From tamas arises rajas, from rajas arises sattva which is luminous, and luminosity itself, that which is light —That is established in the heart.

A description of guṇa evolution: from inertia (tamas) arises activity (rajas), and from purified activity arises luminosity (sattva). But beyond the three guṇas is Light itself, the prakāśa that makes all luminosity possible. In our yoga practice, this reminds us that sattva is a means, not the end. Ultimate Light is “established in the heart” (hṛdi saṃsthitaḥ) —not as object of contemplation but as our own nature. The heart is the seat of this transcendent luminosity.