Title: Performing Actions with Sattvic Shraddha

17th Chapter: verses 26, 27, 28; recapitulation of 17th chapter

It is difficult for normal human beings to perform their spiritual practices with perfection. With the utterance of “Om Tat Sat”, when we perform any act - Yajna, dana and tapah – they become purified. When we offer our activity to the all-pervading reality that is present in everyone and everything, the activity is purified. They become auspicious and spiritually meritorious.

26th verse: “Sat indicates the Absolute Reality which is all-pervading, immortal, good for humanity and which sustains us. Sat means sat-bhāve “with the intention of essential goodness and nobility”, sādhu-bhāve “with auspicious intention” and praśhaste karmaṇi “Inspired by the an inner call and the Atman within”.

27th verse: “With great steadiness, when we perform Yajna, dana and tapah, it is called Sat. Any activity done for the sake of Tat, which is the all-pervading divine reality, is also Sat.”
Yajna refers to any noble, unselfish deed that is done with a sense of sanctity and sacredness and as an offering to God. Dana refers to any act of compassion, kindness and charity meant to help others. Tapah means austerity, activities that we do with the mind and senses focused on a single purpose with a sense of sanctity and sacredness.

When we perform anything thinking of the all-pervading divine reality, then it becomes worship in the form of action, and it brings an element of steadiness to the activity. Steadiness comes from the Absolute Reality which is eternal and unchanging.
28th verse: “Performing Yajna, dana and tapah with a sattvic attitude and a sense of dedication to the divine is Sat. Its opposite is called Asat. Performing hutam (sacrifice), dattam (charity), tapaḥ (austerity) or kṛitam (any other activity), without sattvic shraddha is Asat.”

Shraddha cannot be properly translated in English. Shraddha refers to a sense of sanctity and sacredness that helps us preserve higher values. It can also mean faith in scriptures, God, teacher, and a sense of integrity. The shraddha of human beings is three-fold – Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. Yajna, dana and tapah should be performed with sattvic shraddha.

When we perform charity there is a possibility that we may get the opposite of gratitude from the recipient. That can hurt us unless we are guided by a higher spiritual ideal in the act of charity. Sattvic shraddha turns any activity into a spiritual activity.

The following is a recapitulation of the 17th chapter:

The 17th chapter starts with a question from Arjuna: “Those who have a high degree of shraddha but do not know how to follow shastram, what happens to them?”
Shraddha is of three types - Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika. Sattvika is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. If a person is very active and makes a show of his wealth and power, his attitude is Rajasika. Tamasika attitude manifests itself as laziness and delusion.

In a rajarshi (philosopher king) – the philosophical aspect comes from sattva guna and the kingly aspect comes from rajo guna. His rajo guna is dominated and regulated by sattva guna.

Shraddha is based on our inherent natural tendencies, which is based on our samskaras. Every action leaves a residual effect (vritti) in our mental system. Many identical vrittis – from similar, repeated actions – solidify a distinct memory block called Samskara.

In Patanajali Yoga Sutra, Vyasa says: “The river of the human mind flows in two directions. One is of a positive nature and takes us towards higher spiritual fulfillment. The other is of a negative nature and takes us away from our cherished aspirations.” The mind may not act as our friend when it is not ready. For example, when we want to meditate (positive flow of the river), the mind...