By Team Ayurved Sutra
Posted on
Gunas Identified
stavam rajstam iti guna parkritisambhava nibdhanti
mahabhaho dehe dehynamvyama(bhagwad gita 14/5)
In this shloka of Bhagwad Gita, lord Krishna says that atma is bound to the body through three gunas (the driving forces behind physical manifestation of existence) – sattva, rajas, and tamas. The same concept is explained in ayurveda as human life consisting of the sharira (body), indriya (faculties of action) and manas (mind). Interaction among the sharira, indriya, and manas becomes the cause of knowledge about anything. For example, sometime a person comes in front of you and your eyes have seen him but until your manas has processed that information you will not notice the presence of that person.
According to ayurveda manas is of three kinds: sattvic, rajesic, and tamsic.
The satvic manas is the illuminating mind without any doshas. Its manifestations in human life are truthfulness, having faith, patience, sharp intellect, keenness for knowledge, doing action without attachment to result, and tolerance.
Rajsic mind is the activity driving mind and is often found associated with impatience, desires to travel a lot or to keep moving around, arrogance, dishonesty, pretence, getting unhappy easily, attachment to sensual joys, and anger.
