December 9, 2024
at tad agre viṣam iva pariṇāme ’mṛtopamaṁ
tat sukhaṁ sāttvikaṁ proktam ātmabuddhiprasādajaṁ (XVIII-37)
viṣayendriyasaṁyogād yat tad agre ’mṛtopamaṁ
pariṇāme viṣam iva tat sukhaṁ rājasaṁ smṛtaṁ (XVIII-38)
yad agre cā ’nubandhe ca sukhaṁ mohanam ātmanaḥ
nidrālasyapramādotthaṁ tat tāmasam udāhṛtaṁ (XVIII-39)
XVIII/37. That which is like poison at first but in the end like
nectar - that pleasure is declared to be sāttvika, born of the
purity of one’s own mind due to self- realisation.
XVIII/38. That pleasure which arises from the contact of the
sense-organs with the objects, which is at first like nectar,
and in the end like poison – that is declared to be rājasa.
XVIII/39. That pleasure which at first and in the sequel is delusive
of the self, arising from sleep, indolence and heedlessness – that
pleasure is declared to be tāmasa.
Swamiji's Commentary
There is a declaration in the upaniṣad that all the pleasures of this universe are a drop in the ocean of bliss that is God. Yet, tāmasa pleasure is ‘delusive of the self’, i.e. it prevents us from arriving at our destination – that bliss which is the essential nature of the self. Like smoke which compels us to close our eyes and thus prevents us from utilizing the light and heat also generated by fire, tāmasa pleasure blinds our vision to the light of truth and to the energy within us which could be put to good use.
Rājasa pleasure is all that falls under the heading of ‘happiness’ in the civilized man’s dictionary – wife, children, property, position in society, good food and drink, amusements and pastimes. These are all better than tāmasa pleasure, because they give us temporary pleasure. The saving feature here is the impermanence of this pleasure, which might awaken an intelligent man to look for its sāttvika counterpart. The unintelligent man, however, might switch from one type of rājasa pleasure to another and discover the truth about them too late.
It is difficult for embodied beings to be completely free from the taint of rājasa pleasure. Even in the seeker, the taste for pleasure remains long after he has begun to restrain the senses. The recognition of true sāttvika pleasure (bliss of self-absorption) is the fruit or reward of self-realization. That alone is sāttvika pleasure which is born of, leads to and enables us to remain established in the self.