COLOURS - Spiritual Effect of Wearing the colour Black

Both drawings based on subtle-knowledge show, in isolation, the subtle-vibrations attracted and emitted by the colours black and white. The final vibrations emitted or attracted by a person is the sum of myriad factors such as spiritual level, personality defects, state of mind at that time, whether negative energies are affecting him, the type and colour of clothes, etc.

3. Reasons why we like certain colours

At a physical level: A person generally likes a certain colour because it matches his skin tone.
At a psychological level: An individual’s taste or distaste for a certain colour can change with his mood. These mood changes are often situation-based, for example:

• According to event: People prefer to wear vibrant colours while going on outings.
  
• According to the event and culture: During a funeral in some cultures, black is worn, while in others, people dress in white. Refer to the article on what colour should one wear for a funeral?
  
• According to tradition: Lawyers in some countries wear black because it is a tradition to do so.
  
• According to age: People in their teens and early adulthood may have a passion for pink. With advancing age the interest in this colour can wane.
  
• As the colour stands for something:
  
  • The colour and style of clothing worn by a celebrity most often can influence the choice of attire of his fan following.
    
  • It is in fashion
    
  • People may dislike a colour by its association to a certain section of society that they dislike
    

At a spiritual level:

• Due to basic nature: The most pertinent factor in why a person likes a certain colour is because it closely matches his basic nature. A sattvik person would prefer sattvik colours such as white or light blue. If the basic nature of a person is tamasik, they would prefer more tamasik colours such as black.
  

• Due to the effect of negative energies: A person under the control of negative energies usually perceives good vibrations even from the colour black. All the four bodies namely physical, mental, intellectual and the subtle-ego can be spiritually impaired when an individual is possessed by negative energies. If the distress persists for a long time, the person slowly begins to lose his own identity. The character of the possessing entity comes to the fore and plays a dominant role in exercising its likes and dislikes which are reflected in the person’s behaviour. This means that the person’s consciousness gets completely controlled by the negative energy possessing him. Since the negative energy is Tama-predominant, the person also takes a liking to Tama-predominant objects such as black garments.
   
  
  Key finding through spiritual research: The trend to wear black formal wear or to wear black in our day-to-day lives has been largely instigated by negative energies which have been and continue to insidiously and subtly influence the minds of people.
  
  
  
  Refer to the article - What percentage of the world’s population is possessed?
  The wearing of the colour black affects people in the immediate vicinity too.  If two people are affected by negative energies and they wear black, this only assists in the exchange of subtle black energy between the two negative energies. However if there is a person who is honestly trying to make efforts in his spiritual practice in the area, he too is prone to be adversely affected by the increase in the Tama component due to another person wearing black. This is because negative energies focus their efforts on trying to dissuade people from doing serious and intense spiritual practice.
•  
• Due to past life impressions: If an individual was harmed by a person who was wearing green clothes in a previous birth, the individual will most likely have an aversion to the colour green in the next birth by subtle-association.
  

• Change due to the level of spiritual practice: A seeker who experiences a sustained state of spiritual emotion (bhāv) may prefer the colour blue. This is because in the spiritual dimension, the subtle-colour of spiritual emotion is blue.
  

4. General spiritual perspective while choosing colours for clothes

The colour of clothes should be sattvik: Select sattvik colours such as white, yellow, blue and shades of these colours. There is a 1/1000 part effect of colours on an average person. This seemingly small proportion will in most cases significantly affect a person’s physical and psychological state. Notwithstanding this small proportion, wearing Sattva-Raja predominant clothes benefits a person by either:

• complementing his Sattva-Raja personality or
  
• lessening the Raja-Tama predominance in him
  

If a person likes wearing black, he may look for reasons or excuses to continue wearing black even after reading this article. It is strongly recommended that the use of one’s intellect in this instance will only be detrimental. This is because there is no spiritual upside to wearing black and it can only adversely affect one’s well-being.

Colour of clothes should not be gaudy: Gaudy colours have a greater predominance of the subtle Tama component. An individual wearing clothes with gaudy colours also becomes Tama-predominant over a period of time.

Clothes should be uniform in colour: Clothes with a plain, single spiritual colour, without any print or design are indicative of transparency and hence, are considered more sāttvik from a spiritual viewpoint.

Colours of clothes should be complementary to each other: If a top and a bottom with different colours are to be worn, then the colours should complement each other, that is, they should be compatible with each other to an extent of at least 20 percent. For example, a combination of two sattvik colours is spiritually more appropriate. Below are some examples of sattvik colour pairs:

• White and pale blue
  
• Pale blue and dark blue
  

There should not be too much of a contrast in the two colours of clothes: If two contrasting shades of colours are put together, they generate negative vibrations. Therefore there should not be too much of a contrast between the two colours. For example, avoid a combination of yellow (a sattvik colour) and green (a rajasik colour). However, a shade of green that blends well with yellow will do. This is because it has more yellow in it and hence is more sattvik.
At many formal functions we see people wearing a black and white combination such as a tuxedo. The world sees this type of formal wear as the epitome of elegance and social grace. However at a spiritual level the story is very different. The subtle-vibrations from a very sattvik colour such as white and a very tamasik colour such as black actually fight each other. This fight leads to the creation of distressing vibrations which only increases the possibility of being affected by negative energies. From a spiritual perspective it is therefore not recommended to wear clothes, such as a tuxedo, with a black and white combination.

Proportion of sattvik and rajasik colours in fabric: If the proportion of sattvik and rajasik colours in a cloth is such that the proportion of the rajasik colour used is much less, then the spiritual vibrations from the cloth are better. If a white cloth has a red floral design, then good vibrations are experienced from the cloth. It means that when the percentage of the sattvik colour in the cloth is more than that of the rajasik colour, the effectiveness of the rajasik colour reduces. In short, the vibrations from the colours in a cloth depend on what percentage of sattvik and rajasik colours have been used in the cloth.

As a result of a person’s spiritual practice and after attaining a spiritual level of above 60 %, the effect of colours on his mind and intellect is minimal. This effect diminishes as a person’s spiritual level increases. However it can still affect him physically as the body is gross (tangible) and higher level negative energies can easily affect something that is in the physical realm.

5. In summary

We hope this article has provided you with an insight at a practical level to the spiritual effect of colours on your life. The basic rule of thumb to keep in mind is to increase the Sattva component in your life and reduce the Raja-Tama subtle-component in your life. By understanding and putting this spiritual principle into practice and not being swayed by any tamasik trend however popular it may be, will only add a higher level of well-being in your life.