Tapas (Austerity) ...Contd

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The Atharva Veda declares, "tapo rashtram upasannamantu" - this rashtra (nation, India) was born of the tapas of the Rishis. There is no other nation which has conceived its origin in such beautiful terms!

The Puranic literature also illustrates the importance of tapas beautifully. The story of Creation narrates that when Brahma came into being, he was contemplating on how to go about his duty of creating the phenomenal universe.

A formless voice was then heard by Brahma in the heavens which declared, "tapas, tapas, tapas!" Brahma understood that he had to perform penance to gain power to create the universe and soon got absorbed in meditation. So, even the Creator has to undergo tapas to become eligible for performing his duty!

We also come across depictions of asuras and rakshasas in the puranas performing fierce tapas, standing one leg, immersed in water or surrounded by fire for many years, for obtaining boons to gain power, wealth or progeny. When the 'heat' generated by their penance becomes unbearable for the worlds, the creator Brahma or Lord Shiva are compelled to offer boons to them, knowing well that the boons offered to them would spell disaster for the world. Such is the power of tapas.

Later, in the 17th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, the concept of tapas is further elaborated and classified into sattvic, rajasic and tamasic (see the earlier article on Sankhya Yoga to understand the classification of the three gunas). Through this classification, Sri Krishna conveys to Arjuna that not all forms of tapas are advisable - those which are sanctioned by the scriptures are fit to be practised by spiritual aspirants and others are not.