- BHAGAVAD GITA -
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BOOK XVIII, VOLUME VIII
Owning VS Possessing
Authored by
THE SPH NITHYANANDA PARAMASHIVAM
यत्तु कृत्स्नवदेकस्मिन्कार्ये सक्तमहैतुकम् ।
अतत्त्वार्थवदल्पं च तत्तामसमुदाहृतम् ॥१८=२२॥
yat tu kṛtsnavad ekasmin kārye saktaṁ ahaitukam
atattvārthavadalpaṁ ca tat tāmasamudāhṛtam
The irrational, baseless, and worthless knowledge by which one clings to one single effect as if it is everything, such knowledge is in the mode of darkness of ignorance.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Ocean you can own, but not possess.
नियतं सङ्गरहितमरागद्वेषतः कृतम् ।
अफलप्रेप्सुना कर्म यत्तत्सात्त्विकमुच्यते
॥ १८-२३॥
niyataṁ saṅgarahitam
arāgadveṣataḥ kṛtam
aphala-prepsunā karma yat tat
sāttvikamucyate
Obligatory duty performed without likes and dislikes and without selfish motives and attachment to the fruit, is in the mode of goodness.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Owning is different and possessing is different.
यत्तु कामेप्सुना कर्म साहङ्कारेण वा पुनः ।
क्रियते बहुलायासं तद्राजसमुदाहृतम्
॥१८-२४॥
yat tu kāmepsunā karma
sāhaṁkāreṇa vā punaḥ
kriyate bahulāyāsaṁ tad
rājasamudāhṛtam
Action performed with ego, with selfish motives, and with too much effort, is in the mode of aggression.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Satva is living in a reality world of owning and also letting others own.
अनुबन्धं क्षयं हिंसामनपेक्ष्य च पौरुषम् ।
मोहादारभ्यते कर्म यत्तत्तामसमुच्यते
॥ १८=२५॥
anubandhaṁ kṣayaṁ
himsām anapekṣya ca
pauruṣam mohād ārabhyate
karma yat tat tāmasamucyate
Action that is undertaken
because of delusion,
disregarding consequences,
loss, injury to others, as well
as one's own ability, is in the
mode of ignorance.
POWERFUL COGNITION
Kṛṣṇa defines a sātvic person as one
who sees the collective
consciousness, the whole, in parts.
OWING IS DIFFERENT, POSSESSING IS DIFFERENT
The pure space, satva seems to be a little heavy, little too much of joy! You feel you can't afford it. It is like you don't want to own the whole ocean, you want to own only the beach. Because only in the beach you can put a fence and ensure that others can't enter into it. Ocean you can own, but not possess. Please understand, owning is different and possessing is different.
All of us can own the whole
world; that is not a problem
at all. But we can't possess
it, that is where the
problem starts. Owning is
different and possessing is
different. The whole village
owns the village temple, but
you possess your house. We
not only own our house, we
possess it and make sure
that others don't enter.
We don’t want to own the
ocean, we want to possess the
ocean. When we want to
possess, we know that we
can’t possess the ocean. Not
only we can’t deny entry to
other human beings, we can’t
deny entry to other animals.
There are millions of animals
below.
When we want to possess that is
where the problem starts. Rajas
corrodes you. It eats up your soul.
There is no boundary to possessing,
no end to greed and no limit to fear.
These are the driving forces of rajas.
Rajas is about trying to attain what
you don't have, trying to eliminate
and possess what you want to have,
not being complete with what you
have, not being complete about
where you are and not being
complete and happy when you are in
the present moment. You are either
constantly in the future, imagining
what you would like to be and what
you would like to possess, or you are
in the past thinking about how you
could have done better. Rajas is
living in a fantasy world of
possessing. Satva is living in a reality
world of owning and also letting
others own.
You are either constantly
in the future, imagining
what you would like to be
and what you would like
to possess, or you are in
the past thinking about
how you could have done
better. Rajas is living in a
fantasy world of
possessing. Satva is living
in a reality world of
owning and also letting
others own.
GOALS:
-Helping students understand the difference between owning and possessing. -Helping the students understand the difference between Satva and Rajas.
ASSESSMENTS
True or False: Owning and
possessing mean the same
thing. When do our
problems start? What are
the driving forces of rajas?
How does rajas approach the
past, the present and the
future? In what kind of world
does rajas live in?
In what kind of world does
satva live in?
ART OF THE DAY
ART OF THE DAY:
POSSESSION, GREED AND FEAR
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Paper, pen, pencil, markers, eraser, etc.
PROCEDURE Ask the students to draw 3 characters named "possession" , "greed" and "fear". Once children are done drawing, tell the names of the characters one by one and ask the students to enact them through body language, sounds, etc. Let them enact each character for 1 minute. At the end, ask the children what enacting these 3 characters created inside of them/What thoughts/cognitions came up.
INFERENCE When we want to possess that is where the problem starts. Rajas corrodes you. It eats up your soul. There is no boundary to possessing, no end to greed and no limit to fear. These are the driving forces of rajas.
ACTiViTY OF THE DAY
Materials required:
Paper, pens, pencils, eraser, ruler
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:
PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
PROCEDURE:
Ask the students to draw two timelines (one for rajas, one for sattva) and to identify the past, the present and the future on each. Then ask the students to take the rajas timeline and to write down things that they wish they will possess in the future and things about the past that they regret or wish they had done better. Then ask them to discuss how thinking about what they don't have makes them feel, what cognitions come up inside them.
Materials required:
Paper, pens, pencils, eraser, ruler
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:
PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
PROCEDURE:
Also ask them to discuss how thinking about things they wished they had done better in the past makes them feel. At the end of the discussion, ask the students to take the sattva timeline and to write down only what is happening right now in this moment. Ask them to share how being in the present makes them feel and what cognitions arise in them
ACTIVITY OF THE DAY:
PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
INTERFERENCE
Rajas is about trying to attain what you don't have, trying to eliminate and possess what you want to have, not being complete with what you have, not being complete about where you are and not being complete and happy when you are in the present moment. You are either constantly in the future, imagining what you would like to be and what you would like to possess, or you are in the past thinking about how you could have done better.
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY
WORKSHOP OF THE DAY:
VAAKYARTHA SADHAS
PROCEDURE Guide the students into a discussion about the difference between “owning” and “possessing”. Ask them different questions such as: How it is possible to own and to let others own at the same time? What emotions/cognitions get triggered in us when we feel something or someone as our possession? How can we know if we are owning or possessing?
CONCLUSION Rajas is living in a fantasy world of possessing. Satva is living in a reality world of owning and also letting others own.
- BHAGAVAD GITA -
BOOK XVIII, VOLUME IX