The Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran

The Power of Faith ╯
truly spiritual goal; rajasic tapas is performed to gain a selfish
end, probably the admiration of others. Deluded by tamas, a
person will undergo painful, foolish practices to try to gain
power over, or even to injure, others.
Changing course for a moment, Krishna discusses the
mantram Om Tat Sat . Om is the most ancient of Hindu
mantrams; it is the sacred syllable that is Brahman, the cosmic
sound heard in the depths of meditation. Tat is “That,”
the supreme reality beyond what language can describe or
thought can think. And sat means both “that which is” and
“that which is good.” The mantram Om Tat Sat affirms that
only the good really exists; the opposite word, asat, implies
that evil is transient and therefore is not ultimately real.
The last verse concludes that no act or intention can add to
spiritual growth if it is “faithless.” An act done without shraddha
is asat, unreal; it cannot have meaning either in this world
or the next.
– d.m.
245 ╯