Without sattva you can never reach the Supreme. Wherever you are, in whatever station, from there you have to reach sattva in varying degrees because tamas will be reduced only when the mind's agitations, vikshepas are quietened. As agitations quieten, sattva increases slowly.
The calm man is not the man who is dull. You must not mistake Sattva for dullness or laziness. The calm man is the one who has control over the mind waves. Activity is the manifestation of inferior strength, calmness, of the superior.