What Does Sattva Mean In Yoga?



Table Of Contents
THE KEY TO EXPAND TIME IS SATTVA.
THE HOLISTIC EDGE.
TAMAS IN RAJAS LIFESTYLES.
MAINTAINING A LIFESTYLE OF EQUILIBRIUM.


THE  KEY TO EXPAND TIME IS SATTVA. 




Sattva is one of the three gunas (natural characteristics) in yogic philosophy. 


  • It is the attribute of purity and tranquility
  • The other two gunas are tamas, which represents darkness and lethargy, and rajas, which represents energy and passion, and the aim is to balance these three characteristics as much as possible in your everyday life.


There are many therapy regimens in Ayurveda. Rather of stressing about rajas and tamas, one strategy is to concentrate on increasing sattva. 


  • Another way to deal with the maha gunas is to balance excess tamas with a little amount of rajas, or to decrease excess rajas with a small amount of tamas.
  • You may begin to push prana (life energy) not just throughout your physical body but also into your mental body to produce a heightened level of awareness after you have balanced your outer koshas via diet, lifestyle changes, and a yoga practice.



THE HOLISTIC EDGE.


Unlike Mechanistic healing, the Holistic approach everything is interdependent and interrelated.



The comprehensive system may seem complex, yet the method is quite reasonable. 


  • When we compare the human body to a machine, its processes seem to be extremely basic if we ignore awareness. 
  • Machines are simple to humans since they were created by humans and can be understood by them. 
  • Humans, on the other hand, are much more complex than any machine. 
  • Machines operate on orders and are not aware of their surroundings. 
  • Humans have a sense of judgment or intelligence (buddhi), and as a result, they have the ability to make their own decisions. 
  • In comparison to a computer network, this makes human-to-human contact very difficult. 




It's impossible to utilize holistic medicine without also living a holistic way of life, and it's also impossible to live a holistic life in secret since it affects every area of your life. 


  • You can't disregard your job situation, personal connections, social conduct, or sexuality; if one of these is out of balance, it gradually impacts the others, setting off a chain of bad occurrences. 
  • The holistic approach rejects chance theory and stresses that everything occurs for a purpose. 
  • Chance, according to the mechanistic view of existence, has a significant influence in cosmic events and human life. 




Many individuals who are influenced by this viewpoint have extremely fragmented lives. 


  • They are expected to do their duties in a machine-like manner, because after all, there is a widespread assumption that there is just a material world. 
  • As a result, the existence of the soul as the source of awareness is denied. 
  • This mechanical perspective of existence rejects the idea of a latent spiritual force that exists within all of us, that may be awakened via sattva (see also the previous chapter), and that can be utilized for good. 
  • Many diseases and illnesses are caused by a lack of inner quiet and serenity, as well as other associated sattvic characteristics. 




Our lives are highly unbalanced and dominated by rajas and tamas, with little sattva. 

  • This is due to the imposition of the mechanistic perspective. 
  • We examined the six-dimensional equilibrium that humans should strive towards. 
  • Each of the six dimensions is linked, and an imbalance in one of them leads to an imbalance in the rest of one's life. 



People are always "in a rush." Time is meticulously scheduled, often a year, two years, or even many years ahead of time. 


I met a lady from Switzerland while on vacation on the island of Bali. 

 

She expressed herself by saying,

 

"People in Bali believe that we Europeans are extremely lucky and happy because we are wealthy. They have no idea that we work nonstop and will never be able to enjoy the easy life that they have on this island." 



This is absolutely correct! 

When I go from Bangalore to a Himalayan facility, I get the same feeling. 

The people who dwell in the Himalayan mountains' interior live modest yet peaceful lives. 

When I return to Bangalore, on the other hand, I observe the prevalent craziness caused by people's very "busy" and hectic lifestyles. 




TAMAS IN RAJAS LIFESTYLES


There is a significant degree of tamas in rajas-dominated lifestyles. 



In today's world, there is a lot of competition. When it comes to employment, people aren't always honest. This has an impact on everyone of us. 


  • To persuade someone to purchase a thing, a salesman, for example, must use misleading reasoning. 
  • To promote its anti-health, anti-environment goods, big business tells a lot of falsehoods. 
  • A farmer pollutes the environment with pesticides, while industrial pollutants contaminate our drinking water. 



There are many rajas and tamas in life. There isn't enough sattva. 


In the true sense, there is no quiet or serenity. People are too busy, even during their vacations, which are once again controlled by the rajas. 

  • Rajas spend the most of their free time on a daily basis. 
  • In general, watching television is rajas and tamas, and if done for an extended period of time, it may disrupt vata and kapha. 



People continue to follow a daily pattern dominated by rajas and tamas, with rajas-dominated leisure time. 


  • Rajas rule throughout the day while tamas rule at night. 
  • They enter a tamas state of mind throughout the night since sleep is tamas.
  • Their sleep, however, is mixed with rajas owing to the frenetic activities of the day. 
  • The following day starts, and they are once again in a condition of rajas and tamas. 
  • Life continues in this manner until some of them are unable to bear it any longer. 
  • Some people slip into a predominating tamas condition after a lengthy time of hyperrajas. 
  • As a result, people get sad or succumb to another severe illness. 



MAINTAINING A LIFESTYLE OF EQUILIBRIUM.


It is critical that we better arrange our lives and intermix our activities during the day and sleep at night with sattva in order to achieve equilibrium. 




We will be able to work with a peaceful mind, feel relaxed, and be able to endure pressure at work if we can bring a balance with sattva in the rajas and tamas elements of our life. 


  • Stress or strain produced at work will not damage our health if we are able to take energy from the infinite source (the soul) via sattvic techniques. 
  • Similarly, if we can obtain sattvic sleep with our efforts, we would be revitalized, waking up invigorated after a good night's sleep. 
  • Sattva is beneficial for lifespan, health, and increased productivity. 



You can do more in less time if you train your mind to achieve inner calm. 


  • In addition, sattva is necessary for maintaining balance in the three mental processes, since without it, we eventually develop a humor imbalance. 
  • Let's wait and see what occurs. Excessive rajas leads to vata imbalance over time. 
  • It also causes sleep disruptions, which is a vata-related activity. 




Excessive rajas, or too much activity during the day, should be balanced by serenity and tranquility at the mental level; if this is not done, unrest will be carried to sleep time. 


  • This implies that the day's disruptions, stress, and confusion must be brought to a halt with deliberate effort. 
  • Otherwise, you fall asleep because your body is weary, but your mind is not at ease. 
  • You may also be unable to sleep if the nature of your job does not physically exhaust you. 
  • If you have a vata constitution, not getting enough sleep may lead to constipation the following day. 
  • Constipation can deplete vata even more, and you may feel weary and stiff the next day when you wake up. 
  • You may also have a dry throat and be restless at night. 



As a result, an imbalance in one of the six main components responsible for body/mind activity and mental characteristics sets in motion a chain of events. 


  • Vata is the most readily decreased humor of our day, owing to the preponderance of rajas in our contemporary manner of life. 
  • We live in a vata society, as I frequently remark. 
  • We may keep our humor from being vitiated and avoid health issues by incorporating sattva into our everyday life. 

Thus, we must strive to better incorporate the sattvic style of life.




You may also want to read more about Ayurveda here.


You may also want to read more about Kundalini Yoga here.

You may also want to read more about Yoga here.


You may also want to read more about Yoga Asanas and Exercises here.


You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.

Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.