated with purity and harmony effectuates happiness and satisfaction. “Rajas” associated with passion and desire carries attachment and fruitfulness with it. “Tamas” associated with ignorance brings negative vibrations and feelings. Our moods and actions are repercussions of the interchanging authority among these gunas.

Consumerism (larger piece of Pie)

Due to consumerism and capitalization, yearning for a great piece of pie has taken roots. It has increasingly become difficult for Sattva to keep the pace of winning the race among the other gunas. The divine sages/priests/gurus who used to have predominant powers of Sattva have now reduced in number. Not many are able to abscond the delusion of attachment and passion. As a result, Rajas has greatly replaced Sattva from the minds of commoners. When you stop and take a quick glance around you, many are under the heft of Rajas or Tamas. The only time when Sattva dominates is when we carve out selfishness and incur selflessness. Not only the vibes around the person practising Sattva become undiluted but also an experience of mindfulness and sacredness is enjoyed by the person. However, the practicality of implementing Sattva is a questionable stand.

Bigotry Religiousness, conversion of political greed into dogmatic idiosyncrasies, inability of the foolish herd to question the false/misguided saying of false godmen have sown seeds for Tamas. Like a butterfly effect, these things sooner or later turn out to be the babysitter for Tamas. Due to the advent of the .com era, inadvertently people are fastening their seat belts inside the claws of this demon. Consequently, new generation is becoming a starter food for this demon. Powered by the inability to differentiate between good and bad in this fast paced world, millennials find it insignificant to scrutinise any action in the foresight. Since more than half of our actions are self-centered and selfish, we are left with no option but to make decisions haphazardly and act upon it.

.com life

The question arises that how to keep a check on our actions in this swift world where generation change is observed in every 2–3 years? As per Bhagwat geeta, why not consider Spirituality as an option? Roots of Spirituality dates back to antiquity. We (Indians) have mastered the art of self control, purity and detachment. But these are veiled by the ignorance of the larger crowd. We must go back and dig up our origins to get back to the driver’s seat of the vehicle of our lives. We should be alert and have a clear conscience. Connection with our soul or preferred deity/god or supreme energy help us to set ourselves free from the material world. Taking a deep breath every time we find ourselves heading towards Tamas can serve as an alarm for our edification. Thus, we must escape the wrath of Tamas and Rajas by raising the shield of Spirituality.

Path to Sattva

As Geeta says, Karma karo fal ki chinta mat karo, at the end, Maktub (It is written). Beat the crowd and no longer be in the tournament with the commoners who are monstrously hypnotised by Rajas and Tamas.

Que Sera Sera..!