The three Gunas - summary
Nature has three
qualities or gunas. These are called sattva, rajas and tamas.
All material nature is made up the interplay of three energies or
"gunas". The gunas are a great map for navigating your way through
life. When you can recognize which of these energies is at play in your life,
it makes it so much easier to bring about 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.
These three inseparable qualities exist simultaneously in all of matter,
all the time.
Just as it's not
possible to have water (H2O) without the (O) oxygen atoms, so it's not possible
to find a situation where one or more of its qualities have been eliminated.
All three remain together, although at any given time, one of these qualities
predominates over the other two.
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
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". It is also related to the root rakta, "redness". And raga, "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.
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.
One of the factors that influences the strength of the guna that
predominates in your mind is your karma from past lives. But because the mind
has an adoptive nature, it is strongly affected by the quality of your
environment, associations, sense perceptions and by the quality of the food you
eat.
Dr. David frawley speaks about the three gunas
Peace Love Harmony