Why Tamas...? Why Rajas....?
In yogic culture, all the qualities of the world have been
identified as three basic gunas: tamas, rajas,
and sattva. Tamas literally means
inertia. Rajas means activity. Sattva is the breaking of boundaries. The first
three days of Navaratri are tamas, where the goddess is fierce, like Durga and
Kali. Tamas is the nature of the Earth, and she is the one who gives birth. The
gestation period that we spend in the womb is tamas. It is a state which is
almost like hibernation, but we are growing. So tamas is the nature of the
Earth and of our birth. We are sitting on the earth. We must just learn to
simply be one with her. We are anyway a part of her. When she wishes she
throws us out, when she wishes she sucks us back.
It is very
important that we should be constantly reminded of the nature of your body. Right now, we are a mound of earth
prancing around. When the earth decides to suck us in, we just become a small
mound.
No matter what work we are doing, every day we must stick our fingers into the earth at
least for an hour. Do something with the garden. This will build a natural
bodily memory in un that we are mortal. Our body will know that it is not
permanent. That realization in the body is extremely important for one to keep
his focus on his spiritual pursuit. The more urgent the realization becomes,
the stronger the spiritual sense becomes.
Soundarya Lahari
The
Soundarya Lahari, composed by Adi Shankaracharya, is considered one of the most
exquisite compositions in Sanskrit, which extols the beauty, power and grace of
Devi. Soundarya Lahari literally means Wave of Beauty, and consists of two
parts – Ananda Lahari or Wave of Bliss, which consists of the first 41 shlokas,
and Soundarya Lahari, which consists of the remaining shlokas.
According to legend, the composition was bestowed to
Adi Shankara by Devi, and was then destroyed by Nandi, leaving Adi Shankara to
rewrite the divine gift again. Here is Sounds of Isha’s rendition of this
powerful composition.
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Among the three celestial objects
with which the very making of our bodies is very deeply connected – the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon – Mother Earth is considered tamas. The Sun is rajas.
The Moon is sattva. Tamas is the nature of the Earth and of your birth. The
moment you come out, you start activity – rajas begins. Once rajas comes, you
want to do something. Once you start doing something, if there is no awareness
and consciousness, the nature of rajas is such, it’s good as long as the going
is good. When the going gets bad, rajas is going to be super-bad.
A rajasic person has a tremendous
amount of energy. It is just that it has to be channelised properly. Every
action that you perform can be either a process of liberation or entanglment.
If you perform any activity with absolute willingness, that
activity is beautiful and creates joy for you. If you perform any activity
unwillingly for whatever reason, that activity creates suffering for you.
Whatever you are doing, even if you just sweep the floor, give yourself to it
and do it with total involvement. That’s all it takes.
When you are passionately involved
with something, nothing else exists for you. Passion does not mean “man-woman”
passion. Passion means unbridled involvement with something. It could be
anything – you can sing passionately, you can dance passionately, or you can
just walk passionately. Whatever is in touch with you right now, you are deeply
passionate with that. You breathe with passion, you walk with passion, you live
with passion. Your very existence is with absolute involvement with everything.
Thunbam
illadha nilaye Shakti
“Thunbam illaadha nilaye Shakti” is
a song by Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar which has been adapted here by Sounds
of Isha. The song is about the energy that makes every aspect of life happen.
It summarizes the whole activity that is life as the play of Shakti. The great
poet says, “The lap where life flourishes is Shakti.” Shakti also enables us to
break the bondages of karma and liberate ourselves.
Thuṉbam
illādha nilayē shakti
thookkam illā kaṇ vizhipē shakti aṉbu kaṉindha kaṉivē shakti āaṇmai niṟaindha niṟaivē shakti
The
state of being with no suffering is Shakti
The state of awakening beyond sleep is Shakti When love matures and sweetens that is Shakti The fullness and fulfillment of masculine is Shakti
Iṉbam
mudhirndha mudhirvē shakti
eṇṇathil niṟkum neṟiyē shakti muṉbu niṟkiṉdṟa thozhilē shakti mukthi nilaiyiṉ mudivē shakti
When the
sweetness matures that is Shakti
The divine which resides in the thoughts is Shakti Whatever work comes before us is Shakti The state of mukti, the end, is Shakti
Sōmbar
kedukkum thuṇivē shakti
sollil viḷaṅgum chudarē shakti thīmpazham thaṉṉil suvaiyē shakti dheivathai eṉṉum niṉaivē shakti sāmbalai poosi malaimisai vāzhum shaṅkaraṉ aṉbu thazhalē shakti
The
braveness which destroys laziness is Shakti
The flame which is instilled in these words is Shakti When the best of fruits are eaten that taste is Shakti When thoughts of divine arise that is Shakti Shankara who lives on top of the huge mountains, his lovely flame is Shakti
Vāazhvu
peṟukkum madhiyē shakti
mānilam kākkum valiyē shakti thāzhvu thadukkum sathirē shakti sañchalam neekkum thavamē shakti
The lap
where life flourishes is Shakti
The strength which guards the earth is Shakti The flame which stops one from falling is Shakti (denotes inner strength that averts fall/defeat) The tapas that eliminates confusion is Shakti
Veezhvu
thadukkum viralē shakti
viṇṇai aḷakkum virivē shakti ūzhviṉai neekkum uyarvē shakti uḷḷathoḷirum viḷakkē shakti
The
finger which stops downfall is Shakti
The one who spans the whole expanse of sky is Shakti Her highness who eliminates karma is Shakti The inner flame which shines from within the heart is Shakti 
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