| ding to the Sankhya philosophy,nature is composed of | | | | more or less typical manifestation of all these different |
| three forces called, in Sanskrit, Sattva, Rajas, and | | | | forces. |
| Tamas. These as manifested in the physical world are | | | | Karma - yoga has specially to deal with these three |
| what we may call equilibrium, activity, and inertness. | | | | factors. By teaching what they are and how to |
| Tamas is typified as darkness or inactivity; Rajas is | | | | employ them, it helps us to do our work better. Human |
| activity, expressed as attraction or repulsion; and | | | | society is a graded organisation. We all know about |
| Sattva is the equilibrium of the two. | | | | morality, and we all know about duty, but at the same |
| In every man there are these three forces. Sometimes | | | | time we find that in different countries the significance |
| Tamas prevails. We become lazy, we cannot move, | | | | of morality varies greatly. What is regarded as moral in |
| we are inactive, bound down by certain ideas or by | | | | one country may in another be considered perfectly |
| mere dullness. At other times activity prevails, and at | | | | immoral. For instance, in one country cousins may |
| still other times that calm balancing of both. Again, in | | | | marry; in another,it is thought to be very immoral;in one, |
| different men, one of these forces is generally | | | | men may marry their sisters -in - law; in another, it is |
| predominant. The characteristic of one man is inactivity, | | | | regarded as immoral; in one country people may marry |
| dullness and laziness; that of another, activity, power, | | | | only once; in another, many times; and so forth. |
| manifestation of energy; and in still another we find the | | | | Similarly, in all other departments of morality, we find |
| sweetness, calmness, and gentleness, which are due | | | | the standard varies greatly yet we have the idea that |
| to the balancing of both action and inaction. So in all | | | | there must be a universal standard of morality. |
| creation -- in animals, plants, and men -- we find the | | | | |