“Achar with knowledge, observance full of the spirit of the thing itself, is sattwic and preserves the thing itself; achar without knowledge, looking to the letter of custom and observance, disregarding the spirit, is tamasic and destroys the thing itself.”
— Sri Aurobindo
The Lindy Effect states that the longer a non-perishable item has been around, the longer it’s likely to persist in the future. Nassim Taleb illustrated in his book Antifragile, “If a book has been in print for forty years, I can expect it to be in print for another forty years. But, and that is the main difference, if it survives another decade, then it will be expected to be in print another fifty years.”
The same holds true for traditions and customs. The former are ritualized and preserved because they either contribute to the enhancement of people or protect them from harm. For instance, consecration (prāna pratishthā) is the establishment of vital life force into a stone idol, turning it into a deity whose energy benefits people in its vicinity. This makes the tradition sattvik since it’s done for the welfare of people, which is also why it has sustained for millennia (and will most likely persist for millennia).
Customs don’t always fit this mould though. The practice of sati allowed a few people to exploit widows, making it a tamasik custom that didn’t survive for long (and rightly so).
Likewise, you must question every action you see or take—at your workplace, in your locality, and in your personal life… even the ones you agree with. Does the action favor a few at the expense of others? Does it keep people in their comfort zone? Or does it help people pursue a fulfilling life? Follow sattva and tamas will fall away by itself.
“Intelligent observance and custom are always ready to change when change is needed, for they know themselves to be important, but not essential. Ignorant observance and custom consider themselves to be the thing itself, rage against the hand that touches them and prefer to rot rather than change,” Sri Aurobindo wrote.
Will you change when needed? Or would you rather rot?