Trigunas
Just as
the Doshas are the
essential components of our body, the three ‘gunas’ i.e. ‘Satwa’,
‘Rajas’ and ‘Tamas’ - are the three essential
components or energies of our mind. Ayurveda provides
a distinct description of people on the basis of their ‘Manasa Prakriti’ (psychological
constitution). Genetically determined, these psychological characteristics are
dependent on the relative dominance of the three gunas.
While
all individuals have mixed amounts of the three, the predominant ‘guna’ determines an individual's ‘Manasa
prakriti’.
In equilibrium, the three gunas preserve the mind and
indirectly the body, maintaining it in a healthy state. Any disturbance in this
equilibrium results in various types of mental disorders.
‘Satwa’, characterised by
lightness, consciousness, pleasure and clarity, is pure, free from disease and
cannot be disturbed in any way. It activates the senses and is responsible for
the perception of knowledge. ‘Rajas’, the most active of
the ‘gunas’, have motion and
stimulation as its characteristics. All desires, wishes, ambitions and
fickle-mindedness are a result of the same. While ‘Tamas’ is characterised by heaviness and resistance. It produces disturbances in the
process of perception and activities of the mind. Delusion, false knowledge,
laziness, apathy, sleep and drowsiness are due to it.
‘Rajas’ and’ Tamas’,
as with the doshas, can be unbalanced by
stress and negative desires as' kama’ (lust),’ irshya’ (malice),’ moha’ (delusion and hallucination),’ lobha’ (greed), ‘chinta’ (anxiety), ‘bhaya’ (fear) and krodha (anger). Each of
these three properties is also comprised of sub-types and the particular
sub-type to which one belongs to determine the qualities of that individual.
‘Satwika’ individuals are usually noble and spiritual in character, their nature determined as much by body type as their star constellation, having an element of kapha in their constitution.