The Role of The Three Guna Scheme in the System of Yoga

THE ROLE OF THE THREE-GUNA SCHEME IN THE SYSTEM OF YOGA
When one learns any discipline, science or philosophy what one receives is a categorical scheme, a paradigm, by which one looks at the world and understands things. There are many ways of looking at the world, and the way one chooses depends on one’s purposes. The concept of the three gunas is a categorical scheme given for the business of understanding the universe so that one can transcend it (the ultimate objective of Yoga). That is the assigned task for a spiritual practitioner. For the purposes of modern scientists the three-guna scheme may not be useful categories, but to a practitioner of Yoga they constitute the theoretical basis of his entire enterprise.
Means of freedom
Earlier it was said that the three gunas condition the soul to this world of matter. This state continues as long as the puruna remains attached to material nature. This attachment is due to the illusion of oneness between the puruna and prakriti. Ignorance thus constitutes the cause of bondage. For emancipation from this state of bondage, what is needed is the knowledge of the distinction between the two, namely the self and the non-self. One who knows that the three gunas—sattva, rajas and tamas—are not constituents of the soul but of material nature, and who knows that the pure soul is simply an observer of the actions and reactions of these gunas , is not bound by them.
Knowledge is defined as proper understanding of prakriti, puruna and the uttama-puruna. It was noted earlier that knowledge depends on an existential (psycho-physical) condition in sattva-guna. As such it is the task of the yogin to cultivate sattva-guna as a means for transcending the gunas altogether. For this he obviously needs to first have a clear understanding of the three-guna scheme.
A system of diagnostics
Further, the very practice of yoga is said to have the effect of rajas and tamas decreasing in influence. Thus the yogin, through knowledge of the attributes of the three gunas, becomes a diagnostician of his own spiritual advancement. The increase of sattva and the decrease of rajas and tamas become the criteria of his progress on the path.
The three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas, are the ultimate constituents of the insentient prakriti. They are material nature. Thus they form an ultimate entity by themselves, though they remain eternally subordinate to the uttama-puruna and act under his supervision. By their nature, the gunas constitute the totality of the material environment, including the attributes and conditions of all objects. At the same time they are the direct causes of all objects and all conditions and qualities.
They can be perceived in the form of their gross products, but in their ultimate ontology, they can only be inferred by their effects and symptoms. The three gunas condition the purunas to the world of matter.The three gunas are never separate. They constantly intermingle with one another and compete for supremacy.
Sattva-guna encompasses a steady state of maintenance, and gives rise to knowledge, happiness and virtue. Rajo-guna is responsible for creation and action. It corresponds to hankering for that which is not, and ultimately leads to suffering and pain. Tamo-guna is the agency of decay. It obstructs action and causes apathy and confusion.
As the three gunas comprise the totality of the material realm and constitute the very agency for keeping the puruna conditioned in this world, and as it is the purpose of Yoga to free the soul from this very realm, knowledge of the nature of the three gunas thus becomes a fundamental necessity for the practitioner of Yoga. The three-guna scheme forms an integral part of a yogins means of freedom and also the criterion of his spiritual elevation.

The Attributes of the Gunas

THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE GUNAS
A sign can be explained as a discernible indication of what is not itself directly perceptible. As the gunas indeed are very subtle and elusive, one needs to be acquainted with their characteristic signs in order to discern their prevalence in the different areas of life. Recognition necessitates prior knowledge of the distinguishing signs of the object to be known. Hence the principal signs of the three gunas will next be enumerated. As the gunas are entities which affect both the physical and the psychological realm, their signs should, as far as feasible, be understood in terms of both. In the following, a description of the gunas in terms of personal character has also been included.

 Sattva

Etymologically, the word sattva is derived from “sat”, which conveys the meaning of being or existing. It also has the sense of real or true.  In a secondary sense, sat means good or virtuous. The suffix “tva”, corresponding to the English suffix "-ness", by addition gives a word the sense of a state or a quality. Thus sattva literally means “existing-ness” or goodness.
Sattva-guna stands closest to the principle of consciousness. It is that constituent of prakriti which is of the nature of pleasure and contentment. It is pure (nirmalatva), externally, in the sense of freedom from dust, dirt or taint, and internally, as a state free from moral fault. Sattva-guna is healthy (annamaya), free from disease, weakness and malfunction. It embodies soundness and balance. When sattva-guna is predominant its distinctive feature is illumined awareness (prakäça), or knowledge (jïäna). One experiences clearness of though, a broad yet focused attention. One becomes free from ignorance and experiences spiritual and intellectual enlightenment. Sattva also includes the attribute of lightness (laghutva). When the influence of sattva-guna increases in a person he feels a sense of lightness in his limbs and that his senses become clear and capable of easily grasping their objects.
Concerning the character (vyaktti) of one in the mode of sattva, the following qualities can be enumerated:
    Such a person is calm and peaceful (çama) as he does not strive to satisfy the incessant flow of desires within the mind. He is self-controlled (dama) and does not use his senses for exaggerated enjoyment, beyond his basic needs. He is tolerant of the offenses of others (titikna) and discriminates between good and bad (ékñä). He remains true to his responsibilities (tapa). He strictly follows his duty with great determination and enthusiasm (dhaty-utsaha-samanvita), without bragging or boasting about his achievements (anaham-vädé). He remains unperturbed and unwavering in success or failure (siddhy-asiddhyor nirvikäraù). He maintains truthfulness (satya) and in this way does not distort the truth for some personal interest. He is sympathetic (daya) and is intolerant of others' unhappiness. He is mindful of the past and future (smruti), and does not forget his identity as separate from matter. He is satisfied in any condition (tuñöi) and is not eager to gather increasingly more material possessions.
 He is instinctively religious (sraddha), generous (tyaga) and feels embarrassed at acting improperly (hré). He is gentle, patient, clean and steady. He is sensible, conscientious and able to think in a clear and intelligent way.
Rajas
The word rajas is derived from the verbal root “raïj-” whose spectrum of meaning ranges from “being colored”, to “being affected or attracted”. The word is used to denote things which color or partially darken the sky, such as mist, clouds and dust. In a more abstract sense it refers to emotion and powerful and controlling feelings.
Rajo-guëa is characterized by passion (ragatmaka), or intense and ungovernable emotions compelling one to action. It is mobile (cala) and stimulating (upanoambhaka). Hence the predominance of rajo-guna is inferred from the presence of desire and hankering (lobha, spruha), restlessness (açama) and the undertaking of actions (ärambhaù karmaëäm). A person under the influence of rajas becomes driven and has to be on the move all the time. He wants to get bigger and better and increase. The end result of this type of overactivity and feverish enjoyment is misery and thus rajo-guna is said to be of the nature of pain and dissatisfaction (dukha). When the influence of rajo-guna increases in a person he becomes fickle in mind and erratic in action. (”I’ll go to the town, I’ll court a woman, I’ll practice austerity...”) His mind is in a state of constant anxiety.
Regarding the character (vyakti) of one in the mode of rajas, the following qualities can be found.
 He possesses many mundane aspirations (kama), and with great effort endeavors to fulfill them (echa), yet remains dissatisfied even in gain, always hankering for more (tåñëa). He is attached to his work and the fruits thereof, is subject to joy and sorrow and lacks purity both in a moral and a physical sense (açuci). He is bold and arrogant (mada) and is falsely pride, claiming exaggerated personal importance and stature (stambha). He is envious of other’s achievements. Desiring rapid success in his own enterprises he depends on and beseeches (äçé) people of influence and power. He considers himself different and better than others (bhida). Being hostile and violent by nature (himsatmaka), he has a rash eagerness to quarrel and fight, though his courage is simply based on self-conceit (mada-utsaha). He has a fondness for hearing himself praised (yasau-preti) and has the tendency to ridicule others (hasya). He has a strong sense of masculine pride with an exaggerated sense of power (verya), often justifying his actions by his strength (bala-udyama).
 Tamas

The etymological meaning of tamas is darkness. The nature of this third guna is opposed to that of both sattva and rajas. It is opposed to sattva in being heavy (guru) and in causing ignorance (ajnana), by obscuring knowledge (jnanam) and the ability to know. It also resists rajo-guna as it restrains the motion of things and produces the state of apathy and indifference. The predominance of tamo-guna thus results in indolence, sleep and confusion. In the extreme case it can even lead to insanity. When the limbs of the body feel heavy and the senses become slow and incapable of grasping their objects properly, one then knows that tamo-guna has increased in influence.
In reference to the character (vyakti) of one in the mode of tamas, the following qualities have been described. Such a person is wrathful (krodha) and lacks in generosity (lobha), being unwilling to share what he has with others. He is untruthful (anåta), violent-natured (hiàsä) and apt to quarrel (kali). He depends upon others for survival and lives as a parasite (yäcïä). He is hypocritical; pretending to be what he is not (dambha). He is chronically fatigued (kama), always feeling tired and weak. He constantly laments and is under delusion (çoka-mohau). He is depressed (viñäda) and habitually sleeps to much (nidrä). He has a self-destructive or entropic state of mind. He indulges in false and groundless hopes and expectations (icha) and is fearful and paranoid (bhé). He is lazy (anudyama) and procrastinating (dergha-sutre). Though he has the capacity to work, he makes no endeavor. He drags on forever that which can be done in a short amount of time.

The Functions of the Gunas

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE GUNAS
The interaction of the three gunas conducts all the affairs of the material nature. First of all, they produce the building blocks of the manifested universe. Further, through their influence they are the cause of all properties and conditions in nature. Finally, they bind the living entity and condition him to the world of matter. 

Originating the condition and qualities of all objects
Nothing within the compass of material nature is free from the influence of the gunas.There is nothing within the material world that cannot be analyzed on the basis of the three gunas by checking the symptoms.
Material nature as we observe it commonly has different ways of being. Sometimes things are being created, sometimes things are being maintained, and sometimes things are being destroyed. A useful word in this connection (as employed by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada), is the term “mode”, which means a way of being. I will henceforward use this term for denoting the states of being characterized by the different gunas.
When things are being created material nature is said to be acting in the mode of rajas. When things are being maintained it’s in the mode of sattva, and when things are being destroyed, it is acting in the mode of tamas. In nature the things that are left over after tamo-guna finishes it’s action become the raw materials for more rajas, they get assembled, are maintained for a period (sattva) and are finally again destroyed (tamas). This is the cycle. Things come into being, they remain for a while and are then destroyed, Creation, maintenance, destruction, followed by creation etc.

Binding the living entity
The word guna, as was said earlier, also means rope. Just as a rope is made by braiding three strands of hemp into one, so the three gunas combine to make a powerful binding agent which entraps the soul within the material body, thus conditioning him to repeated birth and death. This state is due to the attachment of the soul to this world, or in other words, to the three gunas.

The Ontology of Gunas

THE ONTOLOGY OF THE GUNAS

Constituents of material nature
The gunas are the ultimate constituents of prakriti or material nature. They are its very substance. Prakriti is the undifferentiated and unmanifested stage of material nature. Prakriti is the state of equilibrium amongst the gunas Prakriti is thus pure potentiality. When the state of equilibrium is disturbed, creation takes place. The three gunas then produce all the building blocks of the manifested universe. The three-guna scheme is thus very fundamental. The three gunas encompass everything within our experience, the totality of our environment, with the exception of consciousness, which is something distinctly different from matter. In sremad-Bhagavatam we find the following statement,


All states of material being, whether seen, heard of or conceived by the intelligence, are constituted of the gunas. The gunas are thus all-pervading within the universe. This can be illustrated by the analogy of the threads in a piece of cloth. To create a piece of cloth, Threads are woven lengthwise and crosswise. The cloth is made of hundreds of strands of such threads going in both directions. Thus the threads pervade the entire cloth. One could imagine a soul so minute that it lived in the universe of that piece of cloth. Everywhere it would experience the threads.


To continue the analogy, the threads composing the piece of cloth can be of different colours and qualities. In a similar way the three constituents of material nature, which make up this whole material creation, also possess their individual attributes. This will be dealt with later on.


The three primary colors – blue, red, and yellow – can serve as another helpful analogy. All other colors are permutations of these three colors. Expert artists know how to combine these colors in varying combination's and proportions to produce any other color in the spectrum. Three times three gives nine. Then nine times nine gives eighty-one. Then eighty-one times eighty-one ...and so on. In this way, we have an almost endless variety of colors. Similarly, the three gunas combine, and recombine, and again recombine to produce the seemingly endless variety of sense objects that we find in the material world. All variety can eventually be traced to these three gunas. The manifested world is composed of them. Thus the three gunas encompass the entire range of material existence, whether manifest or unmanifest. They become the “threads” that run through all of ordinary experience and throughout the natural world. They constitute the material sphere.

The interaction of the gunas
The three gunas never occur individually, they are always combined. They are never separated from one another. Between them there is a perpetual competition for supremacy. Later when we will speak of a person or thing as being in a particular guna, we mean that the particular guna is dominant in that person or object, but it is never alone.  In reality in this world there is no pure tamas, or pure rajas or pure sattva.