Essays on the Gita

490 <strong>Essays</strong> on the Gitainto the spiritual type and character. And this culmination toocan be made to transcend itself, can be raised into a higher andfreer light, can pass away into the settled godlike energy of thesupreme nature. And what will remain then will be the spirit’simmaculate Tapas, a highest will and luminous force in all themembers acting in a wide and solid calm and a deep and purespiritual delight, Ananda. There will then be no farther need ofaskesis, no tapasya, because all is naturally and easily divine,all is that Tapas. There will be no separate labour of the lowerenergism, because the energy of Prakriti will have found its truesource and base in the transcendent will of the Purushottama.Then, because of this high initiation, the acts of this energy onthe lower planes also will proceed naturally and spontaneouslyfrom an innate perfect will and by an inherent perfect guidance.There will be no limitation by any of the present dharmas; forthere will be a free action far above the rajasic and tamasicnature, but also far beyond the too careful and narrow limits ofthe sattwic rule of action.As with tapasya, all giving also is of an ignorant tamasic,an ostentatious rajasic or a disinterested and enlightened sattwiccharacter. The tamasic gift is offered ignorantly with no considerationof the right conditions of time, place and object; it is afoolish, inconsiderate and in reality a self-regarding movement,an ungenerous and ignoble generosity, the gift offered withoutsympathy or true liberality, without regard for the feelings ofthe recipient and despised by him even in the acceptance. Therajasic kind of giving is that which is done with regret, unwillingnessor violence to oneself or with a personal and egoisticobject or in the hope of a return of some kind from whateverquarter or a corresponding or greater benefit to oneself fromthe receiver. The sattwic way of giving is to bestow with rightreason and goodwill and sympathy in the right conditions oftime and place and on the right recipient who is worthy or towhom the gift can be really helpful. Its act is performed for thesake of the giving and the beneficence, without any view to abenefit already done or yet to be done to oneself by the receiverof the benefit and without any personal object in the action.