सत्त्व

Sattva is one of the three modes of nature taught in the Gita. Its sense is clarity, light and balance. A mind in which sattva is strong sees things as they are and is not quickly shaken.

The direct occurrence of sattva for this topic is verse 18.10. There the sāttvika relinquisher is called sattvasamāviṣṭa, filled with sattva, and also discerning and free of doubt. His mark is that he does not hate the unpleasant action and does not cling to the pleasant one. In the way of letting go that the Gita calls sāttvika (18.9), action is not dropped; attachment and fruit are.

The full account of the modes, the marks of sattva, rajas and tamas and their influence on action, doer and knowledge, comes later in the same chapter and in other chapters. Here only the side that connects with the three kinds of relinquishment is in view.

Common misreading: taking sattva to mean withdrawing from action and sitting quietly.

Better sense: sattva is clarity and discernment; action goes on and the grip does not.

To read further, see the topic Relinquishment and Renunciation of Action.