Guna Speech

8/14/2019 Guna Speech

1/20

1

The Three GunsSpeech at Rainbow Lodge

12.3.00

Late last year I presented a talk to some of you about a process called Kundalin. Terrihas kindly asked me back to talk about the gungungungunssss, but for those who missed out last time

or who I put to sleep, I would like to briefly recap some of the information on the

Kundalinso that the importance of the gungungungunssss may be understood.

You may have heard of the word My. This is a which is Sanskrit term that means

>spirit veiled in matter=. Mycan also be viewed as energies which are out of phase with

the total system , causing us to experience the world, from our particular perspective.

By raising our consciousness, we learn how to harmonise these energies. When

Kundalinis raised through the Chakrasand finally unites with the Crown Chakra, we

are freed from the limitations of the partial knowledge we have been living with. Ourconsciousness is expanded exponentially and we can at last view the world from the

standpoint of the greater self, a part of the cosmic consciousness.

The process of raising the Kundalin, which resides, coiled like a serpent in the base

Chakra forms the basis for our spiritual journey.

Enabling the Kundalinprocess depends on the inherent qualities of our being. When

the right physical and subtle conditions has been reached, Kundalincan rise to the

glory of the indwelling spirit.

I=ll be using a number of Sanskrit terms in my talk. This is unavoidable, because the

concepts I=m dealing with here are derived from Indian sources, and have, as far as I=m

aware, no western equivalents. I have tried to keep these to a minimum, and I will be

explaining these terms as I mention them.

Back to My

What do the Indian sages mean byMy?My, they state, is the play of existence,

the expression ofprakrit. Prakrit can, for now, loosely be explained as all of

existence, but I=ll give a fuller explanation later, so please bear with me.

I=ll go into more details about these, but in briefMy consists of three qualities or

guns: tamas, rajas, and sattva.

Tamas has its veiling power. Rajas has its projecting power, and sattva has its

revealing power. These three guns, of which My is said to be made, are not

substances, like wood, stone, or gold, out of which objects could be made. They are

simply three aspects ofMy. In order to mistake a rope for a snake, you must fail to


2/20

2

see the rope rightly; that=s the veiling power of tamas. Then you must jump to the

wrong conclusion; that=s the projecting power ofrajas. You yourself project the

snake. But the length and diameter of the rope are seen as the length and diameter of

the snake; that=s the revealing power ofsattva. If you hadn=t seen the rope, you might

have jumped to some other wrong conclusion.

So we see from the Upanishads that My is made of three guns, that it is a

misperception, a kind of magic, and that the Universe is therefore apparitional, like the

snake for which a rope has been mistaken. But why does the apparition take the form

of this Universe? Why do we see the physics that we see? Partly it is the guns and

partly it is space and time.

SoMy, the first cause, is made of three guns and consists of seeing the Absolute

through the screen of time, space, and causation Band we continue to see it that way

because of ego.

Not a lot has been written in western philosophy on this subject. Plato=s tripartite

structure of the soul and its relation to his idea of the ideal society, as described in his

famous work, AThe Republic@, is probably as close to an idea of the guns as we get

in western thought. The three Guns can be related to his tripartite theory of the soul,

in which he describes three aspects of the soul, namely: AReason@, which can be

related to ASattva@; APassion@, which can be compared with ARajas@; and AAppetite@,

which is identifiable with ATamas@.

Sattvagun, rajogun and tamogun may also be equivalent to energy, force and

matter, in western concepts.

Now, I need to further explain this concept of the guns. Hindu mystical tradition, as

related in their many holy writings, describe a gun as a quality. Any quality is a

gun. However, it is generally understood that when the three guns are mentioned,

it is the three specific guns that qualifies basic existence orprakrit. The three guns

emerged from the Original Creative Divine Impulse! The interaction of the guns,

fractioning and multiplying within themselves is part of the creative process -emerging finally as the physical universe, with everything that it contains.

So, the word >>>>gun====has a very profound meaning in the Sanskrit language, and there

is no single word in English to convey its correct and full meaning. Gun conveys the

nature of our living or attitudes with which we treat others be they humans or animals,

or our behaviour shown in our daily activities.

At the beginning, only the Ultimate Reality existed. From this source emerges the

cosmic energy or force (My) which is the substance of which the physical universe


3/20

3

is formed. This cosmic energy is composed of the three distinct forces or guns;

sattva, rajas and tamas.... While the Ultimate Reality is the source which remains

forever unchanged [- ie., the guns being in equilibrium -] the [created] universe or

My is continuously fluctuating due to the play of the guns. Thoughts come and go

and atoms are dynamic systems by virtue of the guns.

Prakritor nature is a force both inside and outside that governs everything. Prakrit

equals the three guns - sattva, rajas, and tamas. Sattva is purity, balance. Rajas is

creative energy and action. Tamas is inertia, resistance, and destruction. The source

of the three guns is [God]. In the beginning there was only pure consciousness, which

is represented as sattvagun. When rajogun (creative energy) and tamogun

(destructive energy) overpower this pure consciousness, sattvagun is turned into

My, ie., the universe (also known as the world of illusion).

In another burst of energy rajas and tamas again overpower sattva, and a state of

ignorance, is created. Sattva gives rise to the Subtle senses, rajas creates the organs

of action, and tamas produces the Five Elements, (Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether).

In this manner the three bodies - Casual, Subtle, and Gross - are formed.

Let me explain the concept ofprakritfurther.

Sankhya is an Indian system of philosophy. This philosophical system holds the belief

that the entire world B including the body, mind, and senses B is dependent upon,

limited by, and produced by the combination of certain effects. Various other schools

of Indian philosophy maintain that atoms of earth, water, fire, and air are the materialcauses of the world. but according to the Sankhya system, material atoms cannot

produce the more subtle products of nature, such as mind, intellect, and ego.

Therefore, one has to seek elsewhere for that cause from which gross objects and their

more subtle aspects are derived. If one examines nature, it becomes obvious that a

cause is more subtle than its associated effect and that a cause pervades its effect. For

example, when a seed develops into a tree, whatever latent quality the seed contains

will be found in the tree. The ultimate cause of the world must also be a latent

principle of potential, and it must be uncaused, eternal, and all-pervading. It must be

more subtle than the mind and intellect, and at the same time it must contain all thecharacteristics of the external objects as well as of the senses, mind, and intellect.

In the Sankhya philosophy this ultimate cause is calledprakrit. To prove its existence,

Sankhya offers the following five arguments.

First, it is accepted that all the objects of the world are limited and dependent on

something else, so there must be an unlimited and independent cause for their

existence. That cause isprakrit.

Second, all the objects of the world possess a common characteristic: they are capable

of producing pleasure, pain, or indifference. Therefore, something must exist as the


4/20

4

cause of the universe that possesses the characteristics of pleasure, pain, and

indifference. That isprakrit.

Third, all the objects of the world have a potential to produce something else or to

convert themselves into something else. Therefore, their cause must also have the

same potential, which implicitly contains the entire universe. That isprakrit.

Fourth, in the process of evolution an effect arises from its cause, and in dissolution

it is reabsorbed or dissolved into its origin. The particular objects of experience must

therefore arise from a certain cause, which must in turn have arisen from a certain

cause. and so on until one reaches the primal cause of the creative process itself. A

similar process takes place in involution or annihilation. Here, physical elements are

broken down into atoms, atoms are dissolved into gross energies, and gross energies

into finer ones until all of these dissolve into the unmanifested One. That unmanifested

One is calledprakritB the primordial nature.

Fifth, if one attempts to go further and imagine the cause of this ultimate cause, one

will land oneself in the fallacy of infinite regression. Ultimately one has to stop

somewhere and identify a cause as the first cause of the universe. In Sankhya

philosophy that supreme root cause of the world is calledprakrit.

Prakritis not to be comprehended as merely the atomic substance of matter. Prakrit

means literally Aexceptional ability;@it is the wonderful nature out of which the vast

material world in all of its levels of intricate permutation takes shape. Prakrit is

characterised by the three guns ofsattva, rajas, and tamas. The word gun may be

translated here as Aa quality or attribute ofprakrit,@but it is important to note that the

three guns are not to be taken merely as surface aspects of material nature. They are,rather, the intrinsic nature ofprakrit. The balanced combination ofsattva, rajas, and

tamas is prakrit, and therefore they cannot be prakrit=s external attributes or

qualities. They are called guns (which literally means, Aropes@) because they are

intertwined like three strands of a rope and they bind the soul to the world. One can

say that a rope is the name for three intertwined strands, but if one analyses the strands

separately, one does not see the rope. In a similar way, if one analyses the guns

separately, one will not seeprakrit, since it is a balanced state of the three guns.

According to Sankhya philosophy, sattva, rajas, and tamas are the underlyingqualities from which the universe we perceive is derived. These guns can be inferred

from the fact that all features of the material world Bexternal and internal, both the

physical elements and the mind B are found to possess the capability of producing

pleasure, pain, or indifference. The same object may be pleasing to one person, painful

to another, and of no concern to a third. The same beautiful girl is pleasing to her

boyfriend, painful to another girl who is attracted to the same boy, and of no concern

to many other people not involved. These qualities of the girl, appearing in relation to

other people around her, arise from the guns that underlie the manifested world. This


5/20

5

example can help one see how the cause of all phenomena,prakrit, contains all the

characteristics found in worldly objects.

The Sankhya philosophy believes that the whole universe is evolved from the guns.

The state in which they are in their natural equilibrium is called prakrit, and when

their balance is disturbed they are said to be in an state of imbalance. Sattva is

weightlessness and light; rajas is motion or activity; and tamas is heaviness, darkness,

inertia, or concealment. The guns are formless and omnipresent when in a state of

equilibrium, having completely given up their specific characteristics when they are

submerged in each other, to an equal extent. In a state of imbalance, however, rajas

is said to be in the centre ofsattva and tamas, and this results in creation because

manifestation in itself is an action. Action depends on motion, the force of activity

which is the very nature ofrajas, and so sattva and tamas are dependent on rajas to

manifest themselves and thereby produce pairs of opposites.

Rajas also depends on sattva and tamas, however, because activity cannot be

accomplished without the object or medium through which it becomes activated. In

the state of manifestation, one gun dominates the other two, but they are never

completely apart from each other or completely absent because they are continually

reacting with one another. By the force ofrajas, sattvic energy evolves with great

speed and its unitary energy becomes divided into numerous parts. At a certain stage,

however, their velocity decreases, and they start to come closer and closer together.

With this contraction in sattvic energy, tamas is naturally manifested, but at the same

time another push ofrajas occurs also on tamas, and within the contraction a quickexpansion occurs. Therefore, the guns constantly change their predominance over

one another. The predomination ofsattva over tamas and oftamas over sattva is

always simultaneously happening; the conversion of each of them into one another is

taking place at every moment.

Sattva and tamas have the appearance of being in opposition to each other because

one is light and weightless and the other is dark and heavy. But these pairs actually

cooperate in the process of manifestation and dissolution as things move from subtle

to gross and from gross to subtle. The expansion of power stores up energy in somerelatively subtle form, from which it manifests to form a new equilibrium. These

points of relative equilibrium constitute certain stages in the evolutionary process. It

might at first seem that there is constant conflict among the guns, but this is not the

case. They are in perfect cooperation during the process of manifestation because it

is through their constant interaction that the flow of cosmic and individual life

continues. They are essentially different from but interrelated with one another. Just

as the oil, wick, and flame of a lamp work together to produce light, so the different

guns cooperate to produce the objects of the world. The guns play the same role in

one=s body and mind as they do in the universe as a whole. An individual

=s physical


6/20

6

appearance is simply a manifestation of the guns that has been brought about by

consciousness. This intention of consciousness to cause Prakritto manifest disturbs

the state of equilibrium in Prakrit, thereby causing the guns to interact and manifest

the universe.

I=m half way through, and I=m finally getting to the subject of this talk!

These three guns are called: sattva, Raja and Tama gun. (Refer to diagram in

appendices).

SATTVA

Sattvagun is described as: pertaining to spirituality, blissfulness, equilibrium, being

healthy, having positive attributes and influences towards good - truth, purity,

tranquillity and spirituality. Experienced psychologically as pleasure, clear thinking,

clarity of perception, understanding and detachment. Beauty and real happiness.

Sattva is considered to be without blemish. Sattvagun, however, binds one to

attachment to knowledge. When sattva predominates it leads to correct knowledge.

Sattvic mentality leads to actions which are non-egoistic, performed with firmness and

enthusiasm and the doer is unaffected by the success or failure of his efforts. Such a

person retains a sense of balance.

Buoyant. Luminous. Poise, self-control, forbearance, discrimination, performance of

one=s duty, truthfulness, compassion, contentment, generosity, dispassion, faith and

reverence, charity, besides delight in the contemplation of the divine self - these arethe characteristics of sattva.

Sattvagun leads us to happiness and enjoyment, irrespective of the results of our

action. It leads us to be without Karma. Here we do our work considering it as our laid

down duty and we stop bothering about the results and keep no expectations. We face

the situations of life calmly and as they present themselves, keeping our inner peace

and balance. Sattvagun is light and knowledge, wisdom and the calm and quiet of

mind. Sattvagun elevates the soul. Dying when sattvagunis predominant, you are

born in a celestial birth or as a spiritual seeker to elevate yourself further.

Sattva facilitates spiritual awakening and enlightenment. Therefore, a yogi should

strive to increase sattva and purge rajas and tamas from his or her personality in

order to know reality. Sattva gives rise to outstanding personality traits and strengths

in an individual=s nature, while rajas and tamas produce weaknesses that will erode

the finer sensibilities and moral fibre of even the strongest of personalities.

The sattvic mind sees only good, even in those who are bad. To it, bad does not exist.

Everything in this world created by God is good. God has created only good, not bad.


7/20

7

Something becomes bad because of our vision. There is no bad thing in creation. The

fault lies only in our vision. Creation is faultless. Such sacred thoughts must be

developed. Then how do we deal with what we consider bad? Bad is a fault in vision.

If we wear red glasses, everything will appear red. If we wear blue glasses, everything

will appear blue. Is the world coloured blue or red? No. The colour is only due to thespectacles we wear.

RAJAS

Rajogun is described as active and tending towards forcefulness. Passion.

Restlessness. Excitement. Flaring up. It is the activating quality; working on sattva

to suppress tamas or on tamas to suppress sattva, it creates constant activity and

motion. Rajogun has a scattering tendency.

Rajogun is experienced psychologically as suffering, craving and attachment.

Unlimited desires and great endeavour for sense gratification. Rajas gives rise to

passion and is the source of feelings of longing and attachment. It leads one to

attachment to action. Rajasic mentality leads one to action that is performed for

specific effects and also performed ostentatiously. Rajasic acts are driven by strong

passion to see results and they may be harmful. The doer is swayed intensely by joy

or sorrow depending on the results of his action.

Volatile. Desire, lust, strife, pride, haughtiness, prayer for selfish ends,

self-aggrandisement, love of fame, display of power, and aggressive enterprise - these

are the characteristics ofrajas.

So, rajas leads us to action, often with great expectations of particular kind of result

or reward for fulfilment of one or the other of many desires. Most of the actions of

ordinary people are tainted with desire of expectation. He who expects too much is

likely to be disappointed often. In rajas, it is this disappointment, failure of fulfilment

of desires, failure of getting the desired results of actions and the greed that brings

forth misery and unhappiness. That is why it is not considered good to live in rajas

for too long, nor dying in a rajasic state. It does not elevate the soul. It keeps you in

the middle.

TAMAS

Tamogun is described as having the quality of inertia and unconsciousness.

Heedlessness, indifference, stupidity and laziness. The negative attribute, influences

toward darkness or evil B untruth and ignorance. Tamogun has a compressing

tendency. Is has a heavy and enveloping quality.

Tamogun is experienced psychologically as delusion. Depression and dullness.

Madness, uncleanliness, indolence and sleep. Tamasic mentality leads to action


8/20

8

performed in a lackadaisical, ie., in a weak spirited or listless manner without sincerity

of purpose or devotion. Tamasic actions are unsteady. They may be malicious and

may involve despondency and procrastination.

Anger, greed, lying, cruelty, begging, false piety, sloth, quarrelling, grief, infatuation,dejection, misery, excessive sleep, fear, and inertia - these are the characteristics of

Tamas.

AThe dull mind will hide the Truth and publicize falsehood. It continuously criticizes

the good. It views the sacred as unholy. In tamogun everything is opposite. It pokes

fun, condemns and hurts others.

If you think of sacredness, the mind becomes sacred; if you think of mundane, unholy

things, the mind becomes mundane. As is your thought, so is your behaviour. So we

must correct this dull mind and instruct it not to see evil in others. Someone in a

tamasic state need to search out their faults and correct their own mistakes. Remove

these faults, but never see faults in good people, and teach their mind so they may

transcend tamogun.@1

Higher intellectual knowledge is Sattvic; knowledge of physical science is Rajasic;

and the knowledge common to the child and the ignorant is Tamasic. Complete

knowledge of God, is beyond the guns. A concept I will deal with later.

ALike everything else, the mind is composed of the three guns and is caused by theirinteractions. One gun always dominates the other two, and it is the dominating gun

that determines the general state of a person=s mind. A person, in which the tamogun

is dominating, is confused and lives in darkness - with a tendency to anger, greed,

hate, laziness etc. If the rajogun is dominant, the person is very active and possesses

a mixture of positive and negative tendencies. The rajogun person may lie, swindle

and commit murder but for each such deed, he or she will feel deep regret and guilt,

unlike the tamasic person doing the same, who has no remorse. The rajogun either

works towards tamogun suppressing sattvagun, or works towards sattvagun

suppressing tamogun. When sattvagun is dominant, the person is calm andpeaceful and has a pure, powerful and concentrated mind. A sattvagun person is

always unselfish, truthful, fearless and wise.

Now, since the play of the guns is a dynamical affair, it is always possible to change

ones general state of mind. Actually, the various mind improving techniques - be they

of ancient Eastern or modern Western origin - are essentially aimed at getting a hold

1

Sai Darshan, 25/12/95: Love seeks no return.


9/20

9

of the rajogun and consciously ease it towards the sattvagun - regardless of

whether the originators and practitioners may know it or not.@2

Since the three guns govern the resonance of our consciousness, and the resonance

of our consciousness Acreates our reality,@it is important to know the science of theguns. Many divisions of the Vedic scriptures elaborate upon these guns. The

Ayurveda even analyses diseases according to the influence of the guns. The

Bhagavad Gita devotes three chapters to fully analyse the subtle nuances which the

modes of material nature cause in the daily existence of a living entity.@3

AOur physical body is the abode ofrajas and tamasBpredominantly rajas That is, the

gross atomic matter of the physical body is created by the action oftamas on the

cosmic creative elemental vibrations of earth, water, fire, air, and ether, causing matter

to appear in its recognisable, [in Indian philosophy, five different varieties. These are:

solid, liquid, fiery, gaseous, and ethereal. Being the negative or dark quality of Nature,

tamas is (therefore) responsible for concealing the true subtle essence of matter under

the cover of grossness and of creating ignorance in man, the perceiver. The

predominance ofrajas, the activating quality, in the body is evidenced in the restlessly

active nature of man and in the ever-changing character of the world he strives so

ineffectually to control. In the etheric body we find the six chakras of life and

consciousness along the spine, and its two magnetic poles of mind and intelligence.

Pulled toward grossness by mind, the subtle faculties in these centres emerge

outwardly, projecting like the rays of a full-flamed gas light, keeping the sensory and

motor faculties active in the human body. Retiring inwardly, pulled by intelligence,the subtle faculties are absorbed in the cerebral region and become merged into one

soul consciousness, like the flames of a lowered gas light. ... The dominant attributes

ofprakrit here are rajas and sattva. Rajas, acting on the five subtle elemental

vibrations, produces the powers of the five organs of action: manual skill (hands),

locomotion (feet), speech, procreation, and excretion; it also produces the five

specialized currents of prana that sustain the vital bodily functions. Sattva, acting on

the five subtle vibratory elements, creates the subtle organs of perception Bthe powers

that enliven the five physical sense instruments. The true subtle nature of matter, and

the calmness, self-control, and other spiritual powers ... experienced in the [Chakras]by the deeply meditating yogi are also the effects ofsattva in the etheric body...@

4

2

Ingeman, Steen: The Human Mind

3Servini, Nitai: The Three Guns, January 4, 1999.

4Divisions of Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra.


10/20

10

In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna tells Arjuna that the three guns serves to bind and

hold the higher to the lower, though these bindings are also bonds [keeping us tied to

the endless chain of birth death and rebirth]:

Lord Krishna states:ASattva, or truth, being pure and stainless, binds the soul to attachment to wisdom and

harmony, and brings it back to re-birth because of the bonds of knowledge and

understanding. And, rajas, or passion, is of the nature of burning desire and binds the

soul by attachment to action, and things and objects, and this brings the soul back to

rebirth because of the bonds of worldly hunger and thirst for having and doing. Tamas

or indifference, is of an ignorant, dark, stupid and heavy nature, and this binds the soul

by attachment to sloth, idleness, folly and indolence, bringing the soul back to rebirth

because of the bonds of ignorance, stupidity, heedlessness and low-content.@5

Interplay of the guns

Now, the guns never work alone, and like rust they never sleep. The workings of the

guns and their subtle nuances can be compared to the mixing of the three basic

colours, yellow, red and blue. They can be endlessly mixed, and each further addition

changes the colour. For example a television can create all kinds of pictures with three

colours. In this way each species or even each individual body is influenced by a

specific mixture of the three guns. The gunsAcolour@our consciousness, and our

consciousness colours our body.

If we compare the material world to an ocean, the guns are the waves that toss theliving entity about until a person learns the art of purifying his or her consciousness

and in order to free himself from the entanglement of material nature. Sattvagun,

rajogun and tamogun are the forces that drag us higher or lower within the ocean

of material existence, but sattvaguncan be compared to the warm waters near the

shore. In sattvagun, we are still in the ocean, but we have good chance to get out of

it. If we miss this chance, the waves ofrajas and tamogun will pull us back into the

depths of the ocean of suffering again.

In other words, being in sattvagun is good, but not good enough to get out. If wewant to transcend the guns, we have to leave behind even sattvagun in order to

leave the cycle of birth and death. This can be done through the process of liberation

prescribed in the Vedic literature.

5

Bhagavad Gita, chapter 14.


11/20

11

The >consciousness=of inanimate objects such as rocks are predominantly tamogun,

where rajas and sattva are hidden. When rajas and sattva slowly reveal themselves

more and more in larger quantity and extent, there is animation, life creeps into

existence, and from the inanimate we come to the animate. The first manifestation of

life is through what we call prana, - the vital sustaining power in all living things.While prana does not operate in inanimate objects like stone, there is prana

functioning in the world of plants, as these breathe, they do not merely exist like a

rock. But plants do not think like animals do. The function of thinking belongs to a

higher order of reality, the animal kingdom, with all its instincts and sensations. Here

we have a still greater degree of manifestation of reality. There is an approximation

to sattva in the human level, where we have not only functions of breathing and

thinking, but also of understanding, we rationalise and can use logical discrimination.

This is the condition of higher mind as distinguished from mind, to which alone the

animal world is confined, and from prana, to which alone the vegetable kingdom is

constrained, and from [food], to which alone the inanimate world is restricted. But the

higher mind, as a degree of the revelation of reality, is not all. There is a higher step

that we have to take above the human, beyond the higher mind. That step which is

above higher mind or the human level, is the realm ofAnanda or Divine delight. So,

from Anna [food] we come to Prana or life force, from Prana to intellect, from

intellect higher mind, from higher mind to Bliss.

How the guns influence our Kundalin

As described in Tantric literature, we have in and around our spinal column a set of

subtle energetic channels, or nads as they are termed. TheIda and Pingala windsaround the central system, and acts as insulators for interference, much like the copper

sheath in a co-axial t.v. antenna cable. The central channel is called the Sushumna. It

has within it a three-fold sheath called the Citrin. >Cit=means consciousness in

Sanskrit, and >trin=means three-fold. (Refer to diagram).

The actual central channel of the Citrin is void, to allow the passage of the Kundalin

from the Base to the crown Chakras. The three-fold nature of the Citrin is the three

guns. The three Asheaths@have the qualities of the three guns. One can imagine a

open ended tube containing three gasses that mix constantly in different proportions.The Kundalinflows through all of us, all of the time, or we wouldn=t be alive, or

experience consciousness. So energy is constantly flowing through the central channel

of the Citrin. However, most of us have such a predominance of the tamogun, that

we experience little of its effects through our energetic system. The blossoming of the

Chakras, with their inherent powers come about when the veils created by tamas, are

thinned to such an extent, by a sattvic lifestyle, that this Sattvagun predominates.

This gun creates a more subtle state of being, which allows us to experience the more

subtle energies in the universe. Whereas, tamogun has the exact reverse effect.


12/20

12

So how can we increase the sattvic gun in our lives?

In the Gita Arjuna asks Lord Krishna:

AKrishna! You say that the [divine] and [demonic] natures of man are the

consequences of acts and feelings impressed upon the individual in previous births.

Since it is impossible to escape from such impressions what is the fate of those whoare condemned to carry this burden with them? Are there any means by which this can

be avoided? Or can their consequences be mitigated? If such exist, please tell me

about them so that I may save myself thereby@. Arjuna asked this in order to draw out

from the Lord the remedy for all mankind.

Krishna gave an immediate answer. AThere is no [lack] of means. Listen. There are

three types ofguns: sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. They are based on the .... inner

consciousness. That ... is dependent on the intake of food. You are what you feed on:

your activities shape your nature. So, at least in this birth, by regulating food and

activity man can overcome the demonic tendencies that tend to prevail upon him. He

can promote sattvic tendencies through planned self-effort@. ....

AArjuna! Food is the chief formative force. The soiled mind dulls the brilliance of

moral excellence; how can a muddy lake reflect clearly? The Divine cannot be

reflected in the wicked or vicious mind. Food makes man[kind] strong in body; the

body is intimately connected with the mind. Strength of mind depends upon strength

of body too. Moral conduct, good habits, spiritual effort, depend upon the quality of

the food; diseases, mental weakness, spiritual slackness - all are produced by faulty

food@.

AKrishna?@asked Arjuna, Apray, tell me the constituents of sattvic, rajasic and

tamasic foods@.

AArjuna! Food, to be sattvic, should be capable of strengthening the mind as well the

body It should not be too salty, too hot, too bitter, too sweet or too sour. It should not

be taken while steaming hot. Food which fans the flames of thirst should be avoided.

The general principle is that there should be a limit, a restraint. Food cooked in water

should not be used the next day: it becomes harmful. Even fried articles should beconsumed before they develop unpleasant odours Rajasic food is the opposite of

sattvic. It is too salty, too sweet, too hot, too sour, too odorous. Such food excites and

intoxicates@

Arjuna asks:

ALord, .... By merely changing food habits, can character be changed from one gun

to another? Or has something more to be done to supplement the purification process?

Tell me if there is anything more@.


13/20

13

Krishna replies:

A.... if transformation of character were so easy, wickedness and vice, so characteristic

of [human] nature, could have been wiped off the surface of the earth in a trice. Of

course, there are more things to be done. Listen.

There are three kinds of purity to be observed: purity of provision, purity of the vesselin which the food is prepared, and purity of the persons serving the prepared food.

It is not enough if the provisions are pure and of good quality. They should have been

procured by fair means; no unfair, unjust, untrue earnings should be used for one=s

maintenance. These are fouled at the very source The source as well as the course and

the goal must all be equally pure The vessel must be clean, free from tarnish. The

person who serves must not only be clean in dress, but clean in habits, character and

conduct. The cook should be free from hate, anger, worry and indifference while

serving the dishes; he or she should be cheerful and fresh. And must be humble and

full of love. While attending upon those who are eating the cook should not allow his

or her mind to dwell on wicked or vicious ideas. Mere physical cleanliness or charm

is no compensation for evil thoughts and habits. The [seeker] who has to learn to

concentrate their mind has to be careful about these restrictions. Otherwise, during

[meditation], the subtle influences of the wicked thoughts of the cook and the servers

will haunt the [seeker]. Care should be taken to have only virtuous individuals around.

Sai baba comments:

AThe food you eat is such an important constituent of the physical and mental stuff

with which we have to struggle in the spiritual field. Purity of mind can be and has tobe supplemented by bodily purity as well as purity in speech, that is, physical, mental

and vocal purity. The mind should be free from anxiety and worry, hate and fear,

greed and pride. It should be saturated with love for all beings.

This is the heart of the teaching of the Bhagavad-Gita. The body and life in it are

based on food and are sustained by food. So, food decides the level of attainment, high

or low. Nowadays, emphasis is being laid on discipline and regulated behaviour,

without reference to food. However great and learned a person may be, however much

he or she pays attention to the teachings of the [scriptures] and takes care to spreadthem, if they neglects the strict code laid down for the food that is the very basis of the

body and its functions, they cannot succeed.@6

Food and the Three Guns

6

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba: Gita Vahini, pp. 238-246.

so, the three guns have a great effect on the mind. In fact they constitute as it were

the AAAAsubstance@@@@of which the mind is made. In Indian tradition a lot of importance is


14/20

14

given to the diet for a practitioner of Yoga or religious rituals since the effect of food

on the mind has been noted. Foods can influence the mind by increasing any of the

three guns.

Gabriel Cousins in his book Spiritual Nutrition and the rainbow diet, states that:AOn a general level, each vegetable and animal substance radiates a unique species-

specific subtle vibration from its energy field.@

AIn Ayurveda, it is established that certain foods affect the qualities of mind in

particular ways. These qualities or states of mind are latent in everyone. In Ayurveda

they are divided into three categories, the guns, [as stated in the Gita]. Anyone who

is in the physical body is subject to the subtle forces of the three guns.... A sattvic

state of mind is clear, peaceful and harmonious. It is typified by the pure-living

spiritual aspirant. The rajasic state is active, restless, worldly and aggressive, the

mental state of warriors and corporate executives. The tamasic state is lethargic,

impure, cruel and morally and physically degenerative. It is typified by our stereotype

of the drug addict or thief.

Diet influences the state of mind, and the state of mind influences the diet choice. The

[Indian] warrior class would specifically eat the rajasic diet because it stimulated their

minds and bodies into a warlike state. Spiritual aspirants normally choose the sattvic

diet and way of life. Consciously or unconsciously, people tend to choose the diet that

reinforces and is reflective of their own mental and spiritual state of awareness. The

choice of a sattvic diet may either reflect a person=s state of harmony or may reflecta person=s desire to influence themselves into that state by choosing sattvic foods. The

pitfall of pursuing a sattvic diet to create a desired mental state is that it can become

a self-righteous religion that traps the aspirants in their own concepts. The object of

spiritual life is not to fit a certain conceptual form or way of life. It is simply to be. In

that beingness, we create a healthy space for evolution into an individualised diet that

is spiritually best for that time....

Sattvic Foods

Foods which have high amounts of this most refined subtle quality are called sattvic.These are considered pure foods which keep the body-mind-spirit complex balanced,

clear, harmonious, and strong. They are easy to digest, and their intake does not result

in the accumulation of toxins in the system. The intake of these foods helps to keep

the mind at peace. These sattvic foods add energy to the [body=s energetic system],

rather than draining energy from them for assimilation. Their inherent balanced,

harmonious energy is transmitted to us. The experience of a sattvic diet is that of inner

strength, harmony, peace, and balance. In the Ayurvedic system, these sattvic foods

include all fruits, vegetables, edible greens, grains, grasses, beans, milk, buttermilk,

honey, and small quantities of rice or bread preparations. It is completely vegetarian.


15/20

15

For our western bodies, a sattvic diet means .... a minimum of stimulating condiments.

The diet has an abundance of different sprouts of legumes and grains, immature greens

and grasses, fresh fruits and vegetables, and soaked nuts and seeds, as well as raw un-

soaked nuts and seeds, all grains and legumes, honey, and sometimes fresh raw milkand yogurt.

Rajasic Foods

Rajasic foods are more stimulating to the nervous system. One will often feel some

immediate increased energy from eating them. Coffee, tea, tobacco, fresh meats, and

large amounts of stimulating spices such as garlic and onions are examples ofrajasic

foods. These foods will energize us for our worldly activities, but this energising does

not always happen in the clearest and most balanced way. These foods stimulate us

to be busy and active, but activity can turn into agitation and restlessness. They tend

to push our mind and body beyond its limits. If this is done long enough, we

eventually go into imbalance, and disease begins to manifest. Examples of this are

coffee addicts [like myself] who need more and more coffee to keep pumping their

bodies up to do their work. Eventually, the addict becomes more and more physically

exhausted until even the coffee will not help. Hypoglycemia, is a typical result of

rajasic imbalance, especially with the overuse of coffee and sugar. Rajasic foods tend

to stimulate the body and mind toward a more competitive, warlike, sensual, and

pleasure-seeking way of life. In the traditional Indian caste system, the Brahmins, who

were the priests, teachers, and spiritual seekers, were forbidden to have rajasic foods.

A rajasic diet was considered the diet for kings and warriors.

Rajasic foods are bitter, sour saline, excessively hot, dry or burning. Examples of

rajasic food are - fish, eggs, onions, garlic, tea, coffee, tobacco ... flesh foods, and

many gourmet, spicy, cooked foods with rich, oily sauces. This diet includes butter,

cheese, oils, fried foods, cakes, sugar, and eggs. The taste stimulation of these foods

tends to lead us away from our inner cues, moving us easily toward imbalances such

as overeating or coffee and sugar addictions. This diet eventually leads to ill health and

chronic degenerative imbalances.

Tamasic Foods

Tamasic foods are stale, tasteless, putrid, rotten and impure, half cooked food,

decayed, decomposed, spoiled, overcooked, recooked leftovers, and processed foods.

Foods that have preservatives, pesticides, fungicides, sweeteners, artificial colours,

sulfites, nitrites and similar chemicals. All the fast foods that are so popular today fall

into the tamasic category, as does alcohol, which is a fermented, decomposed food,

and all other drugs. Any flesh foods which are not freshly killed are considered

tamasic; this includes most meat we find in the marketplace. Only freshly killed wild

game and fish are considered rajasic. Tamasic foods have no life force left in them.


16/20

16

Their [Subtle Organizing Energy Fields] have been severely disrupted. These foods

have only minimal quality left in them, and maximum waste. These foods do,

however, supply us with toxic chemical breakdown products that affect the

functioning of our mind and irritate our nervous system. Because they steal energy

from our [Subtle Organizing Energy Fields] to digest and assimilate, they diminish ourlife force. These foods lead more quickly than rajasic foods to chronic, degenerative

disease. They tend to bring out the worst psychological characteristics because of the

irritable lethargic, degenerate state they create in us. At some time, most of us have

overeaten some tamasic food and have felt raunchy and toxic. This is the tamasic

state, a state in which it is extremely difficult to meditate or to be in harmony with self

or environment. A quick assessment of the popular North American diet makes it

obvious that it is a strong tamasic diet, the results of which is that North Americans

rate 21st in life expectancy among the industrialized nations. The tamasic diet may

also be contributing to the degenerating moral fibre of our society.@7

Everything you eat influences the way you feel and think. Sattvic food gives you

clearer thought and more energy. Rajasic and tamasic food makes you aggressive and

takes energy from you... Always check the reactions in your own body to certain kinds

of food. Due to your diet in previous years, you may have an intolerance to even some

sattvicfoods.@... NEVER use A Microwave-oven !!! It kills any life left within your

food. 8

Many accounts of people having the Kundalinraised describe a seemingly >forced=

dietary change. The body appear to want certain foods at certain times, in order for thesmooth unfolding of the Kundalinexperience.

Beyond the guns

7

Cousens, Gabriel: Spiritual nutrition and the rainbow diet, Cassandra, Boulder, CO., 1986, pp. 135-137

8Ayurvedic concept.

The main object of travelling the spiritual path is to get beyond the three guns. Now

you may well ask what would characterise such a person, sand here I can quote again

from the Bhagavad Gita, where the Arjuna asks this very question of Krishna, who

replies:

[Such a person A... does not hate [such] qualities, [as] wisdom, energy and ignorance,when they come to him - nor longs after them when they are not with him; but remain

unattached to either like or dislike, being neutral among the coming and going of these


17/20

17

qualities, unmoved and unshaken by them - knowing that the guns, or qualities, exist

and are constantly coming and going, yet witnessing their succession and movement

as one outside who witnesses a procession of objects@

AYet, even the person who stands self-reliant, and at ease, balanced equally between

pleasure and pain - he to whom a stone, iron and gold seem alike and equally valuable

- he who appears the same amidst like and dislike, and who regards praise and blame

with equal emotion, or lack of emotion - he who is ever the same in honour or disgrace- he who knows no difference between treatment of friend or foe, he who has forsaken

all ambition for enterprises or undertakings of a worldly kind such a person has passed

beyond the effects of the three guns, or qualities, and escaped from them.@9

AArjuna requests Lord Krishna to describe how a person who is free from the shackles

ofguns shows his or her behaviour or attitudes in the world so that the person could

be recognized. Lord Krishna describes such a person as being in a state of equanimity

and not affected by the three guns, though outwardly the person appears to exhibit

them. One can be perfect when one is in seclusion; the real test of one=s ability is towithstand the effects ofguns only in our transactions with the world of Objects,

Emotions, and Thoughts.

Lord Krishna continues the description of a person who [has attained perfect

equanimity] who does not distinguish between the pairs of opposites such as: pleasures

and pain, richness or poverty, relatives or strangers, honour and dishonour, praise or

abuse, and friend or foe. Such a person abandons all undertakings with ego and

egocentric nature. The dynamism in such a person may be misunderstood by us as

restless, active, and selfish; but the person did cross the three binding Guns. Such a

person is devoted to God and sees God in all living beings, and eventually merges in

God.@

Krishna advises that we should be aware of the guns and strive towards sattvagun,

and slowly becomes devoid ofgun so as to achieve Liberation. The spirit within us

gets entangled with the guns and their effects due to one=s thoughts . We do

everything in the world due to our desires leading to thoughts. A witnessing mind is

free from the attachments to guns since the awareness that consciousness present in

us is Knowledge, Awareness, and Bliss, and not tainted by the qualities ofguns.10

Conclusion

So the particular mix of guns can be seen to determine ones ability to function

spiritually. Greater spiritual expression is gained, by allowing greater energy to be

expressed through the Chakras, when sattvagun is predominant. Iftamogun is

more dominant, this veils our abilities to access the higher frequencies of our chakras.

But, sattvagun allows Kundalin to be clearly expressed through the Chakras,

bringing to fruition the powers inherent in these.

9

Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 14.

10Rao, M S: Yoga for three guns for our life.


18/20

18

This is the path to achieving oneness with the Ultimate Reality of the universe, a

oneness that we in our generally befuddled mixed gun state can barely conceive of,

though we read accounts of people who have achieved such a state, we find it hard to

appreciate, unless we have had snippets of similar experiences. Leaving our comfort

zones is never an easy task. However, having had a taste or a touch of the Divine is

usually sufficient impulsion to make a life-long striving for union with this Ultimate

Reality.

Jens Grejsen

12.3.00


19/20

19

Appendix 1

Sattvagun Rajogun Tamogun

Trinity Maheshwara Vishnu Brahma

Colour white red black

Qualities in Nature light, beauty, soft breeze fire, earthquake, volcanic,

storm

dark, inertia, unmoving,

decay

Qualities in Man truth, love, righteousness,

equanimity, wisdom,

beauty, brotherliness,

clarity, humility, modesty,

non-violence, goodness,

bliss, affection, tolerance,

purity, patience,

perseverance,

self-confidence, harmony,

unity, faith, devotion,

holiness

activity, ambition,

adventure, stern action,

firm resolution,

sleep, submission,

Negative Qualities aggression, production of

illusions, wilfulness,

emotionality, power, lust,

anger, jealousy, pride,

malice, hatred, greed,

conceit, trickery, likes &

dislikes, unrest, haste,

quick temper, attachment,passion, fury, meanness.

passivity, depression,

ignorance, fear,

attachment, ego,

possessiveness,

meaninglessness, lack of

vision, lowering of the

intellect, foolish, obstinacy,

meaninglessargumentativeness,

stupidity, dullness, sloth,

indolence, sleepiness,

submission, cruelty.

Paths poison in the early stages

and nectar while coming to

fruition.

in the beginning nectarine,

later sliding into misery.

unconcerned with the

problems of the world,

darkness, heedlessness.

Kinds of Love unselfish, unconditional

divine love (prema),universal love, fearless.

love for superiors, people

in power and rich people.Love for oneself and love

for others with reason and

love prompted by

self-centred urges.

based on physical relations,

attachment to one=s ownkith and kin or possessions,

confined to a small circle.

Times 4 a.m. - 8 a.m.

4 p.m. - 8 p.m.

8 a.m - 4 p.m. 8.pm - 4 a.m.


20/20

Appendix 2

Aspects of Guns Sattva Rajas Tamas

As motive powers of

evolution

Harmony; uniform tension Mobility or activity Static resistance or

inertia

As phenomenalradiations

ofvisible light

Luminosity or radiance;

white or bright yellow incolour

Haziness or dimness;

redin colour

Darkness; black in

colour

As expressions of

consciousness

Divine orangelic, elevating

to higherheavenly planes

Human, remaining on

the earthlyplane

Demonic, descending

to the hells or lower

planes

As reflections of

awareness

Illumination;

discriminativeknowledge

Healthy scepticism;

mundaneknowledge

Illusion or ignorance;

mis-comprehension

As mental conditions Peace;

serenity; stability

Restlessness; agitation;

discontentment

Dullness; fickleness

As exerting motivation;

influencing perception

Dispassion; devotional

outlook; spiritual pursuits

Higher passions;

pleasure seeking;

worldly pursuits

Lower passions;

mirage chasing; idle

pursuits

As forces of bondage Fondness for comfort and

learning

Liking for various

materially and

sensually motivated

undertakings

Given to indolence,

sleep, and

thoughtlessness

As ensuing symptoms and

psychological modifiers

Steadiness; intellectual

growth; heightened

understanding; simplicity;

spiritual fervour; health;

happiness; goodness;

humility; love;

compassion; charity;

truthfulness; forgiveness;

fortitude; tenacity;

enthusiasm; cheerfulness;fearlessness; gentleness;

self-restraint; moderation;

etc.

Activity; stimulated

senses; passion; greed;

craving; hoarding;

attachment; conceit;

arrogance; ostentation;

unjustness; contempt;

slander; proneness to

joy and sorrow;

ambition; boastfulness;

competition; tendencyto like or dislike;

excessiveness; etc.

Sluggishness;

infatuation; confusion;

stupidity; delusion;

aversion; malice;

anger; fear; harshness;

recklessness;

bewilderment;

irrationality;

carelessness;

obstinacy; deceit;procrastination;

despondency;

vulgarity; grief;

anxiety; pain; hatred;

violence; deficiency;

etc.

Guna Speech

Documents

Transcript of Guna Speech