The teachings of yoga based on vedic science and knowledge studies the cosmos and the purpose and existence of all life on all levels.
In order to understand this wisdom, one must know three primal forces and qualities of nature which are the main powers of cosmic intelligence.
The Gunas or Maha Gunas (Great Gunas) is the name given to these three primal forces or qualities of nature. These three forces are called Sattva, Rajas & Tamas. And, to break it down from the perspective of Yoga & Ayurveda, they:
1. Are all powerful and hold the karmas and desires that propel us from birth to birth.
2. Are part of nature and exist as core potentials for diversification as everything in the universe consists of various combinations of the three gunas.
3. Form a deeper level than the three ayurvedic doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) and help us to understand our mental and spiritual nature and how it functions.
For our purposes of health and healing, let’s look at point number three and why understanding the three gunas not only helps us to understand our mental and spiritual nature but also how we can integrate the gunas to live healthier and happier.
First, let’s break down the meaning of Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
Sattva is the power of harmony, balance, light and intelligence. It is the higher or spiritual potential that brings about the awakening of the soul. It causes everlasting joy and contentment.
Rajas is the power of active energy, change and movement. It is the intermediate or life potential that motivates us to seek goals and which can lead to fragmentation and disintegration. It causes pain, conflict and suffering.
Tamas is the power of darkness, inertia and materiality. It is the lower or material potential that makes us inactive, dull and heavy. It causes ignorance, insensitivity, lack of awareness, decay and disintegration.
Almost all true forms of ayurvedic and yoga therapy are aimed at to bring us to a more sattvic state of being. Sattvic healing and therapies work through sattvic qualities of love, peace and nonviolence; It most often includes the incorporation of herbs, vegetarian diet, mantra, meditation and slow mindful yoga practices.
Rajasic healing and therapies work through rajasic qualities that are stimulating, energizing and agitating. They are occasionally useful in the healing process because they help break up tamas. It is often necessary to move from Tamas to Rajas to get to Sattva.
Tamas is seldom useful in the healing process except when required to sedate too high rajas.
Yoga and ayurveda psychology aims at moving the mind from tamas to rajas and eventually to sattva. This means moving from an ignorant and physically oriented life (Tamas), to one of vitality and self-expression (Rajas), and finally to one of peace and happiness (Sattva).
Becoming more sattvic involves three stages of mental healing .
1. Breaking up tamas and developing rajas which involves moving from mental inertia, dullness, lack of motivation and awareness to being more self-aware, motivated and active.
2. Calming rajas and developing sattva which involves moving from self-motivated actions to more selfless actions, while being gentle, kind, calm and compassionate.
3. Finally, cultivating and maintaining sattva which involves being in that place of peace and equanimity most of the time. Calmness, kindness and compassion becomes our dominate force or state of being.
It is important to know that these three stages are not simply different levels. We all have tamasic, rajasic and sattvic factors in our minds and we all need each of these three processes to some degree.
Whenever we are mentally dull or emotionally depressed tamas is predominant. Rajas prevails when we are agitated, disturbed, active and extremely motivated to accomplish a goal. Sattva prevails when we are quiet, peaceful and content.
Therefore, we should not judge other people by how they appear or when they are dominated by one quality. Even a spiritually aware person has tamasic moments or periods when he or she may do something regrettable.
In the same way a spiritually unaware person have sattvic moments when they may do something inspired, noble or kind. When looking at ourselves we should try to see all three factors in our nature and behavior and try to develop our Sattvic side.
One way to identify our predominant guna is through our yoga practice. Through a rajasic yoga practice we may perform the postures without any awareness of how we are aligning and moving our bodies. A rajasic yoga practice often involves just going through the motions without having internal awareness and connection to breath and movement.
A Rajasic yoga practice can also lead to feelings of judgment, criticism, competition, anger and frustration when a posture is not performed to some external standard.
A tamas yoga practice is one of laziness, lethargy and lack of motivation. When we practice with this physical and mental state we practice without awareness and there is a discontent between the body and mind. There is a tendency to check out.
A sattvic practice is cultivated through a quality of mind that is concentrated and connected to breath and movement. A sattvic yoga practice requires a mind which is free from internal and external distractions.
It also involves a mind which is seated in the body performing actions in the moment without judgements or anticipation of what’s coming next.
A sattvic yoga practice is done in a slower manner with attention to detail and cultivates a state of mindfulness. When we practice in this way we leave our yoga practice feeling clear, light, joyful and balanced.
To learn more about the gunas and how to manage them with ayurveda and yoga therapy check out our next Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy course here.