Understanding the Three Forms of Faith

Arjuna asks Krishna, What happens to people who disregard the advice of living good, virtuous lives and ignore scriptural injunctions?

Krishna discusses the various dimensions of faith. There are three types of faith that are inherent in a person at birth: sattwa (goodness), rajas (passionate), and tamas (lethargy or dullness). A person’s faith is based on their inherent nature; one’s faith defines the person. The person and their faith are one. The pure worship the gods, the passionate worship the demons, and the dull worship ghosts. [Verse 1–3]

O Krishna, those who transgress Vedic injunctions and perform sacrifices from their own imagination, what is their future? Is it sattwa, rajas, or tamas? [1]

There are 3 types of faith dependent on one’s past life actions; goodness, passion, and ignorance. Now hear about this. [2]

O Arjuna, the faith of each is a result of their inherent nature. People consist of their faith; they are their faith. [3]

Krishna dispels the myth that extreme austerities are somehow a sign of true faith. He says people practicing severe austerities not advised by the scriptures are hypocritical and egotistical; they are moved by lust and attachment, pretentious and arrogant behavior.

Such harsh austerities amount to nothing more than senseless torture, and as such, torturing the organs and senses of God. These people are said to have demonic personality.

Foods also have three forms that are liked by each of the three faithful.

• Sattwic foods ― life-force-increasing foods, bringing energy, strength, health, joy, and cheerfulness; savory, soothing, and pleasing (within limits, Ayurveda says food must be tasty to be healthy, but favors that overload the taste buds and senses becomes rajasic).

• Rajasic foods ― bitter, sour, salty, overly hot, pungent, dry, burning; causing pain, grief, and disease

• Tamasic foods ― stale, putrid, cooked overnight, unclean, lacking favor, zest, or taste [Verse 4–10]

People of purity worship the demigods; the passionate worship the demons, and the ignorant worship ghosts and spirits. [4]

People practice severe austerities not enjoined by the Vedas out of hypocrisy, egotism, lust, and attachment. [5]

They torture their sense organs senseless. Existing in their body, I know them to be demonic. [6]

Foods are also of 3 types according to the 3 gunas. So too there are 3 types of sacrifices, austerities, and charity. Here are the distinctions. [7]

Foods that increase life-force, energy, health, cheerfulness, and satisfaction, which are succulent, soothing, nourishing, pleasing to the heart, are favored by sattwic people. [8]

Foods that are bitter, salty, overly hot, pungent, dry, burning, and cause pain, grief and disease are liked by rajasic-natured people. [9]

Foods that are stale, tasteless, cooked overnight/putrid, decomposed, foul, and unclean, and other’s leftovers are preferred by the tamasic-natured. [10]

Sacrifice, austerity and charitable gifts also have their own three forms of faith.

• Sattwic sacrifice occurs when a person does good deeds without desiring any recognition or getting something in return for the good is sattwic, too, as in the service of a soldier.

• Rajasic sacrifice occurs when a person expects something in return for doing a good deed, or they make a showy act of their sacrifice..

• Tamasic sacrifice occurs when deeds are done that do not really help the truly needy (an example of helping the needy is giving food to the hungry), or is not done in the spirit of faith and good will.

Krishna then clarifies misconceptions about austerity that are misinterpreted even today. We often hear of people fasting for months, or holding a hand in the air, or burying themselves in sand up to their are. All else falls under the category of non-spiritual austerity. The and mind:

Austerity of the body involves worshiping positive spirituality (God), showing kindness, spending time around wise, pure, simple people, behaving with self-restraint, purity, and not injuring others.

Austerity of speech involves speech that causes no harm to others, speaking truthfully, saying what you mean, and meaning what you say.

Austerity of thought involves cheerfulness, kindliness, silence, selfcontrol, pure-heartedness, Divine joy, and gratitude, and regularly studying scriptures.

• Sattwic austerity is practiced by those who practice three-fold austerity with devotion, resolve, and faith and without wishing for anything in return. Austerity arising out of a sense of duty is also sattwic.

• Rajasic austerity is practiced when these austerities are performed with the aim to become famous, wealthy, desiring to be worshiped or applauded, or when an austerity is done with an ostentatious and obvious display.

• Tamasic austerity is practiced with the aim of deluding or confusing people and hurting oneself or others. [Verse 11–17]

Sattwic sacrifice is performed with no desire for reward, as enjoined by the Vedas; mind focuses only on the sacrifice for its own sake. [11]

O Arjuna, sacrifice performed with a desire for rewards and to show off, is a rajasic sacrifice. [12]

Sacrifice performed contrary to Vedic injunction, without distributing food, and without sacred texts, charitable gifts, and faith is a tamasic sacrifice. [13]

Austerity of the body involves worshiping the Supreme Lord, the brahmanas, the guru, and the wise. Other austerities include cleanliness, simplicity, celibacy, and nonviolence. [14]

Austerity of speech involves speaking truthfully, beneficially and causes no harm to others.

Regular study of Vedas is also an austerity of speech. [15]

Austerity of mind involves cheerfulness, compassion, gravity, self-control, and purity of heart. [16]

When this threefold austerity is practiced by devoted, faithful people, not desiring rewards, it is designated as sattwic austerity. [17]

A gift that is given without expecting something in return is a sattwic gift. So helping another person, giving charitable gifts, and favors should all be done with the feeling that the giving is the reward itself: ‘I am grateful to be allowed to be giving.’

When a person helps, or gives conditionally, i.e., I’ll help you if you help me — I’ll do you a favor if you do me a favor; I’ll buy from your company if you buy from mine; I’ll refer clients to you if you refer clients to me; I’ll donate to your campaign if you pass laws to help my company; or, if giving is done reluctantly, or done with the aim to control or manipulate the receiver, these are rajasic gifts.

Giving gifts at the wrong time or place, to those who don’t truly need help, giving with disrespect or contempt, are tamasic forms of giving. It is said that gift-giving carries much responsibility to determine where your money is truly going. You can give to a charity that spends too much of its money on administrative expenses or uses the majority of the donations for the intended needy. Even if a person gives with good intentions, if the receiver misuses the gift, this is said to be giving a gift to a wrong person. [Verse 18 - 22]

Austerities performed for show, to gain respect, honor, adulation or reward, are unstable and impermanent; they are rajasic austerities. [18]

Tamasic austerities are those performed with delusion, self-torture, or to harm others. [19]

Sattwic charity is that which is given for its own sake, without desiring anything in return, in a proper place, time, and to a person who will use the money properly. [20]

Rajasic charity is given with the desire to get something in return, desiring some result, or given reluctantly. [21]

Tamasic charity is given with disrespect and scorn, at an inappropriate time and place, to one who will misuse the charity. [22]

A traditional method of giving is now discussed. Saying, ‘Aum, Tat, Sat’ (aum is the first sound of the universe — so it contains all other words within it; tat means ‘eternal’; sat means ‘truth or goodness’ —  so the full translation means, O this is eternal truth for all times in all places). In ancient times, when giving, the giver would say, ‘Aum Tat, Sat’, then give the gift or start their austerity or sacrifice.

In short, helping others — giving of oneself — humbly, with the thought that I am serving God’s children, and the help goes to the As we have discussed earlier, God supports the devotee by assuring they have their basic life essentials (food, clothing, shelter), so there is no need to worry about oneself.

Those whose gifts, austerities, or sacrifices lack true faith, are called ‘asat’ or unreal. They have no value whatsoever. [Verse 23–28]

Aum Tat Sat (that Supreme Truth or eternal vibration) is said to be the triple representation indicating the ultimate truth. In ancient times the brahmanas used to say this when chanting the Vedas and performing sacrifice. [23]

Therefore, as enjoined by the Vedas, the followers of the Vedas always begin sacrifice, charity, and austerities by uttering ‘Aum’. [24]

Those seeking liberation, without desiring (worldly) rewards, say ‘Tat’ prior to performing sacrifices, austerities and charity. [25]

O Arjuna, Sat means reality, goodness, and auspiciousness. [26]

Sat means being steadfast in sacrifice, austerity, and charity; it also means performing action to please the Supreme One. [27]

O Arjuna, those sacrifices performed and austerities practiced without faith are called ‘Asat’

(unreal). They are useless in this life and in the next. [28]

Summary

This chapter shows just how extensive is the range of influence of the 3 gunas (sattwa, rajas, and tamas). They pervade all of life, including our thoughts, actions, and faith. Krishna explains the disand eating habits.

Exercise

• Review your life to see when and where you exhibited sattwic austerities — selfless giving/non-harming in act, word, and thought. Exercise your sattwic austerities as often as you can.

 

 

Chapter 18

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