1. In the previous sub-chapter I have just told about the "Attribute of Ignorance," the Tamas Guna, which brings great sorrow in life. Now listen to the description of the "Attribute of Purity," or Sattva Guna, which is very rare.
2. The Sattva guna is that which forms the basis for singing the praises of God and the Guru (bhajans), that which is an anchor for the yogis, and that which destroys the worldly life that is the root of all sorrow.
3. It is that which is the progress on the path of spirituality, it is the pathway that leads towards God by which one can attain liberation, and that which is the Oneness of the Self.
4. It is that which protects the devotees and gives assurance to help one to swim across the worldly life. The wealth of liberation is the adornment of the Sattva guna.
5. Sattva is the adornment of Supreme Truth (Paramartha), the ornament of the great spiritual leaders (Mahantas), and that by which one wards off the attributes of worldliness (Rajas) and ignorance (Tamas).
6. It is that which is the supreme giver of happiness, that which brings waves of bliss, and that which removes the cycle of birth and death.
7. It is that which ends ignorance, is the root source of all things and actions that are considered sacred, and it is that by which one finds the way beyond worldly life.
8. Like this is this attribute of purity (Sattva). The signs of the activity when it arises in the body by itself is what is being described.
9. When one has great love for God, and continues to perform one's worldly affairs in an appropriate manner, and when one always utilizes correct discrimination (viveka), this is the attribute of purity.
10. That which makes one forget the sorrows of the worldly life, that which shows the pure path of devotion, and that which inspires the activity of singing the praises of the Guru and his teachings (bhajans), is the Sattva guna.
11. When the liking for Supreme Truth and inner meaning arises, and when one feels an earnest need to help others, this is due to the quality of purity.
12. When one is inclined to observe ritual prayers and bath, or when one is righteous and pure in heart and clear in mind, or is presentable in one's dress, this is all due to the Sattva guna.
13. When one performs sacred fire rituals, and inspires others to perform sacred rituals, or when one is both a learner and a teacher, and when one understands the importance of being charitable in auspicious work, know all of this to be due to the attribute of Sattva.
14. When there is a liking for spiritual explanations, and when one has an interest in the meanings of the stories of God (Lord Vishnu), and when upon the hearing of these stories there is an immediate affect and change in one's behavior, this is the activity of the Sattva guna.
15. When one generously donates things such as livestock, or land, or gems and jewels, this is due to the quality of Sattva.
16. When one donates money, clothes, and food and water, and brings together knowers of Brahman and satisfies them with meals, this is due to the attribute of purity.
17. When one is inclined towards performing various rites and rituals, charities, pilgrimages, or fasts without any selfish expectations, this is due to the Sattva guna.
18. When one offers meals to thousands, or is involved in a variety of different charities, not desiring any fruits from their donations, this is due to the attribute of purity. Desire for some fruits of one's charity is a sign of the attribute of worldliness, the Rajas quality.
19. When one donates land to be used for holy purposes, builds wells and lakes, and temples and domes, this is due to the quality of purity.
20. When one builds places of sanctuary, steps, lamps, special structures, and plants trees, this is due to the quality of Sattva.
21. When one makes forests, gardens, flower beds, water reservoirs, and brings comfort to the minds of hermits, this is the Sattva guna.
22. When one constructs places for prayer and meditation, or steps to the river bank, or storages places for food, and kitchens for food at temples, this is due to the attribute of Sattva.
23. When one arranges for the continuous burning day and night of the lamps at many temples, and even offers one’s own jewelry and ornaments, this is the quality of purity.
24. When there is a gathering of various beautiful musical instruments like drums, string instruments, metal cymbals, and many other wonderful instruments being played as the intermingling of their sounds creates a great melody, this is Sattva.
25. When there are many kinds of beautiful decorations used in preparing the temple, and when people are keen to sing songs in praise of God, that is due to the attribute of purity.
26. When one makes offerings and decorations of umbrellas, comfortable cushions, and ornamental flags and posts, this is due to the quality of Sattva.
27. If one is inclined towards making structures for plants and gardens, arranging for the cleaning of roads and rooms in temples and shrines of holy men, and loves all of this, then know this is as the Sattva guna.
28. When there are many beautiful vessels that are used for worship, and decorative roofs and seats are offered to the temple, this is a display of the Sattva attribute.
29. When one offers various foods and exotic fruits for worship, this is the attribute of purity.
30. When devotees who like to serve at the temple do lowly services like sweeping and cleaning of their own volition, this is the attribute of Sattva.
31. When one is involved with religious festivals at auspicious times, and when one offers body, speech and mind, this is the Sattva guna.
32. When one is keenly attentive when listening to the narrations of the Lord, and when one carries special perfumes, garlands and fragrant powders while standing at the doorstep of God, this is due to the attribute of purity.
33. When men and women carry articles of worship according to their capacity and are standing at the doorstep of God, this is the quality of purity.
34. Leaving behind one’s great personal works, when one rushes towards God with devotion in the mind, this is the Sattva attribute.
35. When one gives up one's sense of superiority, and accepts work of a low status, and stands waiting at God's doorstep, this is the attribute of purity.
36. When one partakes in fasting, or avoids always indulging in one's habits or taking food in favor of regularly engaging in chanting and meditation, this is the quality of Sattva.
37. When one does not speak harsh words, is disciplined in one's behavior, and has the satisfaction of the yogis, this is the Sattva guna.
38. When one drops all pride and sings chants about the glory of God (kirtan) without any expectation of return, and when upon hearing this kirtan one becomes absorbed and one's hair stands upright, this is the quality of Sattva.
39. When the inner-mind is in meditation on God that overwhelms the eyes, and the body-consciousness drops off, this is the quality of purity.
40. When one has a great love for listening to the stories of God (Vishnu), and there is no change in that love for the story from the beginning until the end of the narration, this is the quality of Sattva.
41. When one chants the name of the Lord, and claps one's hands while singing the praises of the Lord, and takes the dust from the Lord’s feet and applies it to one's forehead, this is all Sattva guna.
42. When one drops the pride for the body, and develops detachment for sensual objects, and understands the falseness of Illusion, this is the Sattva attribute.
43. When the feeling dawns in the heart that there should be some remedy when one gets entangled in the worldly life, this is the quality of Sattva.
44. When one gets fed up with worldly life and sings bhajans praising the guru, the guru's teaching arises there in the mind providing knowledge. This the quality of Sattva.
45. When one attends to one’s own discipline, and has a great respect and commitment to always feeling a deep love for the Self, Lord Rama, this is the Sattva attribute.
46. When one becomes disinterested in everything and feels drawn to Supreme Truth, and when one is courageous during times of calamity, this the quality of Sattva.
47. When one remains always disinterested and fed up with the many worldly enjoyments, and instead the mind remembers the praises of the Lord, this is due to the Sattva attribute.
48. When one's thoughts do not get attached to any objects, and instead the mind always remembers God with a firm deep inner feeling, this is Sattva guna.
49. When people say that a devotee is eccentric, but still his love for God grows within and remains firm, this is the attribute of Sattva.
50. When inspiration about one's True Nature (Swaroopa) arises within and logic prevails, and evil thoughts and doubts disappear, this is the Sattva guna.
51. When the human body is used for good works, and when such thoughts arise in the inner-mind (antahkarana), this is the creative activity of Sattva guna.
52. When peace, forgiveness, and compassion arise in one, know that the inner meaning of the Sattva Guna has become understood by such a person.
53. When guests and visitors arrive and one does not allow them to go without food, and when one naturally gives gifts according to one's abilities, this shows the activity of the Sattva guna.
54. When one gives aid and shelter to those who are poor if they arrive on the doorstep, this the quality of Sattva.
55. If there is a scarcity of food in the house, but one is not sad, and if one is always ready to give as per one’s capacity, this is the attribute of Sattva.
56. When one has control over one's tongue, and when one's habits are satisfied while one harbors no desires, this is the quality of Sattva.
57. When things happen as they do, and some calamity befalls the family, yet one is not disturbed in one's thoughts, this is the quality of Sattva.
58. When God is everything for the devotee, and the seeking for pleasures in things and the body-consciousness is dropped, this is the Sattva guna.
59. When one does not become distracted by the tendency of the mind to follow after sense objects, and when one's strength does not waver, this is the attribute of Sattva.
60. When the body is affected by some calamity, or suffers hunger and thirst, and one still does not give up one's conviction, this is the Sattva quality.
61. When one utilizes "listening" (Shravana), along with "contemplation" (Manana), and "verification by experience" (Nididhyasana), and becomes satisfied in Self-Knowledge, this is the Sattva guna.
62. When one does not have any ego sense, when detachment is apparent in one's behavior, and kindness and generosity are present, this is the Sattva attribute.
63. When one speaks with humility to everyone, is disciplined in one's behavior and is able to satisfy all of the people, this is due to the attribute of Sattva.
64. When one is polite with all the people and there is no place for opposition, and when one spends one's life helping others this is due to the Sattva attribute.
65. When one forsakes one’s own works for the sake of the achievements of others, and when the fame of that work survives even after one's passing, this is the activity of the Sattva guna.
66. When one sees with one's own eyes the merits and demerits of others, and keeps quiet about them in one’s mind without even speaking about them, like the sea retains water, this is the quality of Sattva.
67. To listen to humiliating remarks and to not answer back, and to not hold on to any anger that may arise, this is the attribute of Sattva.
68. When one is unjustly harassed in different ways and bears all of it silently without any thoughts of complaint, this is the quality of Sattva.
69. When one bears the presence of physical suffering, and can bear bad people and even feels obliged to one's critics as well, this is the Sattva guna.
70. When the mind runs in the wrong direction towards objectivity and one controls it with discrimination (viveka), and when one brings the sense organs under control (dama), this is the activity of the Sattva guna.
71. When one engages in activities that are aligned with Knowledge (sat) and abandons those activities which are not so aligned (asat), and adheres to the path of devotion, this is a sign of the Sattva guna.
72. When one likes early morning bathing, listening to the mythological stories, and enjoys many mantras and worshipping God, this is the Sattva guna.
73. When one worships respectfully during the auspicious religious periods and celebrates holidays associated with great men, this is due to the quality of Sattva.
74. When one takes care attending to the performing of the last rites of someone who died in a foreign land, this is the activity of the Sattva attribute.
75. When one sees that someone is being beaten and he goes to protect him and frees him from his bondage, this is the activity of the Sattva quality.
76. When one engages in the worship of the Shiva Lingam, and has faith in chanting the name of God, and takes the time to go and have a glimpse (darshan) of God or the Guru, this is the quality of Sattva.
77. When one sees a saint and runs to him rejoicing in overwhelming happiness, and when one bows down to the saint with complete sincerity, this is the Sattva guna.
78. One who receives the blessing of the saint's teaching uplifts one's family, and exhibits the qualities of godliness. This is the Sattva guna.
79. When one shows the right path to the people, gets them to sing God's praises, and teaches Knowledge to the ignorant, this is the quality of Sattva.
80. When one likes virtuous deeds, making circumambulation in reverence at the temple (pradakshina), bowing down to God, and memorizing scriptures and prayers, this is the attribute of Sattva.
81. When one has a great yearning for devotion, and collects spiritual texts and even idols which assist in his worship, this is the functioning of the Sattva guna.
82. When one has shiny accessories and flower garlands for worship set at a special place, and wears clean clothes especially for worship, this is the attribute of Sattva.
83. When one shares with others in their sorrow, feels happy with others in their joy, and rejoices when seeing detachment, this is the Sattva guna.
84. When one feels honored when others are honored, accepts the blemishes of others as one's own blemishes, and feels unbearable sorrow at other's sorrow, this is the attribute of Sattva.
85. Now, let this talk be enough. When one's mind is attentive to God and one's duties, and when one worships without any desire or expectation, know that to be the quality of Sattva.
86. Like this is the untainted pure quality of Sattva which is the savior from the ocean of worldly life and suffering. By this Sattvaguna, the power of discrimination (viveka) arises which puts one on the Path of Knowledge (Jnana Marga).
87. The Sattva guna is devotion to God, the acquisition of Self-Knowledge, and liberation through identification with Brahman.
88. This is the state of the "Sattva Guna." I have told about it in short detail according to my capacity. Now, let the listeners become alert and pay attention to what is given next.