The Science of Gunas: An Ancient Wisdom That Can Transform Your Life

The word Guna in Sanskrit means quality or attribute when seen in a literal sense. In a general
understanding of the term, Guna may refer to the fundamental characteristic that defines an
entity. Guna is the fluidity of water, the hotness of fire, the whiteness of milk, and the sweetness
of honey. It is the personality or attitude of a person that defines their personhood. A person may
be kind, aggressive, punctual, lethargic, truthful, or have many other traits that are said to be
qualities of that person. Hence the concept of gunas as an attribute of a thing entails that it is
dependent on the object and defines its essence. As they describe reality, they form the
fundamental building blocks of the universe, the material world, and the human personality. The
Gunas determining the different aspects of life, creation, relationships, and knowledge have been
well explored in ancient philosophical texts. Broadly, they can be seen in the cosmic aspect, as a
part of personality, in the societal aspect, and from a rational-scientific point of view.
 
 
Gunas as constituents of Prakriti, the creative force
All things in the cosmos exist in duality: the masculine and feminine, the yin and the yang, the
mind and the body. The Samkhya school of Indian philosophy visualises this duality in the form
of Purusha and Prakriti. Purusha represents the conscious but passive aspect of reality, whereas
Prakriti represents the unconscious but creative aspect. It is the power that gives birth to
everything. Gunas are the constituents of this Prakriti.
They can be classified into three types: Sattva , Raja, and Tama. Tha Sattva Guna is goodness,
bliss, and enlightenment. It is buoyant, bright, and illuminating . The Raja guna is the principle
of motion and energy. It is restlessness, desire, activity, effort, and pain. Tama Guna consists of
darkness, apathy, ,indifference, ignorance, and lethargy. It is the quality of heaviness, negativity,
confusion, and passivity. In Prakriti, all three gunas are present in harmonious balance. When
Prakriti, the feminine, comes into contact with Purusha, the masculine, the equilibrium of the
Gunas within Prakriti is disturbed. The Raja Guna begins to dominate, compelling other gunas to
engage in activity as well.As a result, material products start evolving out of Prakriti, and
creation occurs. Each product of creation contains all three gunas (sata, raja, and tama), although
in different proportions, resulting in the diversity of the phenomenal world. The plants, animals,
elements of nature, and even human beings show a diversity in characteristics corresponding to
different combinations of the three gunas. Every phenomenon contains a predominant guna, as
well as a smaller dose of the other two gunas. That is why, for instance, anger can be transformed
into compassion because the rajas state of anger contains some sattva, the predominant guna of
compassion. Besides the cosmic explanation given by Samkhyan philosophy, Gunas have a
practical use. They can be said to influence our daily lives through personal development,
understanding relationships and psychology, cultivating habits, and managing our desires. The
Bhagavad Gita explains the types of personalities due to the Gunas and how one should manage
them.

#gunas #hinduism #bhagavadgita #vedas

Starting parable: The Gospel Of Sri Ramakrishna

Voiceover: Abhinav Banerjee

Edit: Harshit

Score: Original x Epidemic music x Motion array

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[mrprao]

"Even the thief in the opening narrative who had a Sathvik character was unable to enter the city since in a sense he was a thief" - How beautifully explained🙏

[krisc]

According to the Sāṁkhya-kārikā, Sattva is described as “illuminating”, giving rise to pleasure; Rajas is “activating”, giving rise to pain; and Tamas is “restraining”, which gives rise to delusion. Collectively, these three guṇas represent the entire spectrum of experience. According to Caraka-Saṃhitā, the word “Sattva” is synonymous with the mind.

Derived from the root words sat (eternal truth) and tva (thyself), Sattva represents the subjective consciousness, which is only experienced in fullness through deep meditation, when the mind is turned inward and away from the compulsions of rāga (desire) and dviṣa (aversion). This is why Sattva is said to give pleasure – not the temporal pleasure that fulfills desire – but rather, the bliss that comes from deep spiritual insight (saccidānanda). In contrast, Tamas represents the objective, physical world, which includes our bodies, the food we eat, the earth itself, and all the stars in the universe. In Āyurveda this includes the five elements, and the three doṣa(s) that emanate from them. Between them lies Rajas as the “activator”, the guna that binds Sattva to Tamas, drawing the illuminated consciousness outwards into the inertia of physical reality. This is the esoteric concept of the illuminated consciousness according to the teaching of Sāṁkhya.

[shriyasingh]

These are beautifully made videos that impart so much clarity and direction. I'm so grateful for this channel and the work it is doing.

[abhinadia]

Great initiative to lead the modern mankind towords their extracted understanding.... There is a chapter in Geeta namely ' Gunatraya Bibhag Yoga ' representing all d characteristics of each gunas
'Traigunya Bishaya Veda
Nistraigunya Bhabarjuna '

All the realised mundane knowledge based on these 3 gunas .. but One has to attain a state of Nistraigunya ( beyond any gun ) ... It's the core philosophy of Indian Vedant philosophy.

[EikonGaming]

I just def loved the graphical representation of this video, such a brilliant editor, hats off to the team for such a wonderful work for mankind

[zappthezapper]

does anyone know who is the artist behind the green tara mantra that is played in almost every video of Asangoham... it's so beautiful

[aksharadixit]

your videos are mesmerising and so much value. Pls never stop doing this. We need you🙏

[sumantra]

These videos are wonderful. It resembles the kind of research and effort the team is putting the best possible content for the people of this blue mother.

[lehohlahmmelchizedek]

This was a truly amazing video, great job to all who created it

[watersprite]

Wow, what a fab video, explaining a tricky subject matter extremely well - great job and well done! Namaste, love & light!

[jamespyle]

This is such a great video, thank you so much! You should consider doing a video on the three Doshas of Ayurveda to go along with this video, the 10 pairs of opposite qualities are said to compose the the three Doshas. The Vata Dosha is said to be predominantly Sattva, the Pitta is said to be predominantly Rajas, & the Kapha Dosha is said to be predominantly Tamas.

[bhaskarmajumdar]

The story is from Gospel of Ramakrishna (Kathamrita). This is among the parable spoken by Sri Ramakrishna.

[dikshaanand]

@Asangoham I kindly request you to please provide with subtitles as well for clearer understanding of these beautiful videos 🙏 Thankyou

[sriharisai]

The picture she showed Dr. Strange is from a book called "B K S Iyengar Yoga The path to Holistic Health" written by BKS Iyengar who is a renowned Indian Yoga guru who played a key role in taking Yoga globally. Unfortunately he passed in 2014 at the age of 96. Also, the text written in the picture is in a language called Tamil, which is said to be the oldest living language in the world.

[sabitajyoti]

Thankyou, I'm greatful to see your video, I always wanted to know the key mindset behind these three gunas, and you successfully explained it. Respect 🙏

[ewanhunt]

Song that starts at 6:00 ???!?! Please 🙏🏼

[fistoffury]

Om tare mantra is just beautiful. Where can i find it. Thanks

[jameswalsh]

Much obliged for you sharing. Greetings from James J in Limerick city Ireland

[aksharadixit]

can you pls share the backgroud score used at 5:57.pls

[athenastarbrite]

Thank you! 7:15 in was very interesting! 👍