Three Gunas of Nature

Three Gunas of Nature   

In Ayurveda, there are three essential aspects of nature that are present in all beings in the world. The three traits are rajas, tamas, and sattva. These gunas are present in the body and mind, thus explaining a person’s character or behavior. We will now delve into the three traits and how to apply them in our daily lives.  

Sattva   

Sattva is the pure essence of light and has a spiritual purpose. This quality radiates compassion and selfless action. Sattva is a state of clear, calm, and focus. Sattva guna is essential as it helps develop awareness and truth to become a better person.   

A sattvic diet consists of a vegetarian diet. This includes mainly fruits and vegetables and certain grains. Sattvic foods create clarity and compassion in the mind, and a state of harmony.   

Cultivating Sattva   

Immersing in the sattva guna can reduce rajas and tamas in the mind and body. The pure state of mind can be attained by following a sattvic diet, practicing yoga, finding activities that bring happiness in life, and associating with positive people.   

Rajas   

Rajas is a constant state of action, energy and intensity. This guna creates a spark to increase movement in the mind and body to do the best possible. It also creates the spark in competitions and relationships.   

A rajasic diet consists of hot and spicy foods that increase heat in the body. This excites the mind making it hyperactive. Some examples are ginger, black pepper, some pickles and chutneys, and coffee.   

Cultivating Rajas  

This quality of passion can quickly go in the wrong direction of anger, stress, worry, and chaos. Excess amounts of rajasic foods can also lead to anger and frustration. Rajas can be controlled by limiting hot and spicy foods in the body, yoga, and meditation.   

Tamas   

Tamas makes up stability, firmness and builds a foundation for the mind and body.  However, this can quickly become a negative quality. In excess, tamas can quickly convert to lethargy, sadness, and depression. This causes the mind and body to become stuck in that emotion and lose passion in working on relationships.   

A tamasic diet is heavy, oily, and grounding, thus causing the mind to become dull.  Examples are cheese, potatoes, meat, mushrooms, and stale foods.  

Cultivating Tamas   

The tamas quality can easily go in the wrong direction. To avoid this, lifestyle changes are recommended such as increasing physical activity, limiting tamasic foods that make the mind and body heavy, and limiting screen time throughout the day.  

Each guna has its own characteristics that distinguish one from another. Although each guna is very different, all three are needed to complement each other in nature. Becoming aware of the gunas is important in Ayurvedic practices to help cultivate stability and letting go of what’s not needed in our daily lives.