The Gita has nothing to do with sāttvikatā. Even sāttvikatā is to be rejected as destiny, while even rājasikatā is to be embraced if it serves as a means to freedom. Everything and anything is fine if it is usable in the context of liberation. Even sattva can become an object of consumption — don’t we see learned people whose knowledge becomes their identity? The Gita is about getting rid of all traps — be it sattva, rajas, tamas, or anything.
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Questioner: We have Saumyadeep here with us. He says, Acharya Ji, why does Shri Krishna attack sattvic quality? We all know that sattva is the highest of all prakritic qualities. All Vedic concepts come under the domain of sattva. The Gita attacks tamas and rajas, which is understandable, but why does the Gita attack sattva as well?
Acharya Prashant: Gita or Vedanta has nothing to do with sattva. All this is per se. At most, sattva is useful as a means to move away from all three guṇas.
It is a basic mistake to think that Gita or Vedanta has to do with sāttvikatā. Not at all. Even sāttvikatā is to be rejected as the destiny while even rājasikatā is to be embraced if useful as a means. If rājasikatā is about, for example, indulging in action as is commonly understood, then what Shri Krishna is asking Arjun for is rajas. He’s asking him to get into the war. Even rajas is alright if it leads to freedom, Mukti.
Ultimately, you have to move to a guṇātīta state. All three guṇas, all said and done, belong to prakriti, and you have to move beyond prakriti, move beyond your association with prakriti, move beyond your consumption of prakriti. Even sattva can become an object of consumption. Don't we know of so many learned and knowledgeable people whose knowledge becomes their identity — who eat their knowledge?
