3 Gunas of Mind in Ayurveda

We are talking about the three Ayurvedic humours or doshas—Bata, Pitta, and Kapha—and the seven different skin types. We also describe how these defects shape our physical, mental, and emotional expressions. Now let me explain in more detail about gunas, or psychic qualities.

Ayurvedic philosophy says that everything comes from nature and that everything is Prakriti. Now there are three basic gunas, or qualities, associated with everything in nature: energy, matter, and consciousness. So everything in the world consists of three gunas. After all, the Sanskrit word “guna” means “what binds”. These three Gunas are mentioned in Ayurvedic texts. The universe, or everything in the universe, consists of a combination of these three gunas. We are not exempt from this. All have Gunas to varying degrees, and the three interact.

What is a Guna?

Guna is a Sanskrit word meaning “quality, character, character, or behaviour.” In yoga and Ayurveda, guna is an entity or reality that can affect our mental, emotional, and energetic states. These gunas are considered to be the main forces in the universe that determine our spiritual development. Yes, humans can consciously change the gunas of their bodies and minds. You cannot remove or add Guna, but you can perform addition or subtraction operations. It can be in the way we live, act, and think. These gunas are closely related to emotions, or doshas, and together determine our mental and spiritual well-being.

The human mind is very complex. Our mental states are highly variable, so they can shift between different gunas based on our appearance. But yes, each of them has one key guna that defines the kind of person we are: the lens through which we see the world. Therefore, not even two people have the same mindset. We all have different ways of dealing with situations. There is a path to the state; it can be sattva, rajas, or tamas.

The Gunas of the mind are related to a person’s ego. Although sattva has a calming effect on the body and mind, an excess of rajas and tamas can cause various problems. But don’t worry. The power is in our hands. Through our habits and actions, we can make choices that influence the virtues we desire, allowing the virtues we desire to dominate our minds and thoughts.

The three Gunas: Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas

These three gunas are totally present in all human beings and in all objects around us, but their relative values are different. We humans have the power to consciously change the waste levels in our bodies and minds. Gunas cannot be isolated or removed by themselves but can be consciously called upon to increase or decrease them. Gunas can decrease or increase due to external objects interaction and influence, personal lifestyle, and mind thoughts.

Qualities of the three Gunas

Sattva is a state of balance, fun, harmony, and intelligence. Sattva is the guna attained by the yogis, as it reduces rajas and tamas and thus makes liberation possible. Other sattva qualities are joy, happiness, peace, well-being, freedom, love, compassion, modesty, sympathy, friendliness, concentration, self-control, contentment, faith, contentment, serenity, happiness, joy, gratitude, fearlessness, and selflessness.

Rajas is a state of power, fast action, desire, and movement. The essence of rajas is attraction, desire, and affection, and rajas binds us closely to the fruits of our work. Other Rajasic qualities are:-

• Passionate
• Movement
• Fast Action
• Desire For Sense Gratification
• Materialistic Mentality
• Least Interest in Spiritual Elevation

Tamas is the state of darkness, inertia, passivity, and materiality. Tamas manifests out of ignorance and deceives all beings with its spiritual truths. Other tamasic qualities are:-

• Lethargy
• Dullness
• Ignorance
• Fatigue Without Doing Anything
• More susceptible To Depression