The Gunas
The three states of material existence that comprise the physical world
Yoga and Ayurveda recognize three states or qualities of material existence called gunas, the intermingling of which create prakriti. Prakriti is the primary substance from which form and physicality give rise.
The three gunas are:
Tamas (tamasic or tamas guna) - Life experience interpreted through fear
Rajas (rajasic or rajas guna) - Life experience interpreted through desire
Sattvas (sattvic or sattva guna) - Life experience interpreted by Truth
Here is a list of things that embody each guna:
Tamas- Lethargy, density, heaviness, inertia, entropy, dullness, depression, darkness, confusion, compulsion, apathy, aversion, avoidance, procrastination, stagnation, expecting more from doing less, mind fog, obesity, low blood pressure, low metabolism, constipation, the flu, atherosclerosis, alcohol, tobacco, heavy metal toxicity, low grade marijuana, sedatives, pain killers, eating late, sleeping late, oversleeping, meat and dairy products, fast food, stale and processed food, fried foods, beige colored foods like bread and pastries, mushrooms (the Jains think mushrooms to be tamasic because they grow from dead matter), fossil fuels, environmental pollution.
Rajas - Anger, heat, fire, anxiety, over-analysis, irritation, restlessness, inability to focus, inability to sleep, passion, greed, self-centeredness, extroversion, jealousy, lust, heat rashes, rosacea, acid reflux, spicy foods, onions, garlic, processed sugars, caffeine, cocaine, eating quickly or while standing, high blood pressure, high metabolism, dehydration, violent tv and video games, factory farming, corporatism, pornography, news, social media, dating apps, gambling, day-trading, road-rage, Trump, Red Bull, fluorescent lighting, radiation, cancer.
Sattvas - Light, clarity, harmony, balance, creativity, equanimity, alertness, self-awareness, detachment (vairagya), control of the senses, introversion, conscious breathing, restful sleep, afternoon naps, going to bed early, waking up early, clear skin, consciousness, transcendence, fresh squeezed juice from organic fruits and vegetables, leafy green vegetables, foods born directly of the sun, vegan diet, mono diet, clean air, spring water, Mr. Rogers.
We see the times of day have their own inherent gunic qualities as well. Sattva is associated with the quiet of early morning before things get going, rajas defines the middle of the day when a lot is being demanded of us, and tamas comes on at night after we eat and get sleepy.
Yoga is a sattvic state. A yoga practice is designed to neutralize the tendencies of one’s senses (jnanendriyas) veering too far into rajas or tamas, per the graphic below.
Although the three gunas have distinct qualities they are not exclusive to one another in their different manifestations. Disease as diagnosed in Ayurvedic medicine is viewed primarily through the perceived imbalances between the highs and lows of rajas and tamas respectively. This is why there is so much overlay in the symptoms of said imbalances. Tamas and rajas fuel one another.
Take alcohol intoxication— It will initially activate one’s latent energies towards the highs of rajas, as inhibition lowers and one becomes the life of the party. But the next morning one endures the heaviness and misery of tamas without a big picture understanding of what led them toward such compulsions, as this behavior will repeat itself again and again in the form of samskaras (karmic compulsions). If one were more conscious they would see the pendulum swing between rajas and tamas cancels out whatever highs one was seeking and ultimately leads one towards greater imbalance.
But it is important to note the gunas do not have a moral quality or character in and of themselves. Rajas may be necessary to accomplish goals or achieve certain outcomes. My teacher’s teacher BKS Iyengar was quoted as saying “sattvic (yoga) teachers create tamasic students”, implying that rajas is needed in the teaching of large classes to connect with students and lift them from the downward pull of tamas toward sattvas. This is consistent with my own experience whether it be in teaching or managing people. It’s very easy for entropy to set in when one becomes passive and indirectly accountable for their own performance and outcomes. Increasingly, people’s expectations are to get more by doing less. This is very tamasic.
Likewise some may find certain tamasic qualities necessary to neutralize strong rajasic tendencies in order to bring oneself down into sattva. But one needs to be careful with tamas as it is often mistaken to be sattvic when it is not.
There is often too a conflation with the gunas and the dosha types as described in Ayurveda. Without going too much into the doshas, they are also comprised of elemental forces whether they be pitta (fire), vata (air/aether) and kapha (earth) and are therefore viewed through a gunic lens, but they are not directly analogous. Within guna, sattva is the desired state for ultimate well being and order, whereas there is no single desired dosha type as one is seeking a greater balance between all three. The balancing of the gunas through one’s dosha type is too complex a subject for the scope of this writing, but know much of one’s health can be accurately assessed through the interplay of these elemental forces in one’s constitution. If one is sattvic, it is assumed there is no imbalance, hence no dis-ease.
When Patanjali defines yoga as citta vritti nirodha, it is this vritti (oscillating movement between rajas and tamas) he is describing. I often think sattva akin to the “middle way,” in Buddhism. I also view sattva as transcendent or above the dynamic interplay of opposites we experience as reality. As per the teachings of classical yoga, it takes tremendous willpower and force to organize one’s life energies around this ideal of citta vritti nirodha and sattva, especially in light of modern societal forces that seek to exploit one’s lower nature in pursuit of attention and profit.
This is the most basic of basic overviews of the gunas. More to come.
Namaskaram to you all.