Short Story by Sri Ramakrishna: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas all bind men, they are like three dacoits.

REFERENCE: SRI SRI RAMAKRISHNA KATHAMRITA: 1.6.2.1, 22 July 1883 Brahman is beyond the three gunas, beyond speech M.: “Is compassion [daya] also bondage?” Sri Ramakrishna: “That is a very subtle concept. Compassion comes from sattvaguna. Sattvaguna preserves, rajoguna creates, and tamoguna destroys. But Brahman is beyond the three gunas -sattva, rajas and tamas. It is beyond nature.1 “The gunas cannot really reach Brahman. They are like robbers who cannot go out in the open, afraid that they might be arrested. Sattva, rajas, and tamas – all three gunas – are robbers. Let me tell you a story: “Once a man was going through a forest when three robbers came and caught hold of him. They robbed him of all he possessed. One of the robbers said, ‘Why keep this man alive now?’ Saying this, he stepped forward with a sword to kill him. The second robber then said, ‘No brother, what use is it to kill him? Let’s tie his hands and feet and leave him here.’ Doing so, the robbers left him and went on their way. After a while one of them returned and said, ‘Oh, you’re suffering so much! Let me free you from the bonds.’ Untying the man, he said, ‘Come with me. I‘ll take you to the main road.’ After a long time, when they reached the road, the robber said, ‘Follow this road. See, there is your house.’ The man then said to the robber, ‘Sir, you have been very kind to me. Please come with me to my house.’ The robber said, ‘No, I can’t go there. The police will come to know.’ “The world itself is a forest. In this forest sattva, rajas, and tamas are robbers. They rob a person of spiritual knowledge. Tamoguna wants to destroy him, and rajoguna binds him to the world. But sattvaguna saves him from rajas and tamas. By taking refuge in sattvaguna, one is saved from lust, anger, and other such evil effects of tamas. Besides, sattvaguna loosens the bonds of the world. But even sattvaguna is a robber. It can’t give spiritual knowledge. What it does is put you on the road to God. Putting you on the road, it says, ‘Just look, there is your home.’ But sattvaguna remains at a great distance from the knowledge of Brahman. #ramakrishnashortstory #kidsshortstory #vedanta