Tri (= three) guna (attributes) is the three attributes inherent or manifest in all things having form and name. The moment atoms and molecules come together or thoughts form an idea, the resulting concrete or abstract entity has one or more of these three attributes. Anything without attributes is something transcendental and absolute beyond the realm of relativity of this phenomenal world.
These three attributes are called sattva, rajas, and tamas in Sanskrit. Everything phenomenal is a carrier of one or a mixture of these traits. The three da's in da-da-da, of which I blogged yesterday, can also be neatly paired as angel-sattva, human-rajas, and demon-tamas. Some examples of their manifestations that come to my mind are: equilibrium-passion-inertia, light-shadow-darkness, wisdom-query-ignorance, healing-suffering-hurting, protection-defense-aggression, sacrifice-negotiation-exploitation, heaven-earth-hell etc. As a matter of fact, living in paradise, limbo, or inferno is our own choice by actively using our own nature or enslaved by its tyranny. The proverb "character is destiny" is quite eloquent in this sense. Although we are not all sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic, we certainly have a dominant trait along the spectrum of triguna, between two extremes of purely good and purely evil, and the borderlines are blurry. This is the nature of the phenomenal world, as plain as materials having three phases of gas, liquid, and solid as well as their boundary phases.
What's the practical use of the knowledge of triguna? Well, I use it everyday instinctively or deliberately. It's somehow very convenient to discern or feel what kind of guna (not to say person) I have business with because my reactions are then spontaneous and definitive so that I can save time and energy for more essential things instead of getting entangled in unimportant details any further seconds. The strategy I use the moment I am confronted with a tamasic character is the last one of the 36 strategies taught by Suntzu in his famous book "Art of War": run away to fight another day. Of course I just forget the event and do not even think of confronting another time, but I leave the scene without losing even a second. If it is not possible physically, I withdraw my mind as a turtle withdraws its limbs (including head and tail) within the shell. With rajasic persons, I negotiate so as not to be exploited. And it always gives me great joy to support sattvic persons with time, money and energy in whatever undertakings they may need my help.
Let me give an illustrative example from the repertoire of my experience. Round-grain brown rice is my staple food and I eat it twice a day. It has a lot shorter shelf-life than polished white rice (I call it dead rice) because the oil in its bran gets rancid rapidly. So it happens every once in a while that I go back to the shop I bought it to exchange or just to inform the shop owner. A tamasic shop owner smells and invariably says that it does not smell. I say thank you and leave the shop with the rancid rice to prevent him from consuming it in case he really did not smell (benefit of doubt). And I come back to this shop to buy things that do not get rancid because a tamasic person does not learn and deserves only pity. A rajasic shop owner admits it but lets you feel his dissatisfaction. I do not come back to this shop in order to give him a chance to reflect and improve. A sattvic shop owner is happy and thankful to be informed and offers compensation in a very friendly manner. Then I have some nice and useful things to say myself.
We are all sattvic, rajasic and/or tamasic by nature and driven by circumstances, moving with a greater or smaller margin along the scale between pure sattva and pure tamas. We can control our behaviors by consciously dealing with our own nature and streamline our reactions to others' behaviors by labeling (an ugly but convenient word) them according to the character manifested.
The ultimate goal of knowing and reacting to triguna is to transcend these three attributes. It is needless to say that the great liberation from triguna (Triguna Rahitam) is only possible when pure sattva has been achieved.
These three attributes are called sattva, rajas, and tamas in Sanskrit. Everything phenomenal is a carrier of one or a mixture of these traits. The three da's in da-da-da, of which I blogged yesterday, can also be neatly paired as angel-sattva, human-rajas, and demon-tamas. Some examples of their manifestations that come to my mind are: equilibrium-passion-inertia, light-shadow-darkness, wisdom-query-ignorance, healing-suffering-hurting, protection-defense-aggression, sacrifice-negotiation-exploitation, heaven-earth-hell etc. As a matter of fact, living in paradise, limbo, or inferno is our own choice by actively using our own nature or enslaved by its tyranny. The proverb "character is destiny" is quite eloquent in this sense. Although we are not all sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic, we certainly have a dominant trait along the spectrum of triguna, between two extremes of purely good and purely evil, and the borderlines are blurry. This is the nature of the phenomenal world, as plain as materials having three phases of gas, liquid, and solid as well as their boundary phases.
What's the practical use of the knowledge of triguna? Well, I use it everyday instinctively or deliberately. It's somehow very convenient to discern or feel what kind of guna (not to say person) I have business with because my reactions are then spontaneous and definitive so that I can save time and energy for more essential things instead of getting entangled in unimportant details any further seconds. The strategy I use the moment I am confronted with a tamasic character is the last one of the 36 strategies taught by Suntzu in his famous book "Art of War": run away to fight another day. Of course I just forget the event and do not even think of confronting another time, but I leave the scene without losing even a second. If it is not possible physically, I withdraw my mind as a turtle withdraws its limbs (including head and tail) within the shell. With rajasic persons, I negotiate so as not to be exploited. And it always gives me great joy to support sattvic persons with time, money and energy in whatever undertakings they may need my help.
Let me give an illustrative example from the repertoire of my experience. Round-grain brown rice is my staple food and I eat it twice a day. It has a lot shorter shelf-life than polished white rice (I call it dead rice) because the oil in its bran gets rancid rapidly. So it happens every once in a while that I go back to the shop I bought it to exchange or just to inform the shop owner. A tamasic shop owner smells and invariably says that it does not smell. I say thank you and leave the shop with the rancid rice to prevent him from consuming it in case he really did not smell (benefit of doubt). And I come back to this shop to buy things that do not get rancid because a tamasic person does not learn and deserves only pity. A rajasic shop owner admits it but lets you feel his dissatisfaction. I do not come back to this shop in order to give him a chance to reflect and improve. A sattvic shop owner is happy and thankful to be informed and offers compensation in a very friendly manner. Then I have some nice and useful things to say myself.
We are all sattvic, rajasic and/or tamasic by nature and driven by circumstances, moving with a greater or smaller margin along the scale between pure sattva and pure tamas. We can control our behaviors by consciously dealing with our own nature and streamline our reactions to others' behaviors by labeling (an ugly but convenient word) them according to the character manifested.
The ultimate goal of knowing and reacting to triguna is to transcend these three attributes. It is needless to say that the great liberation from triguna (Triguna Rahitam) is only possible when pure sattva has been achieved.
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