Features Of A Sattvic (Righteous) Person

The three gunas – Sattva (righteousness), Rajas (agitation) and Tamas (ignorance) affect everyone and everything in the material world, making us captives of it. The only way to escape is to get rid of all material bondages and return to our true home – the spiritual world. On this way, a living being needs to progress to the highest material quality, which is Sattva guna, and only then the next step is possible. It is also important to know that one cannot jump from Tamas to Sattva. It is to be done through Rajas. This means that ignorance cannot be overcome by prayers only, action is needed as well.

What are the features of a sattvic person?

Belief in God
All righteous people believe in God. But a believing person is not necessarily sattvic. If a believing person considers only his or her faith right and criticizes all other religions they are not righteous. They are acting from rajasic point of view not understanding that God is all mighty and could easily give us one religion. But He wants us to open ourselves spiritually in our unique way.

Tolerance
A sattvic person realizes that whatever is happening is meant for our progress and is positive about the future. He loves others because of their divine nature and tolerates the other’s faults because of their human part.

They start to be happy by fulfilling their duties towards other beings. They act righteously without expecting a reward, recognition, money, or any other results from their deeds.

They begin to respect their parents no matter who they are and feel forever indebted to them.
They value friends for just being there, without looking forward to taking advantages of them.

Fearlessness
When a person gains knowledge about his or her immortal nature, he or she realizes that we never stop existing, switching from one body to another. This understanding makes them to change the concept of happiness. A rajasic person believes in happiness from material things: money, sleep, food, sex. A sattvic person studies the sources of happiness and finds out that material world can’t provide long lasting happiness because of limitations of material goods.

A sattvic person gains happiness not from physical contact (food, sleep, sex) but from the spiritual contact ( meditation, prayer) and non-monetary practice (helping the others, volunteering). They are happy from fulfilling their duties and are not attached to the results of their actions.

Life in the present
Rajas makes us look for happiness in the future. Sattva helps us find it in the present. Everybody finds his unique path to sattvic consciousness. Some people find sattvic contentment through the heart center by cultivating of good character features; others – through the mind studying the true meaning of life. The others – through the highest chakra by serving God, which is the final goal of all living beings. That doesn’t mean that we have to neglect all material needs of the body and the people around us. We have to fulfill our every day duties and simultaneously fulfill the highest duty which is service to God.

Eating in 3 gunas
Eating habits are a very distinct sign of belonging to one of the three gunas. A sattvic person cleanses the mind and body step by step and begins to clearly feel what food leads to happiness and what to suffering. He or she understands that the food we eat has its own psychic qualities that interact with our character.  The sattvic person is discriminating and chooses food that helps live a spiritual life. A rajasic person looks for getting a lot of experience from food. It is important for them that food has rich tastes but they usually do not care where these tastes comes from. They appreciate meat, wine, chocolate, and other rajasic food. A tamasic person doesn’t rack his brain over what to eat. They prefer fatty food in big quantities because their goal is to dose off.
See also: Vegan Eating in A-da; and Myth about vegetarianism and Anemia.

Asceticism
Sattva guna influences us in the way that we like to willingly restrict ourselves from unnecessary “pleasures”.

A sattvic person starts to like to get up early. He or she feels that the morning is the sattvic time of the day and longs to take the most advantage of this. The late evening and night are tamasic parts of the day though. So the sattvic person tries to minimize the influence of ignorance by spending the early night with relatives, praying, meditating, or doing other spiritual practice; and then goes to sleep early.

They prefer a firmer bed, plainer food, and simpler clothes.

Donations
A sattvic person seeks to feed hungry people and animals, and take care of the old and sick. He or she experiences great happiness in doing so. They often want to be anonymous and avoid being famed.

A rajasic person wants gratitude for his donation, he can’t feel happy just because of a right action; he needs to be famed for it.

Dharma (understanding one’s mission)
A sattvic person clearly knows his or her responsibilities in life. They know their duties towards their parents, spouse, children, society, and country; and put them as the life goal. They also know their duties towards God.

A rajasic person demands others to fulfill their duties and is sure that they don’t give him enough respect, love, money and so on.

Image of self
The self image of a sattvic person changes in the way that he or she sees good features in others and bad qualities in themselves.

A rajasic person considers himself being sattvic, he thinks: I am a good person (especially when compared to others).

Sattvic people consider themselves rajasic. They think: I have so many imperfections; there is no way for being righteous.

A tamasic person doesn’t even care about definition

TODAY’S TIP: There is an interesting way how people under different gunas react to criticism. A sattvic person says: Please explain why you think I am a bad person. He or she explores themselves and has no problems with criticism. A rajasic person gets insulted and will pay back the same way. A tamasic person usually doesn’t talk too much; they can easily beat the offender.