202. Identifying the Dominant Guna

Krishna says, “Three gunas of satva, rajas and tamas bind Imperishable Dweller (14.5). Of these, the stainless satva binds through attachment to happiness and knowledge (14.6). Know rajas to be raagaatmak (nature of passion) giving birth to desires and it binds the embodied soul through attachment to action (14.7). Know that tamas to be born of ignorance, deluding all embodied beings; it binds through heedlessness, laziness and sleep” (14.8). Essentially, the three gunas (characteristics born of prakriti) are responsible for binding the atma which is the beej (seed) of Paramatma to the physical body.

Krishna further says, “Satva attaches to happiness, rajas to action while tamas indeed, having veiled knowledge, attaches to heedlessness (14.9). Sometimes satva is predominant, overpowering rajas and tamas; sometimes rajas over satva and tamas; and sometimes tamas over satva and rajas” (14.10). This implies that we are under the spell of the combination of these gunas in various proportions at various points of time. Just as the three primary colours viz. red, yellow and blue produce billions of colours, these three gunas are responsible for the diverse behaviours we see around us.

The next question is how to recognize which guna is influencing or binding us at any given time. Krishna clarifies, “One may know that satva is prevalent when the light of wisdom shines through all the gates of the body (14.11). Domination of rajas causes greed, activity, restlessness, desire and the start of action (14.12). Tamas as the ruling guna produces darkness, inertness, heedlessness and delusion” (14.13). We sleep when tamas dominates. Rajas drives us to perform and achieve. Satva is responsible for learning and acquiring knowledge. Hence, gunas are the real karta (doer) for every action that emanates from us. Awareness is essentially the ability to recognise the guna under whose control we are at any given moment.