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Prakriti or Mother Nature is Composed of the Three Gunas
The concept of the gunas plays a very important role in Hinduism. Guna usually means quality, but in the context of Hindu philosophy it has another, more technical meaning. This second meaning of the word has its source in the Sankhya school of philosophy. According to this school, the world has two parts: spirit and matter. The matter part of the world has its source in Prakriti or Mother Nature, from which this world has evolved.
Prakriti is composed of three extremely subtle and intangible substances called sattva, rajas and tamas. If Prakriti is compared to a rope, these three substances constituting Prakriti are its three strands. A strand or a string is called guna in Sanskrit. That is why these substances are called sattva-guna, rajo-guna and tamo-guna.
The spiritual domain of the world, however, contains innumerable sentient entities, each one infinite and perfect. Such an entity is called a purusha. What we call in layman’s terms a “soul” is called purusha in Sankhya philosophy. There are as many purushas as there are beings in the universe.
The Gunas Constitute the Universe
Before the creation of the world, sattva, rajas and tamas remain in a state of perfect equilibrium. If we compare the pre-creation state of Prakriti to a river, then sattva, rajas and tamas are three streams flowing side by side in it. At that state there is perfect harmony between them; they flow without overlapping one another.
When they start intermingling and overlapping, the state of harmony is lost and creation starts. Following an evolutionary process, Prakriti gradually becomes this manifold universe. Everything which exists in this world in the form of matter, energy or mind is no other than an evolved form of Prakriti. As Prakriti is composed of the three gunas, everything in this world is also composed of them. The Bhagavad Gita says (18/40), “There is no such entity in this world, or in heaven, where live the Devas with shiny bodies, which can be free from the three gunas born of Prakriti.”
One may wonder how these extremely subtle gunas through the process of evolution can become this gross and tangible world. Its possibility is corroborated by today’s physics, which says that something as subtle as energy can be transformed into solid matter. Some physicists also are of the opinion that the primary building blocks of this manifold universe are most probably three types of extremely subtle quarks.
The Existence of the Gunas Can Only be Known Indirectly
These intangible gunas are so subtle and fine that compared to them even the photons or the sub-atomic particles like electrons and neutrinos are relatively gross. The gunas are finer and subtler than anything that we know of in this world. And yet, according to Sankhya philosophy, everything in this world is composed of the three gunas.
Their existence cannot be directly perceived because of their extreme subtlety. Just as we cannot see electricity and yet we know its presence by seeing its manifestation in electrical appliances, so also we can know the presence of the gunas indirectly by seeing their various manifestations. Each guna has its own distinctive qualities or characteristics; they manifest themselves through objects in the world. By seeing these characteristics the presence of the gunas can be inferred.
The Characteristics of the Gunas
Sattva-guna is light or buoyant, bright or illuminating. It is of the nature of pleasure or joy; and it has the ability to reveal or make things known. The luminosity of light, the ability of the mind and the senses to know things, the reflecting power of a mirror, and the transparency of glass and crystals are all due to the presence of sattvaguna in them. Similarly, if we see happiness, contentment, satisfaction, joy or bliss in a mind, we should know that it is due to the presence of sattva in it. In the same manner the lightness or buoyancy of cork or similar substances can be explained in terms of the presence of sattva-guna.
Rajo-guna causes activity, movement and restlessness. Avarice, hankering, anger, egoism, vanity, and the wish to dominate over others are also characteristics of rajo-guna. It also is of the nature of pain and suffering; it is the cause of all types of painful experiences. In this world, wherever we see activity, movement or restlessness, pain or suffering, we should know that it is due to rajo-guna.
The characteristics of tamo-guna are inertia, passivity, sluggishness, heaviness and negativity. It resists activity or movement. It renders the mind incapable of knowing things clearly by making it sluggish. It causes confusion, mental depression, bewilderment and ignorance. It induces drowsiness and sleep.
The gunas share one common characteristic. They are in perpetual conflict with one another, each one trying to subdue the others in order to become predominant. At the same time they cooperate with one another. A candle flame exists through the cooperation of the wick, was and fire. The flame will cease to exist without such cooperation. Similarly, the world exists owing to the cooperation of the three gunas. Before creation the gunas remain in a state of perfect equilibrium with none of them claiming preponderance. After the dissolution of the world, they regain that original state of equilibrium. But it is lost when the next cycle of creation begins.
God-Vision is Possible with the Help of Sattva-Guna
A preponderance of sattva-guna is conducive to a person’s spiritual growth. One endowed with a predominance of sattva-guna acquires a divine nature and is blessed with God-vision. According to the Bhagavad Gita, such a person is fearless, is of pure mind, has steadfast knowledge about his inherent divine Self, has control over his external organs, is fond of scriptural study, has mental and physical endurance, and is straightforward at all times. Non-injury, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation of sensual pleasures, absence of the habit of vilification, kindness to creatures, non-covetousness, gentleness, modesty, lack of restlessness, vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, freedom from malice, and absence of haughtiness are the other qualities of a person endowed with a preponderance of sattva-guna.
Sattva-guna gives spiritual liberation. Rajo-guna causes bondage through attachment to action. Tamo-guna causes confused thinking or senseless violence. The following parable of Shri Ramakrishna beautifully expresses these ideas.
As a rich man was passing through a forest one day, he fell into the hands of three robbers, who stole all his money. Then one of the robbers said, “What’s the use of keeping this man alive? Let’s kill him.” Saying this, the robber was about to kill the man with his sword, when the second robber said, “There’s no point in killing him unnecessarily. Let’s tie his hands and feet and leave him here. Then he won’t be able to tell the police.” Accordingly, the robbers tied the man with a rope and, leaving him there, went away.
After a while the third robber returned to the man and said, “I’m sorry you had to go through all this trouble. Come, I’m going to release you.” He then set the rich man free and led him out of the forest. When they came near the highway, the robber said, “Follow this road; this will lead you to your village.” The rich man felt grateful and invited the robber to come with him to his home. But the robber said, “It’s not possible for me to go there. There is a police station in your village; if I go there the police will arrest me.” So saying, the robber went away.
The first robber, who wanted to kill the rich man, is tamo-guna. Tamo-guna creates confused thinking and causes unnecessary violence. The second robber is rajo-guna, which binds a man to the world and entangles him in numerous activities. Rajo-guna makes a person forget God. The third robber represents sattva-guna. Sattva-guna alone shows the way to God and causes liberation from the bondage of the world. For the rich man arriving home is like reaching God. Sattva-guna can lead a person to God, but it itself cannot go there. God, being Spirit, is beyond matter or the three gunas. This explains why the third robber could not go to the rich man’s home.
Liberated Souls Go Beyond the Three Gunas
To attain spiritual liberation, a spiritual aspirant has to transcend these three gunas. In the Bhagavad Gita Shri Krishna, a Divine Incarnation, says to this student Arjuna, “Go beyond the three gunas.” In other words, go beyond matter and manifest your divine spirit.