Gita on Three Gunas

The three Gunas are Satva, Rajas and Tamas. They are born of Prakriti, cosmic nature, and whole of cosmic nature is constituted of three Gunas. Hence these Gunas exist in all, including humans, in various degrees of concentration and combination governing their nature and behaviour.  In the knowledge of the three Gunas we have the secret of success in worldly life as well as in spiritual life. In verses 5 to 18 of chapter 14 of Gita, which is titled “Guna thraya vibhaga Yoga”, Yoga of the division of three Gunas, Lord Krishna gives the characteristics of the individual Gunas, their influence on one’s behaviour and of their signature signs and also how they affect the human beings in this life and next as well.  He also describes how the three Gunas bind Athma to the anathma of body-mind complex in individuals.  In the introductory verses Lord Krishna calls it liberating knowledge as the knowledge of the Gunas can be used to transcend them when that Jnanam will liberate one from samsara, while alive and from the cycle of birth and death, on death.  To transcend the Gunas one must know them and so let us see the details as revealed by the Lord in these verses.

Lord Krisna first explains the outstanding characteristics of each of the three Gunas and how each one binds the individual. He starts with Satva Guna (14-6):

तत्र सत्त्वं निर्मलत्वात्प्रकाशकमनामयम्। (Tatra sattwam nirmalatwaat prakaashakam anaamayam)
सुखसङ्गेन बध्नाति ज्ञानसङ्गेन चानघ।।(Sukhasangena badhnaati jnanasangena chaanagha)

Among them, O Arjuna, Satva, is bright and harmless due to its purity, and binds by causing attachment to knowledge and to happiness.

Satva Guna is marked by brightness and calmness.  A calm and bright mind can learn things, absorb knowledge and engage in meditation.  But this too can cause bondage as a Satvic mind always seeks seclusion and a tranquil environment, free from noise pollution.  As the external circumstances are not under one’s control, one’s longing for quietude and solitude, causing restlessness in noisy crowded environs, becomes a bondage.  Further, the knowledge that it seeks is mainly worldly knowledge which is not totally fulfilling and satisfying however much one acquires it.   

Rajo Guna is described in the next verse (14-7):

रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम्। (Rajo raagaatmakam viddhi trishnaasangasamudbhavam)
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम्।।(Tannibadhnaati kaunteya karmasangena dehinam) 
 O Arjuna, know Rajas to be of the nature of passion, born of thirst (desire for sensual enjoyment) and attachment and binds the embodied one through attachment to action.

Rajo Guna is of the nature of attachment and passion; a Rajasic mind is highly extrovert and it always wants to relate with things and people.  This thirst for sense-enjoyment propels one to action and so Rajas is characterised by activity. A Rajasic mind seeks always company and action and will go mad in seclusion.  As Rajasic mind is of competitive nature, it is always anxious and restless.  The restlessness and longing for activity and sense-enjoyment is the cause for samsara and samsara is bondage.  

Tamo Guna is described in next verse (14-8); 

तमस्त्वज्ञानजं विद्धि मोहनं सर्वदेहिनाम्। (Tamastwajnanajam viddhi mohanam sarvadehinaam)
प्रमादालस्यनिद्राभिस्तन्निबध्नाति भारत।।(Pramaadaalasyanidraabhis tannibadhnaati bhaarata)

Understand Tamas as born of ignorance and as the deluder of all beings. It binds by (causing) negligence, indolence, and sleep, O Arjuna.

Under the influence of Tamo Guna one’s capacity for discrimination gets veiled and the person suffers from Ajjnanam and delusion.  It is just the antithesis of Rajo Guna in that it dislikes activity and takes pleasure in laziness and lethargy; physical, mental and intellectual.  So the person’s attention span and absorption capacity are at a low level and he is ignorant or uncaring for the higher purposes of life.

 

Though Lord Krishna is non-judgemental when he outlines the characteristics, we can grade the Gunas depending on their positive influence on one’s mental personality, ranking Satva that stands for brightness and knowledge as highest and Tamas that stands for lethargy and ignorance as lowest. We can also define them in short in the order of ranking, as non-activity, activity and inactivity based on the the aptitude of the person for activity at the time of predominance of the Guna. The three gunas compete among themselves for supremacy and try to dominate overpowering the other two. Satva predominates overpowering Rajas and Tamas; Rajas predominates overpowering Satva and Tamas and Tamas predominates overpowering Satva and Rajas(14-10).

Lord Krishna gives also the tell-tale signs that reveal which is the ruling Guna at the moment. When Satva is predominant all the jnanendriyas radiate the light of knowledge (14-11). This state of light comes from inner peace and tranquillity that Satva pradhana person enjoys and of his desire for knowledge. When Rajas is predominant, greed and activity, the undertaking of worldly actions with a selfish motive and longing for enjoyment, are on the rise. (14-12).  Rajas pradhana people are great achievers and material progress is due to them, no doubt, but in their quest for success they tend to be impatient and intolerant of persons who do not measure up to their standard. They are restless in their longing for things not yet acquired and for tasks not yet accomplished.  Selfish interests and desires mark their activity.  When Tamas is predominant, darkness, inertia, miscomprehension, delusion flourishes (14-13). Tamas pradhana person has no interest in learning and doing, with the result he is slow to act and understand.  Even where he acts, action is liable to suffer due to negligence and misunderstanding. In short, when one's study and contemplation increases and one becomes more calm and reflective we can say Satva guna is then in action. When activity increases and one becomes more competitive, selfish, aggressive and egoistic, Rajo Guna is on the rise then, we can conclude. When one becomes lazy, lethargic and procrastinating spending more time in sleep and idleness, Tamo Guna is the then dominating Guna, we can infer. 

Knowledge is born out of Satva, greed is born out of Rajas. negligence and delusion along with ignorance are born out of Tamas (14-17).  When Satva Guna increases, knowledge and contemplation increases and so the fruit of Satvic action is stated as Punya.  When Rajo Guna increases activity and ambition increases generating tension, anxiety, worry and sorrow and so the fruit of Rajasic action is termed as sorrow.   When Tamo Guna increases sleep, negligence, idleness and dullness increases and so the fruit of Tamasic action is dubbed as ignorance..  So it is said that the result of Satvic action is pure puṇya; the result of Rajasic (action) is sorrow; whereas the result of Tamasic (action) is ignorance (14-16). 

Lord Krishna goes on to say that Gunas not only influence this life but they also have an impact on next life as well. When one is Satva pradhana at the time of death, then he will go to the pure higher lokas where he enjoys greater happiness.  When he is reborn, he is born in a pious family. If one is Rajas pradhana at the time of death, he goes to the middle worlds and takes birth in the family of those who are attached to action.  If Tamas is predominant at the time of death, one goes to the lower worlds and is reborn in the family of dull and ignorant or even goes down the order of evolution being born in the animal kingdom.  

In the rest of the verses of this chapter Lord Krishna talks of the person who has transcended the Gunas including the characteristics of such a person, Gunatheetha, which has been discussed in an earlier blog “Gunatheetha, the Jeevanmuktha”.  In chapters 17 and 18 also Lord Krishna talks more on the topic of classification of various subjects like Yajna, Dhana, Tapas, food, happiness etc. under the three Gunas with a view to help one transcend the Gunas.  One can at least make use of this knowledge of the Gunas to shape one’s life on Satvic path, eschewing Tamasic ways. 

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