Dear friends, Many well-read friends of mine on several occasions have come up to me and asked challengingly whether I believed in the principle or reality of the three "gUNa" --'sattva', 'rajas' and 'tamas'. "If yes", they then go on to demand, "what is the objective basis of your belief?". I often respond to such questions half with amusement and half with good-natured mischief. I usually say to them tongue-in-cheek, "Yes, I believe in the reality of the "tri-guNa". The basis of my belief is the 'Bhagavath-gita'. There are approximately 50 stanzas in the Gita which are devoted to describing 'sattva', 'rajas' and 'tamas' and how they operate in the world. I have read those stanzas. I find them to be sound and objective basis... "objective" enough on which I can confidently found my belief in the reality of "tri-gUNa". Have you by any chance read them?" Often my response not only counters but also silences my interrogators. They await and expect me to launch into some long-winded (and thoroughly un-convincing) explanation of how and why I have come to believe in the concept of "tri-gUna". But the moment they hear me say blandly that the "Gita" is the fundamental grounding for my belief, the sheer simplicity of the response stops them dead in their tracks. It is not what they anticipate and it effectively takes the wind out of their sails. They are also silenced by the response since few amongst them have even a nodding acquaintance with the 50-odd 'shlOkA-s' of the Gita I am talking about. Stymied thus by their own ignorance and realizing the futility of engaging me in further discussion, they usually decide it is far better to leave me alone. So have I, on many an occasion, managed or manuevered to escape being dragged, against my wish, into discussions on probably one of the most talked about but little understood (I speak for myself here) principles of Vedantic philosophy -- the "tattva" of "tri-gUNa". More to follow. Regards, dAsan, Sudarshan ________________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! India Mobile: Download the latest polyphonic ringtones. Go to http://in.mobile.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/XUWolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Oppiliappan/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Oppiliappan-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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