“Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, — these Gunas, O mighty-armed, born of Prakriti, bind fast in the body the indestructible embodied one.” ~ Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 14, Verse 5 All material nature is an interplay of three fundamental forces or “gunas” – sattva, rajas, and tamas. This is the law of prakriti or nature, where gunas are a part of prakriti. And it is the nature of everything – from atom to element, plant to animal and living to non-living, all that can be known in this world, tangible and intangible, is a manifestation of the gunas in their various forms. The degree of concentration and combination may differ, defining our nature, behavior, attitude towards life and the choices we make. But it is impossible for anything to exist in the material world without the gunas. “The gunas are primary constituents of the Prakriti and are the base of all substances. They are said to be attributes or qualities inherent in the substances. The three gunas bind the soul to the body.” Mahesh B. Sharma stated in his book, Bhagavad Gita: A Journey From The Body To The Soul. Each of these gunas have their own characteristics and influences our lives in many ways. Have you faced a day when you have been on the go from morning till night, then finding it hard to stop? This is an excess of the energy called rajas, or activity. Or there have been times when you can’t wake up from sleep, feel unmotivated and drag yourself through the day? This is an excess of the energy called tamas, or inertia. There will be days when you feel calm and clear and is perfectly in the flow? This is the balance of the energy called sattva, or harmony. While the state of enlightenment can only be achieved when one rises above the three gunas, it is important for mankind to understand the three dimensions, and progress towards Sattva (balance) and gradually leave all three for eternal assimilation. Tamas Tamas originally translates to dullness, inertia and darkness. It is a state of delusion which stems from ignorance and leads us astray. Our ability to challenge the right and wrong, good and bad, is taken over by sloth and sleep. It possesses a downward motion that causes decay and disintegration. It weakens our power of perception and leads to insensitivity. Lectures on three gunas by the Vedanta Vision Society stated, “When you are in the state of Tamas, you are in the state of sleep. You are asleep to your potential, you are asleep to your talent, and you are asleep to the world. You are definitely asleep to what is beyond the world.” In this state, the energy will lie dormant and the only thing that will give gratification is sleeping and eating. The reason for the increase in the Tamasic nature can be accounted to food like meats, chemically processed food, refined food etc. Even the act of thinking negatively, lying, killing, anger, resentment and laziness can increase Tamasic attitude.
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