Gunas

 Three gunas or qualities: The mind has one of three qualities (three gunas) that predominate. These three qualities are related to the mind in general, as well as to specific thought patterns:

Љ. Tamas, static, stable, inert: Negative aspects include heaviness, vice, ignorance, dullness, stagnation, or stupor. Positive aspects include stability and reliability.

Њ. Rajas, or active, stirring, moving: Impelled towards activity, which may be a negative, disturbing, distracted form of energy, or a positive activity to overcome inertia.

Ћ. Sattvas, Illumined, light, spiritual: As the veil of the other two is gradually lifted, there comes virtue, higher wisdom, desirelessness, and mastery.

www.swamij.com/witnessing.htm#fivecolorings

11/35 11/7/2020

Yoga Meditation: Witnessing Your

Thoughts

Cultivate a Sattvic or illumined mind, while allowing Tamas to bring stability, and Rajas to bring positive action.

What to do:

Cultivate sattvic mind: We want to cultivate the Sattvic or Illuminated state of mind, rather than a mind filled with Inertia or Negative Activity. The three gunas are said to be the building blocks of the universe, and at the same time are qualities of grosser levels of reality. For example, one might eat more Sattvic food as an aid to meditation, or create a Sattvic environment. Here, we are talking about cultivating Sattvic thought patterns.

Notice which of the three is predominant: Here, we want to simply notice the state of mind in a common sense sort of way. This is very straightforward. The mind and its thoughts might be filled with a heaviness (tamas), filled with distracting activity (rajas), or it might be filled with illumination or spiritual lightness (sattvas).

If heavy or inert: If the mind is heavy or inert, we want to bring activity so that we can approach the illuminated, clear state of mind.

If overactive or noisy: If the mind is overly active or noisy, in negative ways, then we want to allow that to pass, to transform into a clarity and illumination.

If clear or illumined: If the mind is in a clear, illumined, or Sattvic state, we want to gently maintain that state of mind.

Cultivate sattvic thoughts and emotions: In any case, we want to cultivate individual thoughts and emotions that are Sattvic in nature, that are spiritual, clear, or illumined. To do that, it is useful to label the Tamasic and Rajasic thoughts so that these can be transformed into Sattvic thoughts. It is not a matter of repressing the Tamasic or Rajasic thoughts, but of positively emphasizing the Sattvic.

For example, if Tamas is predominant, then thoughts might be heavy or negative. However, when Sattvas is dominant, then Tamas provides stability, which is useful.

If Rajas is dominant, then thoughts might be anxious or racing. However, if Sattvas is dominant, Rajas is the force that brings the useful thoughts into positive action, while Tamas has a stabilizing effect.

It's not good or bad: When considering which of the Gunas are strongest in a given thought or thought process, it can seem as if Sattvas is "good" and that Tamas and Rajas are "bad". This is not the case. What is important is that balance of the Gunas and which one is dominant. In addition to the possible negative aspects, Rajas is also the positive

www.swamij.com/witnessing.htm#fivecolorings

12/35 11/7/2020

Yoga Meditation: Witnessing Your Thoughts

impelling force to take actions, and Tamas is a stabilizing force. Both are useful.

Allow sattvas to be dominant: For meditation, Sattvas is the Guna that the student wants to be dominant, allowing Rajas and Tamas to have little influence.