The 3 Gunas; Using Them For A Better Earth

Why not support the lifting of your consciousness by listening to, and incorporating the learning from this talk into your life. When we look at what the Gunas are, what they represent and how we can apply them to our life, this brings an awareness to our attitudes, and behaviours and if we can make small changes, this could have the potential of making huge positive changes for our earth.

Transcript

You will need a pen and some paper,

So why don't you pause the recording and nip off to sort yourself out.

So what are goonas?

Wikipedia describes them as a concept in Hinduism and Sikhism which can be translated as quality or attribute.

There are three of them,

Tamas,

Sattva and raja,

And they are present in all people and objects in various degrees,

But usually one of the goonas is always more dominant than the other two.

The concepts of goonas are used within the philosophies of yoga and ayurveda and also within astrology,

And they can be used as a practical lens through which we can see ourselves and others.

The Hindu Times says we can come to a conclusion about what goona is for most in a person by observing his behaviour.

So everything within nature contains a percentage of these goonas,

Including foods and weather.

Tamasic foods include foods that are chemically treated,

Processed or refined like junk food and pastries,

But also include meat,

Fish,

Poultry,

Eggs,

Bread,

Fermented foods,

Sugary foods and alcohol.

The states of tamas in a person are experienced as inertia,

Inactivity,

Fear,

Laziness,

Doubt,

Sadness,

Hurt,

Shame and ignorance.

Rajasic foods include fried foods,

Spicy foods,

Onions,

Garlic,

Salty foods,

Sugar,

Chocolate and caffeinated drinks.

The states of rajas in a person include over-exercising,

Over-work,

Loud music,

Excessive thinking and consuming excessive material goods,

Passion,

Alertness,

Determination,

Self-centeredness,

Anxiety,

Restlessness,

Anger,

Greed and worry.

Satvic foods include whole grains and legumes,

Fresh fruits and vegetables that grow above the ground.

And the satvic states within a person are peace,

Contentedness and equanimity.

The three goonas are always in dynamic interaction with each other.

One gains dominance and then recedes and then they reverse positions,

But always maintaining the overall balance.

To increase sattva in one's life,

It's good to eat sattvic foods and do things that produce positive outcomes.

A guna is a quality,

A property that just is.

It's neither good nor bad as we need them all,

But the ultimate aim is always to become more sattvic.

In Ayurveda's classical texts,

It describes 16 distinct classifications of the psyche and these originated from the gunas.

The three gunas combine with the three ayurvedic dosas,

Vata,

Pitta and kapha,

And this helps a physician make a diagnosis.

Within Ayurveda,

The rajas state points to vata and pitta dosas and tamas points to kapha.

Mary Sullivan,

An ayurvedic expert,

Says,

Guna awareness is an easy way for me to cultivate the opposite and so move into balance.

If I feel dry and cold,

I know I need moisture and warmth.

She's actually talking about the weather here,

But I think the concept of having a guna awareness can be really helpful for our own spiritual development and for saving the earth.

Here's why.

If I'm honest with myself and have an awareness that I'm feeling and acting lazy,

Then I know my state is tamas dominant.

I can then make a choice.

I can get up and do something.

So I might go for a walk or wash the dishes.

Therefore,

I have introduced some rajas into my life by including action.

This then heads me towards a sattvic balance that I'm wanting.

The benefits to this are I'm getting fresh air,

Vitamin D,

Raising my heart rate,

It will probably lift my mood and the dishes get done,

Which will also make me feel better.

This is service to myself and possibly to others as well.

But I also have a choice of not doing anything either.

And this would be me remaining in my tamas state.

If I am constantly on the go,

Busy,

Busy,

Busy,

Always working,

Exercising,

Doing,

Doing,

Doing.

If I have an awareness of my actions and recognize these rajas behaviors,

I know that for me to aim towards a more sattvic state,

I need to introduce the opposite of rajas,

Which is tamas.

And I know that tamas is inertia or rest.

So I take a rest.

This is beneficial for my physical body,

My nervous system,

My digestive system,

My stress levels and my mind.

So you can see the advantages of having a gooner awareness and how we need all the gooners to oppose the ones we see.

This is why they're not bad.

But how might this help the earth?

Well,

I'll give you an example.

I recycle.

But I read somewhere that when the recycling is being processed,

If there is anything that is noticed about the product that is not in line with their requirements at the processing center,

It is thrown straight back into the rubbish and sent to landfill.

I could decide that that's not my problem and I'm doing my duty by recycling anyway.

But can you see how that is slightly tamasic?

A little lazy.

So now I ensure that tins are empty and clean,

Labels are off,

Tops are off bottles and so on.

Just to try is make sure that I can ensure that all my recycling is properly processed.

This takes a lot more effort,

More time,

More energy,

More radjast movement.

But that effort takes me to a more Sattvic state too.

Our choices can only be based within certain parameters.

Those parameters being our finances,

Our environment,

Our relationships and where we are right now with our awareness right now.

You can't buy an electric car if you can't afford one.

You can't buy a load of solar panels for your house without having a discussion with your partner.

You can't make these changes if you're not aware of them.

You do what you can with what you have right now.

Zen Master Dogen said there is a simple way to become Buddha when you refrain from unwholesome actions.

The Buddha taught that the way leading to the cessation of suffering was to follow the Noble Eightfold Path.

That is right view,

Right intention,

Right speech,

Right action,

Right livelihood,

Right mindfulness,

Right concentration and right effort.

I believe that this Noble Path is the same as the awareness and the cultivation of the Gunas.

So it might be that you are Tamas dominant in one area of your life and Rajas dominant in another.

And it might be that one day you wake up and are extremely Rajas but by the afternoon completely the opposite.

You're unlikely to be just one of them.

It is probable that you will swing regularly between them throughout your life and throughout your whole day even.

But let's take a bit of a look at some areas to see if you can highlight some of these dominances.

At the top of your piece of paper draw a horizontal line.

And write the letter T at the left hand side and R at the right hand side and S in the middle of the line.

So obviously the T stands for Tamas,

The R for Rajas and the S is Satvik.

S is the harmony,

The way of balance.

This is our plumb line.

So we're now going to look at some areas in our life and see if we can spot the dominant Guna.

This is just a general exercise to get you familiar with cultivating this awareness.

I realise that this is not just black and white.

Some days would look very different but just think in general terms and be honest.

So somewhere further down away from your plumb line write the word exercise.

Where would you mark yourself on this plumb line?

Do you exercise a lot?

Are you obsessive about it?

Would you panic if you couldn't exercise in a day?

Any of these you might be more on the R side of your line.

Or do you not do much movement at all?

Do you tell yourself you don't like exercise?

Or do you like to sit around or lounge around?

That movement is just not your thing?

Well then you would be more towards the T side of your line,

Tamas.

Or maybe you think you have quite a good balance.

You exercise a few times a week but you rest well too.

Well then you might be on the S.

Nicely in balance and a good harmony in your life.

Just be honest with yourself in this exercise.

No one is going to see it other than you.

And whatever you have decided is your dominant state for this area of your life,

Write this next to your exercise.

Now underneath exercise write the word eating.

Do you overeat?

Eat junk food or processed foods?

Do you drink a lot of alcohol?

Well then you might be on the T side.

Do you eat a lot of spicy foods?

Drink a lot of caffeine?

Eat a lot of fried or salty foods?

Then you would be on the side of R.

Alternatively you might eat fresh vegetables and fruit,

Whole grain foods and eat light.

Well then you would be on the S part of your line.

Balanced,

Sattvic.

Whatever you see write your dominant guna state next to eating.

And remember this is just in general as a whole.

Next line write relationships.

How is your behaviour typically in your relationships?

Are you angry?

Intolerant?

Impatient?

Selfish?

Dissatisfied?

Frustrated?

Then you would be Rajas dominant.

Or are you more laid back?

Do you tend to be melancholy?

Feel sorry for yourself?

Depressed?

Feeling sad a lot?

Guilty or shameful?

Then this would be Tamas.

Maybe you feel contented,

At peace,

Not worried.

Then you might be Sattvic.

Balanced,

Harmonious within your relationships.

Write whatever you see next to relationships.

And in the next line write the word Earth.

So what are your choices towards taking care of the Earth?

Do you take this into consideration when you are making choices?

Do you consider how this choice might negatively affect someone somewhere else in the world?

Or that it might harm the Earth itself?

Maybe you think it's not your responsibility and you don't really think about it.

Then you would be around the tea on the plum line,

Tamasic.

Or are you a real activist and get extremely passionate about this stuff?

Evangelising to anyone that will listen about climate change or becoming vegan?

Well then you would be leaning towards the R.

And if you do try to consider these things in the majority of your choices,

Then you would be somewhere around Sattvic.

Whatever you decide is true for you,

Write this next to Earth.

And remember this is not about judging yourself or feeling bad.

It's just creating an awareness so that we are able to make the opposing efforts in order to move towards a more Sattvic,

Equanimous balance.

Can you think about something that's coming up maybe today or over the next few days that you have to make a choice about?

That might be something really small like what you're going to have for dinner or it could be a big decision like going on holiday or buying a car.

I'll give you a minute to come up with something.

Whatever your choice is going to be,

Where currently do you think that that would be on your plum line?

Does your choice take into consideration the effect on the Earth?

How it might affect others?

The food you are going to eat for dinner,

How does that affect the Earth?

What bigger decisions?

Where to go on holiday?

What car to buy?

Every single one of our choices has an effect.

So where does your choice sit on the plum line?

Is it possible for you to become more Sattvic within that choice?

How?

What would you need to do?

Does that decision take a lot more effort?

It might not be possible because of resources or because there are other people involved in this choice,

So it might be out of your control.

But if it is within your control or your influence,

Is it possible to make the changes towards a more Sattvic decision?

Because a Sattva guna represents equanimity and light,

Its energy naturally leads upward to a higher state of consciousness.

It is said that someone with a Sattvic state sees a spiritual truth of the universe and becomes an instrument of that truth in life through service to others.

The Bhagavad Gita says,

A spiritual seeker needs to deal with all these three immensely powerful forces of material nature.

Once the soul is able to transcend above these three modes,

It detains illumination.

Transcending these modes seems a long way off for me.

So for now,

Bringing an awareness to what the gunas are and what they mean is my first step.

The next step is trying to cultivate more Sattva into my choices by choosing the opposite to what guna I notice.

And then hopefully,

Via these baby steps,

I will become an instrument of truth and my choices will benefit humanity and the earth.

Why don't you take some more time contemplating this?

Do you notice these dominances in other people in your world?

Can you write down other areas in your life,

Your spiritual growth maybe,

Your finances,

Your health,

Or come up with some others?

What are your parameters,

Things that could limit some of your choices?

What are the things you could change?

Could you come up with a plan of how you could make one small change towards Sattva in each of your areas?

I'd love to hear about your ideas,

So please get in touch.

Let me know how you've got on today and tell me of your plans.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.