Unused RAM filling up Mac Pro OS 10.9.2

I have a 2009 Mac Pro running OS 10.9.2.  It has 8 processores and 24 GB of RAM.  Throughout the past couple of weeks, I have been seeing the unused RAM get filled up (I use a program to monitor my RAM usage and the white 'free' area starts to progressively turn gray).  The machine then become unresponsive and sluggish.  I use the Terminal to purge it and all is well for a while.  I need assistance to figure out what is causing it and how to fix it.
Please instruct me on which report would be beneficial for a diagnostic and how to bring up said report.  Any input will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then try the action that you're having trouble with again. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
☞ The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
☞ Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

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