The three Gunas – Summary (Sattva-Rajas-Tamas)
by Atman Nityananda / blog
The Three Gunas
Nature has three qualities or gunas.
These are called sattva, rajas and tamas.
All material nature is made up of the three gunas (qualities) that are a great map for navigating through life. When you are able to recognize which of these energies is at play in your life, you find it much easier to reach a state of balance. Part of the work of yoga is to go beyond the limitation of seeing life as forms and concepts, and to see the underlying qualities of things.
Each quality has its own characteristics. Since both the external world and the internal world of the mind are made of matter, the qualities of the three gunas are seen in both.
For example, in the external world we see:
- Sattva — equilibrium and serenity
- Rajas — dynamism and movement
- Tamas — inertia and stagnancy
In the internal world of the mind, these are experienced as:
- Sattva — Purity, compassion, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, comprehension, recognition, generosity, patience, kindness
- Rajas — Desire, anger, attachment, greed, possessiveness, envy, jealousy , hyperactivity, agitation, fear, nervousness, anxiety, aggressiveness, competitiveness, power, prestige, name and fame
- Tamas — Impurity, dullness, , delusion, confusion, depression, stupor, unconsciousness, coma
Sattva
Sattva is a calm, peaceful and clear energy. The Sanskrit word is based on the principle “Sat” or “being, as it should be, perfect”
People that are Sattvic are calm, centered, compassionate and unselfish.
Food that is Sattvic is nourishing & easy to digest. Cereals, Fresh Fruit, Pure Water, Veggies, Milk, Yogurt.
Rajas
Rajas generally: is a passionate, frenetic, creative, tumultuous energy. People that are rajasic are full of desire, thirsting for worldly enjoyment, and even at more extreme ends of the scale, fueled by competition and ambitiousness. The Sanskrit root means ‘impure’ and relates to ‘passion‘. If you think of living in a bright red room or a woman wearing a red dress, you can feel the energy of Rajas.
Food that is Rajasic is quite stimulating (often times over stimulating). Egg, spicy, sour, acid foods like coffee, hot peppers, onions and so on. If you find yourself eating really quickly too, this too can be rajasic. If you have ever been to a big smorgasbord and eaten way too many combinations of food, you would have belly will be feeling the effect of Rajas Guna
Tamas
Tamas is dull, insensible, gloomy and dark energy. The Sanskrit word literally means “darkness, dark-blue, black”.
People that are tamasic are gloomy, sluggish, dull and blinded by greed. Sometimes people who are tamasic can be characterized as lazy and slothful. If you spend the night drinking tequila in Margarita ville, the next morning you will find yourself deep in the heart of Tamasic ville On the darker end of the tamasic scale, they can be unconscious of the needs others, dark and destructive.
Food that is Tamasic is stale, under or over ripe. Heavy meats. Canned, reheated or fermented foods. Eating too much is Tamasic.
One of the factors that influences the strength of the guna that predominates in our mind is our karma from past lives. But because the mind has an adoptive nature, it is strongly affected by the quality of our environment, associations, sense perceptions and by the quality of the food we eat.
Read more about The Three Gunas
Dr. David frawley speaks about the three gunas
Watch all seven videos of this talk about the three gunas
Dr. David Frawley [Pandit Vāmadeva Śāstrī] Interview
atmannityanada 