Knowing, Acting, and Doing

Self Inquiry: Appraising Our Own Guna Ratios:

We all have all three guna types in us, in varying proportions. Based on your typical behavior patterns, spread 100 percentage points between:

(a) Each of the 3 types of Knowledge, (see # 1-3 below).

(b) Each of the 3 types of Action (see # 4-6).

(c) Each of the 3 types of Performers (see # 7-9).

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In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna teaches us:

“There are three general elements of action: knowledge, the action itself, and the performer. Examine each element through the three gunas perspectives…

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Divide 100 percentage points between each of the

3 types of Knowledge, (see #1-3 below):

Knowledge:

%___ 1) People of Sattvic knowledge: know the Divinity of the True Self (Atma). They see the oneness of all creatures in the universe and none of the separateness that others see.

%___ 2) People of Rajasic knowledge perceive every individual as distinct from all others, believing that there are as many separate souls as there are bodies.

%___ 3) Tamasic people have no knowledge, just ignorance. They cling to a belief that the individual is the body and that loss of body means loss of everything. There is no subtlety of reason in this type of knowing.

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Divide 100 percentage points between each of the

3 types of Action, (see #4-6 below):

Action:

%___ 4) Sattvic actions are done as a sacred duty for duty’s sake alone with no attachments to pleasure or rewards. There is no drudgery in sattvic work.

%___ 5) Rajasic action is goaded by desire for the fruits. It entangles you in self-indulgent pursuits and requires an inordinate amount of egoistic effort. Rajasic actions hinder spiritual growth and yield sorrow.

%___ 6) Tamasic action is done blindly with no thinking, and no thought is given to the cost, consequences, or merit of doing the actions. The performer of the act has no notion of his or her capacity to accomplish it.

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Divide 100 percentage points between each of the

3 types of Performers or "Doers", (see #7-9 below):

Performers (“Doers):

%___ 7) Sattvic doers see it all as the work of the Divine, and see themselves as but instruments. They are ardent about the work to be done and yet completely egoless, free of desire and attachment, and unaffected by success or failure.

%___ 8) Rajasic doers are driven by their desires for personal gain. They are over-zealous to the point of being harmful to others who seem to get in the way. They are greedy, destructive and even cruel. They become joyous or despondent depending on the success or failure of their acts. There is no spiritual achievement for rajasic performer.

%___ 9) Tamasic doers are inattentive, unconcerned, lethargic, and lazy. Their main features are indolence, procrastination, deceitfulness, maliciousness, and dishonesty.” – Krishna

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