Four Qualities of Right Action
By Theresa Shay
My friend Sudhir is memorizing the Bhagavad Gita, one of the sacred texts on yoga. This scripture, written in Sanskrit, has 18 chapters and 700 verses of wisdom. Sudhir, author of CEO Mastery Journey: 7 Breakthrough Practices to Propel Successful Leaders to Greatness, is TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania’s business consultant. Sometimes as we discuss the territory of business, he chants a relevant verse of the Bhagavad Gita. This is one of the reasons I love our partnership. I learn yoga philosophy spoken in its original language with insights from a business expert, and I get to contemplate business decisions from the perspective of yoga philosophy.
Recently, Sudhir shared a summary of sattvic behavior (right action) from the final chapter of the Bhagavad Gita. Right action is “sattvic” behavior, meaning the action is in harmony with Sattva, one of the three energies which are braided together in the tapestry of life. Sattva is the energy, guna in Sanskrit, which is illuminating, expansive, and harmonizing. You know this aspect is guiding when you feel at peace, fully grounded and highly functional, blissful and bright. You feel like your Self flowing along.
TriYoga’s practices work with the triple energy principle and teach us how to have sattvic energy predominate. When we cultivate deep, rhythmic breathing, we have a sattvic breath flow. When we move gracefully and steadily between postures, we’ve made a sattvic transition. When we feel the calm, spacious mind and inspiration from the inner wisdom rising to the surface, we experience a sattvic vibration. When we eat fresh, vibrant, whole-food, plant-based meals, we enjoy sattvic nourishment.
In Chapter 18 of the Bhagavad Gita, verse 26, the teaching is that the one who acts with sattvic behavior exhibits these characteristics:
· Firm resolve to achieve the goal
· Constant enthusiasm
· Unaffected by success or failure
· Free from arrogance and attachment
As I’ve held this knowledge, I’ve been appreciating its wisdom. Firm resolve to achieve the goal requires focus. In this attention economy, where focus is the scarce commodity, the steadfast commitment toward the goal requires a mind sealed against distraction. When we are firm and focused, with one-pointed concentration, we keep moving toward the goal.
Constant enthusiasm requires energy, Prana. The TriYoga practices of moving the body, breathing deeply, and focusing the mind generate energy as well as remove the tension that blocks energy. Through these steady practices constant enthusiasm rises effortlessly because enthusiasm is the natural result of energy, freedom, and connection.
In witnessing the pairs of opposites and rising above them, we are able to remain unaffected by success or failure. Sudhir counsels me often on this when I raise questions of how to keep TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania’s financial situation steady. My work, he reminds me, is to do my best and then surrender. When we learn to ride the waves fearlessly toward success or failure, we no longer grasp, cling, reject, or resist. The path of right action becomes clearer because we stop trying to control the outcome. We keep ourselves aligned, show up to serve, and follow the Flow.
Freedom from arrogance and attachment manifests when we remember the source of all that comes to us and all that falls away. Source is much greater than our little personality with its name, job, status, likes, and dislikes. Like a ray of the sun, we shine because of a powerful light without which this “I” on Earth could not exist. This is surrender to the Divine in appreciation for all the gifts we experience. Our humility, like the humus of the soil which gives life, nurtures our action, deeply rooted and ever rising.
These qualities can be pursued for the one who seeks right action. May it be so.
Theresa Shay is the founding director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, where she teaches weekly yoga and meditation online and trains others to teach TriYoga®. Each week, she shares wisdom cultivated from decades of TriYoga study and practice.
Learn more about her here. Theresa can be reached at Theresa@PennsylvaniaYoga.com. Find her on Instagram @theresa_of_triyoga for more inspiration and light.