What are the Three Gunas in Yoga?
What is Triguna? Types (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas) of Trigunas!
The concept of the three gunas, or Tri Gunas in Sanskrit language, originates from the ancient Indian Samkhya Philosophy. These Tri Gunas evolve with Prakarti (nature) during creation. Wherever there is Prakarti there are the Tri Gunas because it is a primary part of Prakarti.
The three gunas are considered to be the pillars of the manifested world and are responsible for diversity in creation.
These are fundamental qualities of all aspects of existence like humans, birds, animals, plants, including all physical, mental, and spiritual realms.
Tri Gunas are Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.
The Sattva is goodness, lightness, and purity.
The Rajas is passion, movement and disturbances.
The Tamas is darkness, stability and inertia.
What are Purusha and Prakriti?
In the Samkhya philosophy, Purusha and Prakriti are two basic and important fundamental concepts that explain the nature of reality.
Purusha: It is pure consciousness, the universal self or the soul. It is unchanging, eternal and unaffected by the material life or the world. Purusha is an observer of all experiences and observes the unfolding of Prakriti.
Prakriti: It represents the nature or material world and has three primary qualities, which are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. These Tri Gunas interact and allow for the diversity and ever-changing quality of our material world. From tamas the five elements arise
1. Akash (space)
2. Vayu (air)
3. Agni (fire)
4. Jal (water) and
5. Prithivi (earth)
How does creation happen?
According to Samkhya philosophy, the universe is a manifestation of interplay between Purusha and Prakriti. Prakriti in its unmanifested state, is an equilibrium and that is characterized the absence of differentiation. However, when the equilibrium is disturbed, Prakriti comes in the contact of Purusha and the process of creation starts.
The sound "OM" is considered the primordial vibration that disrupts the equilibrium of Prakriti and the initiation the process of creation. That is why the chanting of "OM" is believed to align one's consciousness with this primal vibration, symbolizing the unity of individual consciousness with cosmic consciousness.
Even though “OM” is the sound that disrupts the equilibrium of Prakriti, it is also the sound that can recreate this equilibrium.
The four stages of creation - How do the three Gunas come into existence?
Fist Stage: In this stage, there is no diversity because it is before the manifestation of the universe, where the Prakriti is in a state of equilibrium, known as its unmanifested form.
Second Stage: In this stage, the equilibrium of Prakriti is started to be disturbed by the influence of Purusha. The "OM" sound is considered to primordial vibration that disrupts Purusha and Prakriti. This initiate the process of manifestation and causes Prakriti to undergo transformation.
Third Stage: In this stage, Prakriti begins to manifest as it undergoes a process of differentiation, resulting in the emergence of the three Gunas; Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.
Fourth Stage: In this stage, the Tri Gunas start to interact with each other in various proportions and combinations, which gives rise to diversity in the material world.
What are the Tri Gunas?
The Tri Gunas are inherent qualities of Prakriti, which influence all aspects of the manifested world.
These Tri Gunas are: Sattva, Rajas, Tamas
Sattva: This Guna is best for the spiritual practices. It has the quality of calmness, lightness, purity, harmony, and illumination. It is associated with other qualities like wisdom, tranquility, intelligence, and clarity. When it dominates then the mind is balanced, crystal clear, calm and it is very easy to concentrate. A high Sattva Guna is important to stay focused, improve our relationships, stay calm and positive in difficult situations in life. It allows us to connect with our intuition and to the inner self.
Rajas: This Guna is good for productivity. It has qualities like activity, creativity, movement, dynamism and passion. It is also associated with qualities such as attachment, restlessness, ambition and desire. A mind that has an overactivity of Rajas can be agitated and is associated with cravings, driven by desires, constantly seeking stimulation, very easily distracted, poor concentration and difficulty to make decisions. While Rajas can helpful in productivity, and achievements it can also lead to stress, restlessness, agitation if not consciously managed. Rajas Guna can move one's mind from Sattva to Rajas, Rajas to Tamas, Sattva to Tamas and Tamas to Sattva so it is very important to manage it properly.
Tamas: This Guna gives stability but has the qualities like darkness, inertia, lethargy, delusion, and dullness. When Tamas Guna is predominated the mind is lacking with clarity, motivation. It can be clouded which can lead to darkness, dullness, ignorance and inertia. This Guna is seen as a biggest obstacle to spiritual evolution and considered with the lowest state of Chitta when not managed properly and overactive.
Are three Gunas part of everything that exists in this universe?
Each living and non-living being has a unique combination or proportion of Tri Gunas, which determines the nature, attributes, and behavior of that being.
It is believed that everything in the entire universe, including living beings, physical forms, and even our thoughts and emotions are affected by the three gunas.
Example: A serene landscape might be influenced by the Sattva Guna, while a busy or crowed city might be more influenced by the Rajas Guna.
How does Triguna affect us?
Peaceful mind and clarity of thought are associated with the Sattva Guna, while anxiety and restlessness are associated with the Rajas Guna.
Each living being has a unique combination of the Gunas, affecting their behavior patterns, emotional tendencies and personality.
What is the connection of Chitta with Tri Gunas?
Chitta is a combination of mind, intellect, and ego. It is an individual consciousness that stores impressions or samskaras from past experiences. These influence thoughts, emotions and behaviors, and develop an individual's personality. It is associated with the capacity of concentration and awareness. The subconscious mind lies down in chitta, holding desires and unresolved experiences.
Tri Gunas effect on chitta – The different stages of the chitta
Kshipta (Disturbed): When the Rajas Guna is dominating it is associated with passion, creativity, activity but also agitation and anxiety can be caused if rajas gets overactive. Then it is very difficult to make any kind of decision in this state. Sattva and Tamas Guna are still active.
Mudha (Dull): When the Tamas Guna is dominant it is associated with steadiness, stability and grounding and also with primal activities. It can cause selfishness, criminal activities and addictions if tamas gets overactive. It is believed that in this overactive stage of tamas a human is very animalistic in their behavior and have a very low state of consciousness. Sattva and Rajas are still active.
Vikshipta (Distracted): When the Sattva Guna is dominating clarity, focus, awareness and mindfulness of their actions can be gained. An immersion into a temporary state of samadhi is possible, through the spiritual practice but it can be caused by a shocking accident in life, for example a death of loved one, any kind of injury etc. Rajas and Tamas Gunas are still active and the chitta can adapt their qualities again.
Ekagra (One-pointed): Sattva is dominant and rajas and tamas are completely dissolved. This causes Sabija Samadhi, where the mind is crystal clear, and calm, that a person can see everything that lies in his or her world. The mind is engaged with one object only, the object of concentration, but there is still a separation between the Self and the object. The chitta still accumulates impressions.
Nirodhah (Mastered): All qualities are dissolved and this state is known as Nirbija Samadhi. Now the Self and the object become one and the unity of everything is permanently realized. When we are in this stage, we still take part in ordinary life, but our chitta is not affected by our surroundings anymore and there is no accumulation of impressions anymore.
Why is important to understand the Tri Gunas to have stillness in the mind?
Recognition of mental patterns: The Tri Gunas represent the primary and main qualities of the mind, explained above. By understanding the three gunas and their characteristics one can understand the predominant mental patterns that influence their emotions, behaviors, thoughts and habits.
Understanding the Obstacles: Mainly the Rajas and Tamas Gunas are considered the main obstacles, that prevent a human to achieving stillness in the mind. Rajas can bring desires, distractions and activity. Tamas can bring ignorance, darkness and lethargy. By bringing awareness to these obstructive characteristics one can identify the obstacles that disturb the equanimity.
Cultivation of the Sattva Guna: It is considered to produce stillness, calmness in the mind, and growth in spirituality. Sattva qualities are purity, clarity, balance, inner peace, and harmony. By cultivating Sattva Guna through the eight limbs, mindfulness, meditation, consumption of sattvic food and different spiritual practices, one can gradually reduce the influence of the other two Gunas (Rajas and Tamas).
Spiritual Growth and Enlightenment: One can achieve spiritual growth and reach to enlightenment through the understanding of Tri Gunas. By awareness or consciously working with Tri Gunas, one can refine their mental states. It can help in understanding of their true nature, cultivating positivity and going beyond thought patterns and behaviors. This process of understanding and conscious managing of the three gunas can bring inner growth that can lead to spiritual growth and Enlightenment.
Why is important to have a balanced state of Tri Guna to live a healthy life in modern era?
There are many reasons why it is beneficial to have a balanced state of Tri Gunas to have a healthy life in the modern era. Many of us are living a fast and stressful lifestyle. If we learn how to balance the three gunas and play with their proportions, we can actively change our state of mind according to our needs in that particular moment of our life. Balancing the three gunas can help us to gain:
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Creativity and Innovation
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Mindfulness and Presence
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Mental Clarity
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Emotional Stability
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Physical Health
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Stress Management
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Energy Levels
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Quality Sleep
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Harmonious Relationships
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Productivity and Efficiency
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Resilience to Challenges
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Spiritual Growth
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Mental Well-being
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Self-discipline
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Overall Life Satisfaction
What we can do to bring Balance into Tri Guna’s?
Bringing balance to the Tri Gunas is an ongoing process, which involves making conscious choices, cultivating awareness, and engaging in practices that promote harmony, peace and equilibrium within oneself.
Below are some strategies to bring balance into the Tri Gunas:
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Self-care
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Asana practice
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Pranayama practice
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Pratyahara practice
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Concentration and Meditation practice
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Increase of Sattvic Food in diet
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Yogic Diet
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Karma Yoga
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Cultivating Positive Relationships
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Seeking Guidance
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Limiting Stimuli
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Vairagya: Practice Non-Attachment
Why do we have to overcome the three gunas, if we want to reach to Enlightenment - Nirbija Samadhi?
When the creation started, Prakriti moves out of its balanced state and it begins to manifest as it undergoes to a process of differentiation and resulting in the existence of Tri Gunas; Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.
Until we are not able to dissolve the Tri Gunas completely, we are not able to go back to this state of unity and equilibrium.
To get there, firstly we have to understand the three gunas, their effects on us and how we can manage them to proceed on our spiritual path. Then, we have to increase the Sattva Guna to further proceed on the path of spirituality, which automatically results in the dissolution of tamas and rajas when a state of stillness is reached.
Finally, we have to let go of Sattva because it causes the last bit of separation that stops us from returning back to the experience of permanent unity and equilibrium.
Conclusion:
It is important to learn how to balance the three gunas to live a healthy life in our modern world.
We have to increase Sattva to follow the path of Spirituality.
To reconnect with pure consciousness, we have to dissolve all three gunas
The ultimate goal on the spiritual path is the realization the difference between Purusha and Prakriti.
