practical applications of the concept of gunas

7/26/2019 Practical Applications of the Concept of Gunas

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Practical Applications of the

Concept of Gunas

Before we get into the practical applications of the concept of gunas, it would

make sense to have a basic understanding of what gunas are. The following

excerpt from wikipedia would provide an overview of the gunas.

Gua (Sanskrit ! depending on the context means "string, thread or

strand#, or "virtue, merit, excellence#, or "$ualit%, peculiarit%, attribute,

propert%#. The concept originated in Samkh%a philosoph%, but now a ke%

concept in various schools of &indu philosoph%. There are three gunas,

according to this worldview, that have alwa%s been and continue to be

present in all things and beings in the world.These three gunas are called

sattva (goodness, constructive, harmonious!, ra'as (passion, active,

confused!, and tamas (darkness, destructive, chaotic!.


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ll of these three gunas are present in ever%one and ever%thing, it is the

proportion that is different, according to &indu worldview. The interpla% of

these gunas defines the character of someone or something, of nature and

determines the progress of life.

)n some contexts, it ma% mean "a subdivision, species, kind, $ualit%#, or an

operational principle or tendenc% of something or someone. )n human

behavior studies, Guna means personalit%, innate nature and ps%chological

attributes of an individual.*

There is no single word +nglish language translation for the concept guna.

The usual, but approximate translation is $ualit%*.

s %ou can see, in the material world, gunas are allencompassing. +ven an

atom, which makes up all the ob'ects of the world, has the three gunas

manifested in it sattva in the proton, ra'as in the electron, and tamas in the

neutron. ll the three gunas are present in ever%one and ever%thing in

var%ing proportions. T%picall%, we use gunas to describe characteristics of

human beings, but there is no reason that the gunas cannot be used to

describe the characteristics of all the entities of the material world, living aswell nonliving.

Gunas can also be used to characteri-e all the fundamental operational

principles that have been identified b% philosophers. &owever, since ) am

thoroughl% familiar with onl% &induism, ) intend to focus onl% on the

philosoph% of &induism. ) have tried to be as thorough as possible, but )

suspect that there are infinite applications of the concept of gunas and

therefore, no one person can capture all the applications. fter ) hit thenumber / on these applications, ) decided to stop, for / is an auspicious

number and even Gita stops after / chapters. ) am sure the reader will get

the message that ) am tr%ing to conve%. ) hope that, going forward, others

would further expand on the applications of the concept of gunas.


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. 0iving Being (+xperiencer!1)ntellect, 2ind, and Bod%

)ntellect1Sattva3 2ind14a'as3 Bod%1Tamas

5. 0iving Being (+xperiences!1Thinks, 6eels, and 7erceives

Thinking1sattva3 6eeling14a'as3 7erception1Tamas

8. 0iving Being (6ields of +xperience!1Thoughts, +motions, and 9b'ects


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Thoughts1Sattva3 +motions14a'as3 9b'ects1Tamas

:. 6ive +lements1Sk%, ir, 6ire, ;ater, and +arth

Sk%1Sattva3 ir, 6ire, ;ater14a'as3 +arth1Tamas

ose

+ars1Sattva3 Skin, +%es, Tongue14a'as3 >ose1Tamas

?. 6ive =nowledge Senses1Sound, Touch, Sight, Taste, and Smell

Sound1Sattva3 Touch, Sight, Taste14a'as3 Smell1Tamas

@. 6ive ;ork Sense 9rgans12outh, &ands, 6eet, 4eproductive 9rgan, and

+xcretor% 9rgan

2outh1Sattva3 &ands, 6eet, 4eproductive 9rgan14a'as3 +xcretor%

9rgan1Tamas

/. 6ive ;ork Senses1Speech, Grasping, 0ocomotion, 4eproduction, and

+xcretion

Speech1Sattva3 Grasping, 0ocomotion, 4eproduction14a'as3

+xcretion1Tamas

A. 6ive =oshas1nnama%a =osha, 7ranama%a =osha, 2anoma%a =osha,

ig%anama%a =osha, and nandama%a =osha

nandama%a =osha 1Sattva3 ig%anama%a =oshaC2anoma%a =osha C

7ranama%a =osha14a'as3 nnama%a =osha1Tamas


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D. Seven Ehakras12uladhara(0owest!, Svadhisthana, 2anipura, nahata,

ishuddha, 'na, and Sahaswara(&ighest!

nahataCishuddhaC'naCSahaswara1Sattva3

SvadhisthanaC2anipuraCnahata14a'as3 2uladhara1Tamas

. ntahkarana12anas, Buddhi, Ehitta, and hamkara

BuddhiCEhitta1Sattva3 2anas14a'as3 hamkara1Tamas

5. 6our States of Eonsciousness1;aking, Freaming, Feap Sleep, and

Turi%a (the baseconsciousness, Brahman, that transcends the other threestates of consciousness!

;aking1Sattva3 Freaming14a'as3 Feep Sleep1Tamas

8. 6ive 7ranas17rana, pana, dana, Samana, and %ana

7rana1Sattva3 danaCSamanaC%ana14a'as3 pana1Tamas

:. Three Bodies1Eausal Bod%, Subtle Bod%, and Gross Bod%

Eausal Bod%1Sattva3 Subtle Bod%14a'as3 Gross Bod%1Tamas

(>ote Eausal Bod% (=arana Sharira!1Sheath of Bliss (nandama%a =osha!3

Subtle Bod% (Sukshma Sharira!1Sheath of )ntellect (ig%anama =osha!

CSheath of 2ind (2anoma%a =osha!3 Sheath of italit% (7ranama%a =osha!3

Gross Bod% (Sthula Sharira!1Sheath of 6ood (nnama%a =osha!!


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BhuvarCSvarC2ahasCHanasCTapasCSat%a1 Sattva3 Bhu14a'as3

talaCitalaCSutalaCTalatalaC2ahatalaC4asaatalaC7atala1Tamas

?. 6our arnas1Brahmans, =shatri%as, aish%as, and Shudras

Brahmans1Sattva3 =shatri%as1SattvaC4a'as3 aish%as14a'asCTamas3

Shudras1Tamas

@. 6our shramas1Brahmachar%a, Grihastha, anaprastha, and Sann%as

Brahmachar%a1Sattva3 Grihastha14a'asCTamas3

anaprastha1SattvaC4a'as3 Sann%as1Sattva

/. 6our 7urusharthas1Fharma, rtha, =ama, and 2oksha

Fharma1Sattva3 rtha14a'asCTamas3 =ama14a'asCTamas3

2oksha1Sattva

)t is not hard to see how deep, thoughtful, and insightful the philosoph% of

&induism is. ) also hope that this writeup would inform the reader aboutcertain core principles of &induism and hopefull% motivate one to stud%

those principles in detail, especiall%, in light of the fact that in the era of

)nternet so much information on ever% topic is so readil% available online,

free of charge.

practical applications of the concept of gunas

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