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to sattva. We should be thoughtful about what, how, where and whom we eat with. Of course, we can eat quickly or while walking around, paying no attention to the actual food and process of eating; this however will lead to disease and aggravate the nervous system. It is better to sit peacefully, to say a prayer before eating and spend a little more time if we want to eat under the influence of goodness. Many things in our lives are determined by the way we eat. If we eat properly, it will be significantly easier to establish ourselves in goodness and thus experience improved health and inner peace.

      If we are considering marriage, we should spend a few years preparing for it – read relevant books, study how to develop harmony in family life and how to find a suitable partner. If we want to go to university to learn something new, we should research at least one year before. We need to understand why it is important to us, and if it will suit our nature, mission and goal in life.

      Sleep is also important. We always have many things to do, and to go to bed at ten or eleven in the evening may seem impossible. This happens daily over many years and has a negative influence on our health. At the beginning, it may seem difficult to train ourselves to go to bed early because our mind tries to find excuses. But if we are determined, we will see how everything around us changes, even our relatives will suddenly begin going to bed early.

      Regarding employment, we may complain that we find it difficult to work, are undervalued or do not get promoted. But we need to consider how much time we regularly give for self-education. According to statistics received by American researchers, if we spend at least one hour a day on training ourselves in our chosen occupation, by reading or taking relevant courses to upgrade our qualifications, a powerful energy is produced that increases our chances of success, causing unexpected things to happen. Suddenly we may get promoted, or interesting projects or job offers in good companies come your way. In order to make this happen, we must be proactive – this is exactly how successful people act.

      Genuine self-education implies sattva. When in ignorance we open a book, but have no interest to read or understand it, when in passion we cannot concentrate, are distracted all the time, or we spend five hours at a time studying and then do nothing for two weeks. It is better to study short periods as long as it is regular – for example, such studying is recommended for those training themselves in a new language. This is education in goodness.

      Politics and the Gunas

      Today it is almost impossible to find a political or social system in sattva. They are mainly in passion: most politicians focus on winning an election and snatching lots of money from the state. Much effort is invested in looking good and putting on a show, for example, charity work is performed only under the condition that it gets huge publicity.

      When in ignorance politicians physically abuse each other, engage in revolutions or rebellions. I remember once reading, “There are politicians and there are statesmen”; the difference between them is that the latter’s aims to serve his country and citizens. Statesmen put lots of energy into long – term projects and plan better for the future, which means that sattva is dominant.

* * *

      While in New Zealand recently, I made contact with an old acquaintance that I had not seen for many years. He has lived there for a long time and told me how well everything is organised. Occasionally he works part-time at a hospital as an interpreter and was surprised to see their approach to health care. For example, just after a patient has had surgery, someone is assigned to find out the cause of their disease: poor diet, social problems or something else. Then a medical specialist comes (dietician, social worker, etc…) to help solve the patient’s problems. For patients recovering from surgery or some illness, a caretaker may go to their house and install handrails in the shower and other places. This is an intelligent approach: if this person falls down and is injured, it will cause suffering for him and unnecessary disturbance and expense for the state.

      The Police there have established a department for overseeing multicultural issues, although there are no racial problems. They are trying to prevent such problems from happening in the future by educating people and monitoring potential racial issues. These and other signs (practically no corruption, an excellent educational system, sincere kindness) indicate that there is a strong influence of sattva in this society. Why is this influence so strong? Because these people are the most sattvic I have encountered.

      Physical Exercise and the Gunas

      If we want to be healthy and have no weight problems, we should engage regularly in physical exercise. Ayurveda states that we should choose a form of physical exercise according to our individual needs. Swimming, fast walking and hiking are good for both men and women. Rowing is good for men. Modern sports played at sub-professional level and higher are in passion and therefore can be harmful, not only physically but also intellectually. Many doctors can confirm it. How often do we think of the words “sportsman” and “intellectual” as synonymous? Bodybuilding is pure passion and can reduce sexual potency and vitality. Many bodybuilders drink artificial supplements and can have quite negative reactions when they stop exercising; they become flabby and look older than they really are. Large, attractive, artificially pumped muscles are not indicators of health and strength; however, if we are in tamas it is good to engage in sports as this helps prevent laziness.

      The best exercise is Hatha-yoga because it enables our body to come quickly to a balanced state. In contrast to modern sports that cause us to feel completely shattered after two hours of training, a few hours of yoga will cause a feeling of elation, increase our energy levels and boost our intellectual abilities. Yoga in passion, by contrast, appears comical and has little in common with what the great Masters teach. For example, nowadays, American companies organise yoga competitions or advertise, “We will open your chakras at $100 per chakra” or “Yoga will increase your sexual potency”.

      To Be Proactive Initially Requires Effort

      There is a good phrase in a book by Robin Sharma: “Diamonds get formed through intense pressure”. Beneficial pressure, however, is not such pressure that is in passion. It is important to develop a habit by doing an action and maintain it through constant and intense repetition; this is a beneficial condition of pressure. The terms ‘consistent’ and ‘maintain’ belong to the guna of goodness.

      For example, getting out of bed early in the morning is difficult to get accustomed to at the beginning. If the Sun has a weak influence in our horoscope, we will be inclined to get up late. However, if we take a shower after 9 am, our body will absorb toxins that were produced while sleeping, causing us to poison ourselves. Those of us who are categorised as ‘night owls’ become more active and productive in the evening. Nevertheless, a ‘night owl’ can become an ‘early bird’, but that requires substantial effort. Up to eighty percent of us can get up earlier if our horoscopes are reasonable and we have some desire to change; this can take a few months or sometimes years. The main thing is to have faith in ourselves and to change our outlook; thus our vitality and energy will increase with persistent effort.

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      When I raised this subject in one group, it generated a heated discussion; many were doubtful that it was possible to become an ‘early bird’. Yet several months later one woman from this seminar, who had always considered herself a ‘night owl’, started to change her daily schedule gradually and began to go to bed early so she could get up before 6 am. She happily related to the entire group how it had improved her life and health.

      Chapter 5

      Seeing the Gunas in our Daily Lives

      Everything in this world goes through three stages: creation (rajas), maintenance (sattva) and annihilation (tamas).

      Conscious Choice of Gunas Can Help Establish Successful and Lasting Projects

      If we want to create a solid foundation for any successful project, we need to attract the appropriate energy consciously.

      To create something we have to be active; any kind of creation in this world requires activity – rajas. Although creating takes effort, it is even more difficult to maintain (sattva) what we have created, because

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