Two states, extreme in their own way, which are often discussed on the spiritual path: the state of WISDOM and the state of FOOLISHNESS (III)
By eminent yoga teacher Gregorian Bivolaru
In the following presentation, we will talk about these states one by one and reveal some of their important secrets. We hope that all these aspects will be of real use to you, especially to those of you who are on a spiritual path and practice yoga with enthusiasm and dedication.
Read the second part of the article
Some important aspects regarding foolishness
The brilliant scientist Albert Einstein used to say about foolishness: “I have come to the conclusion that the Universe and foolishness are endless, but I am not very sure about the former (the Universe).”
Generally speaking, foolishness is, we might say, universal, protean; it seems to be eternal, but in reality it is not eternal, even if in many situations it is triumphant. With the exception of God the Father, with the exception of the great sages who have reached the highest peaks of wisdom, with the exception of gods and goddesses, one could say that almost nothing escapes the state of foolishness and almost nothing resists it.
Given that foolishness is always something illusory and ephemeral, which highlights our superficiality, our lack of depth, and our absence of profound and complex knowledge of the Ultimate Godly Truth, we should not lose sight of the fact that, without exception, the careful, lucid, and detached awareness of the state of foolishness in which many of us complacently dwell is also revealed to us as a sui generis spark of genius.
Although at first glance foolishness seems to be something trivial, when we look at the definitions given to it, we discover with some surprise that it is actually quite difficult to define. That is why some dictionaries and encyclopaedias simply avoid defining it.
The famous Larousse dictionary defines foolishness as “lack of intelligence, lack of judgment, an obvious state of stupidity.” This is the meaning, for example, of the phrase, “he demonstrates immense, unfathomable foolishness.”
The second meaning given in the Larousse dictionary is “an expression lacking intelligence.” This is the meaning, for example, in the phrase “he says stupidities.”
A third meaning given in the same dictionary is “reckless, imprudent, or reprehensible action.” This is the meaning, for example, in the phrase “to do stupidities.”
In the French dictionary Robert, foolishness is defined as “lack of intelligence and judgment, cretinism, idiocy, imbecility, naivety, stupidity.” We are then given several examples, such as: “to show foolishness,” “he showed rare foolishness,” “crass foolishness,” “he made the fool believe him.”
A second meaning offered by the same dictionary, Robert, is “action, words, or something that is worthless or unimportant”. Another meaning offered by the same dictionary is “reckless, imprudent action,” followed by an example: “we should prevent him from doing anything foolish.”
In turn, the New Universal Dictionary of the Romanian Language defines foolishness as follows: “ignorance, lack of knowledge, incompetence.” It then provides a quote from the work of Anton Pann: “you will die in foolishness.”
Another meaning offered by the same dictionary is “the state characteristic of the stupid, foolishness, imbecility.” We are then given a quote from Negruzzi’s work: “there is no cure for stupidity from birth.”
We are then given another meaning: “an act or word that is foolish or lacking in seriousness, importance, stupidity, ignorance, recklessness,” followed by a quote from Eminescu’s work: “my mother says we are fooling around.”
We are then given the expression “foolishly”, which is defined as follows: “without knowledge, without measure”, as in the example “he eats foolishly”.
The French Dictionary of Philosophy, published by Fayard, defines foolishness as follows: “the lack of knowledge and the specific condition of those who find themselves in this state.” Foolishness is not only an absence, but also a deprivation. In other words, it is the absence of knowledge of what should have been known. In the view of the great philosopher Plato, the greatest foolishness is that which is never aware of itself. In his opinion, only the wise, such as Socrates, know that in reality they do not know.
A second meaning offered by the same dictionary is: “in the metaphysical and moral realm, foolishness is the condition of the soul that is removed from the state of Godly plenitude. Foolishness is also a synonym for evil.”
A third meaning offered by the same dictionary is: “a radical lack of intelligence, culture, and judgment that makes a person resemble an animal; this state may be permanent or refer to a single aspect rather than the whole. Action, purpose, or intention that causes this state of deficiency, which is characteristic of foolishness, to manifest itself.”
Beyond all these definitions, it is necessary to mention that, in the view of the wise, but also of the initiated, the state of foolishness is “the absence of wisdom.” The state of wisdom implies a harmonious, creative, eminently beneficial, and simultaneous dynamization of superior intelligence, intuition, supramental dynamism, and common sense.
The accuracy of the previous definition is highlighted by situations in which we encounter intelligent human beings who, due to the fact that they have not yet awakened the wisdom of the heart (often known as common sense) and spiritual intuition, display obvious foolishness.
In folk traditions, we encounter in one form or another the saying: “too much mind corrupts”. In the case of the human beings we have described here, who are obviously intelligent in certain directions, when their intelligence is considered as a whole, it appears to us to be a sterile, speculative intelligence.
The three subtle fluids of the Fundamental Feminine Nature – Prakriti
For thousands of years, the practical wisdom of the Tantra Yoga system has revealed a fundamental secret that helps us understand what causes both foolishness and ignorance to arise and persist in the inner universe of human beings.
Great sages, as well as tantric masters, have often mentioned that “foolishness is a distinct inner state” which involves, in every situation or case, an obvious process of occult resonance with a certain subtle energy. This specific subtle energy is tamas guna.
Tamas guna is one of the three fundamental fluidic attributes or aspects that make up human beings from the point of view of the components that determine and maintain their different states of manifestation.
The three guna-s are three distinct types of energies, or subtle fluids, and in their secret reality, they represent the constituent characteristics of Prakriti, or Fundamental Feminine Nature, which is the undifferentiated, feminine, passive Principle connected to the Primordial Substance.
It is necessary to know that Prakriti or the basic Feminine Nature is one of the two poles of Manifestation.
The other pole is Purusha or, in other words, the almighty and eternal Supreme Godly Spirit.
Therefore, it can be said that these three distinct energies or subtle fluids (the three gunas) have distinct vibration frequencies that never change, and at the same time, they are the three fundamental aspects of Prakriti.
In other words, Prakriti contains within itself this triple nature that is structured and actualized under the ordering influence of Purusha, the Supreme Godly Spirit, and thus gives rise to multiple determinations.
These three guna-s, or, as they are called in Eastern tradition, triguna-s, are also the basic characteristics of Maya, the universal illusion, and depend on Brahman, or, in other words, on the Will of God, whose enigmatic and eternal Reality they nevertheless veil and conceal.
The ancient wisdom of the Tantra Yoga system reveals to us that the entire Macrocosmic Manifestation through which Godly Creation unfolds and expresses God’s almighty Will appears as soon as these three gunas (namely sattva guna, rajas guna, and tamas guna) cease to be in perfect balance within Prakriti.
As soon as this perfect balance of the three guna-s ceases, Creation, the Macrocosm composed of the three Universes (Physical, Astral, and Causal), comes into being and then persists.
If the three guna-s remained in a state of perfect equilibrium, then no phenomena would occur and no Macrocosmic Creation would take place; in other words, without this there would be no Manifestation and no Creation at all.
In brief, these three distinct energies or subtle fluids are:
Sattva guna
When this subtle fluid is present in abundance in the inner microcosm of the human being, it brings about a state of profound peace, complete detachment, euphoric tranquillity, and profound serenity. At the same time, it makes it possible to intuit, feel, and reveal the pure Godly Essence of the being, namely the Immortal Godly Self, Atman. When it clearly predominates in the universe of the human being, it causes that being to be profoundly transformed inwardly in a beneficial way and gives it a predominantly spiritual state.
Rajas guna
When this subtle fluid is present in abundance in the inner microcosm of the human being, that being will always be inclined toward action, toward activities of all kinds. They will manifest an obvious, pronounced passionate tendency.
Human beings in whom this fluid predominates and who have no spiritual aspirations whatsoever are characterized by an almost permanent state of agitation. They most often display an obvious restlessness and are characterized by a tendency toward adventure.
Furthermore, when rajas guna predominates, it causes a state of impulsiveness and expansion to arise, and determines in those human beings a strong inclination toward action and toward an often impetuous, even hasty, realization of the actions they often decide to carry out suddenly.
Tamas guna
When the subtle fluid tamas guna predominates in the inner microcosm of the human being, it causes laziness, indifference, lack of interest, crass ignorance, and stupidity to arise and even persist.
There is also a tendency to have a changeable, inconstant, superficial, fluctuating character, and most often it causes an obvious state of opacity, larvality, inertia, and dullness to settle in the human being.
Furthermore, the predominance of tamas guna causes a state of obscurity, of abysmal dissipation, which in many cases leads the human being in question to subsequently reconsider in various ways the experiences they have had, then changing in a hallucinatory, even aberrant way the meaning and value they had at the beginning.
Moreover, tamas guna causes both ignorance and stupidity to arise and persist in the universe of the human being. When tamas guna predominates, the human being most often lives completely subjugated by the tyranny of vices, which often provoke and fuel the foolish belief, which is obviously misleading, that certain desires or vices that one has enslave and dominate one completely and that one can do nothing to oppose them.
Alchemy and inner transformation
It is important to emphasize that these three guna-s, which are, in their secret reality, energies, subtle fluids, each with a specific frequency of vibration that never changes, can, in turn, be alchemized, transformed. In the case of advanced practitioners of the Tantra Yoga system, they can be modified through specific traditional methods, so that the abundant tamas guna can be sublimated and transformed into rajas guna, in close connection with certain needs, or it is also possible to sublimate and transform the subtle fluid tamas guna into the superior, sublime, pure subtle fluid that is sattva guna.
As we can realize, all human beings, without exception, in whom the subtle fluid tamas guna is present in abundance and even predominates, are characterized by a pronounced, obvious state of either ignorance or foolishness.
It is necessary to realize that it is practically impossible for a human being to be characterized by either a state of ignorance or a state of foolishness, which can sometimes be immense, abysmal, without also having predominantly present in their inner universe the subtle fluid known in the millennial tradition of the Tantra Yoga system as tamas guna.
In the case of advanced practitioners of both the Yoga and Tantra Yoga systems, who have already very well energized their subtle supramental sheath (vijnanamaya kosha), this process of inner alchemy and sublimation of these subtle fluids (such as tamas guna or rajas guna) can be achieved with astonishing ease and, in some cases that can be considered exemplary, it occurs almost instantaneously.
Considering all this, it can be said that as soon as we manage to sublimate, to transform the subtle fluid tamas guna several dozen times in a row, turning it into either the subtle fluid rajas guna or the subtle fluid sattva guna, we first acquire the inner experience we need and then the necessary spiritual maturity, which also gives us great confidence in ourselves.
Such an achievement then makes us realize that no matter how difficult a situation may seem at first glance, it is still easy for us to achieve and then maintain an excellent state of inner balance, sublimating each time and transforming, as we choose in advance, the subtle fluid tamas guna, in close connection with our inner needs, either into the subtle rajas guna fluid, characterized by dynamism and passion, or into the subtle, pure, and sublime sattva guna fluid.
When these three guna-s are viewed from the perspective of manifestation and evolution, it can be said that sattva guna represents and highlights the essence of everything that needs to be accomplished and achieved.
Tamas guna is the obstacle that prevents the realization of everything that needs to be realized, and rajas guna is the secret force of realization and the transforming factor of tamas guna.
In the universe of human beings, sattva guna corresponds to clear, pure consciousness, and its abundant presence brings about a state of delightful, profound peace, euphoric repose, and serenity.
When rajas guna predominates in the inner universe of the human being, it generates an inclination toward incessant activity and, in addition, causes passion to manifest. Under certain conditions, it predisposes the human being to a state of agitation that is often almost incessant and without reason.
Tamas guna causes laziness, inertia, indifference, ignorance, drowsiness, superficiality, lack of interest, absence of curiosity, and stupidity.
These secret keys, which have been revealed here and are well known to both advanced practitioners of the Yoga system and masters of the Tantra Yoga system, help us to understand in a fundamental way what exactly is the cause of the existence, manifestation, and persistence of both ignorance and foolishness in the universe of human beings.
Even if certain systems, such as Christianity, do not consider it a sin, it can be said without error that foolishness is and remains a rather significant and serious sin. Particularly in Eastern tradition, both ignorance and foolishness are unanimously considered sins. In this clearly superior, inclusive, and wise view, stupidity is rightly considered the source and origin of all human limitations.
Moreover, some wise people believe that immense, abysmal, constant foolishness acts precisely like a poison that is often unsuspected, seriously affecting the nature and personality of human beings.
As long as foolishness remains immense and abysmal, the human being in question is in a certain insidious way imprisoned by it, and if the state of foolishness remains just as great and constant, it can be said that because of it, the multitude of direct possibilities, which are clear and obvious to the wise or to tantric masters, of overcoming the narrow limits of the ego (ahamkara), are not glimpsed, not intuited, not discovered, not suspected, not embraced.
For human beings who are committed from the very beginning with great dedication, aspiration, tenacity, and enthusiasm on the spiritual path, when they practice the methods characteristic of the Yoga or Tantra systems correctly and perseveringly, it becomes easy for them to advance with rapid and sure steps on the spiritual path.
Moreover, they then become capable of rising step by step when they manage to pass, one by one, the major spiritual trials and tests that inevitably arise at some point.
In the case of human beings who fail certain major spiritual tests, we then witness the emergence of an obvious state of regression, of spiritual blindness, which is accompanied by a decline into a state of immense, obvious foolishness. Shortly thereafter, such poor human beings are insidiously and demonically plunged into an increasingly pronounced state of tamas.
(to be continued)
yogaesoteric
February 19, 2026
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