The Three Energies. The Forgotten Canons of Health and Harmony

Teachers in passion have no interest in developing the moral qualities of character or spiritual values of their students. Their main concern is to provide as much information as possible to help them achieve better exam results. No one is interested in whether the delivered knowledge is valuable in real life, as long as the students can obtain a prestigious diploma. Competitive models of education have become very popular. Most schools are located in large cities (with rajas predominance). Parents take their kids to multiple extracurricular classes (dancing, sports, etc) which increases guns of passion in children.

Teachers and parents are not aware that early sexual life, pornography, erotics influence the adolescents in a destructive way. If the element of ignorance is added, the child is familiarized with sexuality subjects before puberty, in a visual manner, this closes of their top energy centres, and the child become incapable of studying and processing information well. This way children are taught at early age, they become the slaves of their desires and urges.

For example, in Switzerland there are kindergartens, where children are told that homosexuality is a norm. In Germany they distribute Kama-Sutra for children for free, where they are taught how to have sex. In Canada, in Ontario, where I currently reside, the proposal was approved at the parliament level to introduce graphic sexual education curriculum from the first grade (age 6–7), where a lot is shown in pictures and again, the introduction of “the norm” or homosexuality” and so on.

As of now, this horror starts 3–4 years later. Thus, a relative of my wife in the age of 10–11, after these classes was taught how to put on a condom (on the mannequin) and also that you need to have a condom with you always, just in case (but it won’t be needed if she decides to have sex with a girlfriend).

It was a norm in advanced civilizations to kill those who defile and corrupt children and adolescents, condemning them for a miserable life, and dooming society for extinction, high levels of crime and compete destruction of the institute of family.

We had a nanny from Lithuania, who told us that her close relative who worked in England, shared with her, with shock that there are more than ever bars where a woman can visit with an infant. There is loud music, smoke, they are drinking alcohol, and look for new sexual partners between breastfeeding…

Upbringing in Goodness: it is important for mother to eat fresh and nourishing food – food in goodness allows mother to stay healthy and helps the child develop properly. The best place to live in is in the countryside, surrounded by nature; it makes it easier for mother to remain relaxed and peaceful during the pregnancy. She should also associate with those who are loving and supportive, avoiding those who are heavily influenced by lower or negative energies.

When a child is raised in goodness, the home is clean and located in the countryside with an atmosphere of mutual respect and harmony. Parents, particularly the mother, consider the upbringing of children to be the primary duty. Children receive ample love. When they make a mistake the parent’s reaction is “You have made a mistake”, but never “You are bad”. Parents nurture their child according to their individual talents and desires and not based on their own selfish motives, “My child must become a diplomat, celebrity, doctor, lawyer, etc…” Their prime concern is to make sure that their child becomes a balanced, virtuous person. Parents watch the diet of the child and feed him natural sattvic food, choose his association and communication. Parents develop altruistic mindset from the childhood. They teach him to be generous, not an egoistic consumer. Parents teach to say a prayer before meals, take part in charitable events, help others, be modest. They prepare a child to a happy family life, teaching him that family is a value of utmost importance.

A system where boys and girls are educated separately is a main condition of raising children in sattva especially in adolescence. Schools located near parks, on the nature, in beautiful places are in goodness. The mother, ideally, stays at home, or works part-time for her own pleasure, and this work does not interfere with a child’s upbringing.

I read that minister of education of one of the Canadian provinces admitted that it is best for children’s health and happiness when the mother is staying at home with children.

Raising a child begins even before conception. Approximately one year in advance parents must start cleansing their bodies of toxins, purify their consciousness and subtle bodies from resentment, anger and other negative emotions. The act of conception is performed in a responsible manner – in a clean atmosphere, during an astrologically auspicious time, in an elevated state of consciousness and preceded by prayer.

During the pregnancy everything is arranged so as to allow the mother to stay in a loving and pleasant environment. It is understood that the pregnancy and the first two or three years of a child’s life are essential periods for their physical and psychological development. At this stage it is important to relate properly to the child, giving him plenty of time and affection.

There are special methods for raising a child which we have only touched on here.

From the age of six to fifteen, parents should be somewhat strict with their child, because they know that during this period they need some restrictions. Otherwise, if they are given the freedom to do whatever they want, they would start to eat all kinds of junk food, and may even end up smoking, taking alcohol or drugs, watching pornography, etc…

From the age of fifteen parents should adopt a more friendly relationship with their child. By this point his character has already been formed, so it is generally unfeasible and utterly unnecessary to maintain a strict control over him.

When comparing Western systems of education, the English private school system used to have, and still has to some extent, a substantial element of sattva. For example, such schools were usually located in rural areas, surrounded by nature. Before the age of fourteen boys were disciplined very strictly, but once their individual characters were formed they were treated like gentlemen. Yet once the lament of passion and ignorance was introduced – free sex – the whole system stopped working.

How to Protect Your and Your Child’s Future

Taking care of children is an extremely serious matter; it is essential to understand that children are our future. They are our future both directly and indirectly: directly they continue our genetic lineage and indirectly (on a subtle, energetic level) they increase our future energy. Our future is greatly affected by how we care for and relate to our children. Yet this potential power can be destroyed by over-indulgence or by excessive fear for them and their future. On the other hand, negligence can also be damaging.

For example, influenced by passion, a father who is absorbed in his work may only see his children when they are asleep or briefly at the weekend. Because he is working to supply all necessities for his family, he thinks that his wife is responsible for looking after their children because she is not working, and thus justifies his behaviour. But they also need their father’s love – the energy of the Sun (yang). He may experience success for some time despite ignoring this important part of his life. However his actions create a conflict which triggers nature’s defensive system; nature does not forgive the neglect of children. As a result illness, depression and financial difficulties will come, and problems will arise in various relationships. Not only the individual and his family can be affected, but society as a whole. The effects’ can be even worse if it is the mother that becomes overwhelmed by or absorbed in her career.

* * *

Such women frequently come to me for consultations in Moscow. I met one lady, divorced and in her late thirties, who wanted a normal family and more children. But at the same time she was neglecting her child from her first marriage, although by sending him to the best school and buying him expensive toys she imagined herself to be adequately doing her duty. Why should nature give her more children?

* * *

A pleasant, pregnant woman used to work at one bank in Jerusalem where I had an account. She stopped working just a few days before giving birth and I thought I would not see her for a long time. But three months later when I popped into the bank, I was surprised to see her again. I asked her if she was okay and she joyfully replied, “Yes, everything is great, the baby is wonderful”. When I asked why she had returned, she explained that her maternity pay only covered the first three months and the bank would ask her to leave if she did not work. She worked from eight to ten hours a day and most of her salary was spent on child-minding fees. Her main concern was whether she would get promoted the following summer. This shows passion in action.

Such is the life of many modern women, regardless of the assertion of modern scientists and psychologists that the longer a child is breastfed the healthier he will be, physically and psychologically. During one of the Dalai Lama’s visits to America he was asked, “What is your main message?” People were stunned and confused when he replied, “Ladies, breastfeed your babies!”

* * *

Recently one businessman came to me for a consultation. His company secretly inspects and monitors the conduct of babysitters when the parents are absent. He almost went bankrupt because so few people wanted to use this service. Parents were worried that if they found out the babysitter was unsuitable, this would affect their work schedule or their social life. Their main concern was that at least there should be someone to look after their children. Eighty percent of those who used his service decided to change their babysitter because they could see how badly their child was being cared for. This is passion – to leave a baby with a practical stranger rather than hinder their own enjoyment.

Chapter 4

Being Proactive

Life should be lived now; it can’t be put aside all the time.

Irvin Yalom

Being Proactive brings Success in Life

Sattva means that we act proactively in all aspects of our life, that we plan our lives in a conscious manner rather than carelessly reacting to things or being carried along by others. One of the most important areas of our life is how and what we eat – the eating process is connected to our mind and nervous system and is the first and most basic step to come 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.

* * *

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 it involves consistent effort on a daily basis.

For us to destroy something, in most cases, little effort is required – destruction (tamas) often comes by itself. To produce a good car countless number of people need to work for many years, but any inexperienced driver can demolish it in just a few minutes. The same applies to our lives; if the guna of ignorance enters, our life can be ruined in a moment. In the Vedas it is stated that Brahma is responsible for creation, Vishnu for maintenance and Shiva for annihilation.

Each type of energy has a purpose and value; by understanding this we can make intelligent choices to help us in whatever situation we are in. We should consciously transfer ourselves to different gunas, to choose the guna whose energy we need at any given moment.

Passion is required for creative work, for example, to develop and start a new business project. This is not an easy task – passion means applying substantial effort. People who are mainly in passion are extremely energetic. Warriors (ksatriyas) must fight, and for battle they need huge amounts of energy. If we were to try to hold an ancient sword in our hand, even for ten minutes, it would be practically impossible. In history books, we read that battles used to continue for many hours or even days. In modern society wars also require great physical and psychological strength, and without passion and energy it would not be possible to endure it. That is why in Vedic culture warriors were allowed to have a few wives, to eat fish and drink wine; all these things gave the warrior the passionate energy he needed.

But after creation comes the most difficult stage: maintenance. For example, if we started a new business which was beginning to operate and develop successfully, we would need to come to sattva to further maintain it. We would have to go to work in time, prepare to meet clients, file regular financial reports, provide good customer service regardless of the kind of people we have to deal with, not let up when the business is going well etc. For modern businessmen, who are mostly under the influence of passion, these things are incredibly difficult. According to statistics, out of the huge number of new businesses created annually, only a few stay afloat after the first five years.

* * *

England is considered to have the most beautiful lawns. Once a foreign journalist wanted to find out England’s secret of success so he enquired from some local gardeners. The answer was, “It is not difficult – the grass should be trimmed every morning at exactly 9 am and if there is no rain, it has to be watered.” “That’s all?” the journalist asked. “Yes, and do this for 300 years.” This is the nature of action in sattva.

How to Create Paradise at Home

If we want to keep our home in sattva, it is necessary to keep it pleasant, tidy and clean every day.

It is essential to make our bed; a bed is considered to be in tamas and therefore if a bed is not made, it spreads ignorance. Even if we are very tired after coming home from work, we need to spend at least twenty minutes cleaning. It is difficult but you will feel how a completely different energy spreads around the home. If we top this of by taking a shower, we will be plunged into a completely different atmosphere. The science of Vastu (the origin of Feng-Shui) states that, “Even if your house is correctly built and organized, if it is dirty (ignorance) inside or outside, the energy of Rahu enters and quickly destroys everything”. The health and relationships of the inhabitants of the house are the first things to be destroyed.

To have family relationships in sattva, it is necessary to cook fresh food at home for ourselves and to come together to eat as a family at least several times a week. Most semi-finished foods contain passion and ignorance. If we want harmonious relationships at home, we must cook our own food, using fresh, high quality ingredients, and do it with love.

Modern marriages are usually established in passion as the main focus is sexual compatibility; as a result of it, they do not last. Sattva means maintenance: spouses respect each other, never complain or argue (particularly in front of children), the husband regularly presents flowers to his wife, and the wife makes herself look attractive for her husband and never directly contradicts him. It is said if there is peace in a family then the Goddess of fortune, Lakshmi, enters into home.

Sages state that a woman is compared to a witch if she does not greet her husband with a smile when he comes home from work, speaks harshly or does not keep their home clean; she is considered to be stupid if she argues and disagrees with her husband rather than taking a more flexible and understanding position. If a woman argues with a man after he has expressed what he thinks is a most intelligent statement, even if she is right, it is a painful stab for his big, delicate ego and he will not forgive her.