Day 74 

There is a power of nature in these sutras and we should really go deep into them. Your body is made up of the three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas, and they influence your thoughts, behavioral patterns, etc. Many things may happen in the world and the gunas attract, accordingly, the events, situations and circumstances around you. 

When the tamasic guna dominates, it creates more dullness, sleep and lethargy in you. When the rajasic guna is dominating, your mind is restless and full of desires. And if the mind is dominated by sattva guna, it is very alert, sharp, joyful and enthusiastic. All these qualities emerge. 

Now, when these three gunas influence you, according to their nature, time, place, etc, you tend to identify yourself with the effect of that influence. You may begin to feel that you are a dull and lethargic person, that you have many negative qualities. This is ignorance. 

You should observe the tendencies that come up in you and think you are not those tendencies, that the gunas will influence you according to their nature. There is another story. There was a very great monk, who lived in the Himalayas. He has free access to all the places because the people loved him and welcomed him. 

He would have lunch at the King's palace everyday. The Queen would serve him lunch in a golden plate and cup. He would just eat go away. This was a routine. When he left one day he too a silver glass and a golden spoon without telling anybody. The Queen and the other people in the palace noticed this.

They wondered why he had done it. And he had not told anybody, either. He had just put them in his bag and had left. Three days later, he brought the items back. This was even more puzzling Earlier, they had thought that, maybe he had needed them and had taken them. But his returning them was even more puzzling.

So the King called all the wise people of the kingdom. He asked them the reason for the monk's behavior. They asked the King to check what food had been given to the monk on the previous couple of days. It was discovered that the food had been cooked with grains and provisions confiscated from some robbers who had been arrested some days back. 

Eating that food had awakened the tendency to rob in him and made him steal the objects.

In ancient days people gave much importance to these points. If somebody did

something unusual, they would go to the root cause for it. So, instead of accusing the monk of stealing, they found out what made him do it - the root cause.

Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarji 

PATANJALI YOGA SUTRAS