Several verses from Bhagavad Gita are as follows:

(17-2) Every Creature is born with faith of some kind, either sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic.
(17-3) Our faith conforms to our nature. Human nature is made of faith. A person is what his shraddha is.
(17-4) Those who are sattvic worship the the forms of God; those who are rajas worship power and wealth; those who are tamasic worship spirits and ghosts.
(17-5) The three kinds of faith express themselves in the habits of those who hold them: in the food they like, the work they do, the disciplines they practice, the gifts they give.

As we all known, “guna” means quality of force. There are three gunas: sattva (goodness, constructive, harmonious), rajas (passion, active, confused), and tamas (darkness, destructive, chaotic). These three gunas have always been and continue to be present in all things and beings in the world.

The Sanskrit “Shraddha” is relevant to faith, loyalty, confidence, trust, awareness and mindfulness. Commonly, it can be loosely translated as “faith”. It is what is held in the heart.

With different gunas, people have different kind of faith (different qualities of faith) and express themselves distinctively in many aspects, such as food, work etc.. Sattvic faith is the most evolved, the most pure; rajasic faith is dynamic, evolving, yet tainted with selfish motives; tamasic faith goes astray in a spirit desert.

In order to strengthen our faith, we need to cultivate our knowledge. Faith with knowledge can squash our doubts and help us stay firm in our beliefs. Bhagavad Gita shows us one enlightenment path to obtain this knowledge, and that is to act with selfless motivation.

The purest of faith can help us face the trials of life with conviction, regardless of the circumstances. With faith, we can always be in control of our emotions, and emanate peace from our inner-selves. Faith is life itself, and in the same sense, life reflects faith itself. We have the responsibility to live out our faiths, and learn for ourselves what is truly important in our lives.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of city life, many of us find it increasingly harder to achieve inner peace. Pressure comes from seemingly every angle — work, family, friends. Faced with all this pressure, our minds are kept busy, just like the metropolitan that we live in.

It is useful to detach our minds from our busy lives every once in a while. We can do this by putting aside the distractions that we are faced with, and listening to our heart and inner side.

I was at Universal Studios in Singapore recently. The theme part was unsurprisingly crowded. While walking around the beautiful park however, I realised there are many areas which are quaint and quiet. It made me realise that we don’t have to be constrained by our surroundings, that we can always find our own oasis within the busy metropolitan we live in. Mindfulness is something we can practise wherever we are.

Even in busy Universal Studios, we can also practise yoga if we want to!