Shastra Quiz 46

The concept of the guṇas of prakṛti is unique to Indian philosophy, and an important contribution of the Sāṅkhya school. The guṇas are explained in the Sāṅkhya-kārikā of Ishwara Kṛṣṇa. An entire chapter of the Bhagavad-Gītā is devoted to a discussion of the three guṇas.

All objects in existence, whether gross objects like physical bodies or inert objects or subtle objects like the mind and intelligence, are composed of the three guṇas – sattva, rajas and tamas.

A common property of the guṇas is continual change, such that one of them can dominate the other two depending on the time of the day even. This can occur because the guṇas, although distinct, are mixed with each other and never present in their pure state. This is the reason why, even though all material objects are products of ahaṅkāra in tama guṇa, because tama is not pure but mixed with the other two, material objects also possess sattva and rajas in them.

Tamo-guṇa causes laya — drowsiness, lack of enthusiasm and delusion; while the rajo-guṇa causes vikṣepa — perturbation due to material attachment, anger, greed and so on.

A heart overpowered by the guṇas of rajas and tamas does not have the ability to perceive the self due to this state of constant agitation.

The mind’s nature can be understood by analogy. The mind is like a calm lake. It is in sattva, meaning it is intrinsically peaceful and free of disturbance. But when the wind blows, the waters of the lake are disturbed. Similarly the mind keeps getting influences from the outside through the senses and keeps getting disturbed.

Generally people tend to not do sāttvic activities. Food, actions, association etc. tend to be rājasic or tāmasic. Whatever people consume through their eyes or ears is rājasic or tāmasic. The mind is the first place where all these inputs go. Therefore, the mind remains continually disturbed.

If the mind is to be made peaceful, the winds of rājasic and tāmasic inputs need to be stopped. If one keeps performing rājasic or tāmasic actions, one cannot get peace.

Another consideration is that the guṇas are always mixed. For example, sattva is never pure but is mixed with rajas and tamas, and likewise with rajas and tamas. These guṇas keep changing with time. Even though the mind is a product of sattva, rajas and tamas can also dominate at different times. It is also not necessary that just because the mind is a product of sattva, it must be in sattva.

Similarly, buddhi or intelligence is called superior to the manas or mind in the Gītā, and yet according to Sāṅkhya of the Bhāgavata purāṇa, the buddhi is a product of rajas. [The buddhi is a product of sattva in the Sāṅkhya kārikā]. How can this be understood? The idea is that buddhi is the controller of the mind, and controlling is a function of rajas. Sattva cannot control as it is by nature peaceful and inactive. As such, buddhi is necessarily in rajas.

A heart overpowered by the guṇas of rajas and tamas does not have the ability to perceive the self due to this state of constant agitation. There are many processes for purifying the heart, but causeless devotion is the most potent and immediate.

The real impurity of the heart is the attitude of separateness from, and contraction against, Bhagavān. Bhagavān supplies all necessities of life even without our asking, so if a jīva refuses to acknowledge this, he must be selfish, ungrateful and dishonest. Therefore, unless one at least acknowledges the Supreme Lord, it is not possible to purify the heart completely or to realize any of His three aspects.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this in His teachings to Uddhava:

ātmāparijñāna-mayo vivādo hy astīti nāstīti bhidārtha-niṣṭhaḥ
vyartho’pi naivoparameta puṁsāṁ mattaḥ parāvṛtta-dhiyāṁ sva-lokāt

The speculative arguments of philosophers — “This world is real,” “No, it is not real” — are based upon incomplete knowledge of the Supreme Self and are simply aimed at discerning material dualities. Although such arguments are useless, persons who have turned their attention away from Me, their own true Self, are unable to give them up. (SB 11.22.34)

After death, a person attains a destination befitting the karma accrued in the previous life or lives. This formula is briefly stated by Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Bhagavad Gītā:

ūrdhvaṁ gacchanti sattva-sthā madhye tiṣṭhanti rājasāḥ
jaghanya-guṇa-vṛtti-sthā adho gacchanti tāmasāḥ
nānyaṁ guṇebhyaḥ kartāraṁ yadā draṣṭānupaśyati
guṇebhyaś ca paraṁ vetti mad-bhāvaṁ so’dhigacchati

Those situated in sattva-guṇa ascend to the higher planets; those in rajo-guṇa remain in the middle region; and those in tamo-guṇa, who engage in detrimental action, go downward.

When the seer observes that there is no performer at work other than these guṇas, and knows himself to be beyond them, then he attains to My nature. (Gītā 14.18–19)

In chapter 25 of the Eleventh Canto, there is a section of verses (23–29) that is similar to those found in Bhagavad Gītā, chapters 14, 17, and 18.

In all of these passages, there are detailed descriptions of the material guṇas and their influences on knowledge, action, and the performer. In particular, the following three verses from Chapter 18 describe action influenced by the three guṇas:

"That action which is enjoined by scripture, which is performed without attachment and free from attraction or repulsion, by a person not yearning for its fruit, is called sāttvika. That action, however, which is performed with great effort by a person hankering for enjoyment or out of egotism, is called rājasika. That action which is undertaken out of delusion, without considering its consequences, the detriment it may bring, the violence it may cause to oneself or to others, and whether one has the requisite power to perform it, is called tāmasika. (Gītā 18.23–25)"

The fundamental difference between the Gītā passages that treat the subject of the guṇas and the corresponding verses in the Bhāgavata is that the latter includes a description of the nirguṇa state as it applies to knowledge, action, and the performer.

Pradhāna is the unmanifest state consisting of the three guṇas in a neutralized state. It is known by other names like prakṛti and avyakta. It is eternal, and pervades all causes and effects.

One often comes across the term pradhāna in the śāstras used to denote material nature. Śrī Jīva Goswami examines the definition of pradhāna in the Paramātmā Sandarbha, Anuccheda 111 as follows:

athopādānāṁśasya pradhānasya lakṣaṇam—

yat tat tri-guṇam avyaktaṁ nityaṁ sad-asad-ātmakam | pradhānaṁ prakṛtiṁ prāhur aviśeṣaṁ viśeṣavat || [bhā.pu. 3.26.10]

Now the definition of pradhāna, the upādāna part of māyā, is given: That which consists of the three guṇas, which is eternal, of the nature of cause and effect, and although devoid of manifest attributes is the source of the specific attributes of its effects, is called avyakta (the unmanifest), pradhāna (the preeminent support), and prakṛti (primordial conditionality), (SB 3.26.10)

In other words, avyakta, pradhāna and prakṛti, refer to the same thing, the upādāna part of māyā, consisting of the three guṇas.

But do these different names of the same thing, carry any significance? The answer is ‘yes’. Śrī Jīva Goswami gives the reason for the usage of these distinct terms – they correspond to the three words aviśeṣaṁ, viśeṣavat and sad-asad-ātmakaṁ.

1. pradhāna is called avyakta because it is aviśeṣa, or without any distinguishing features. Here aviśeṣam = guṇa-traya-sāmya-rūpatvād anabhivyakta-viśeṣam = because the three guṇas in it are in a neutralized state, it is without manifest qualities.
2.  pradhāna is called pradhāna, because it is viśeṣavat, inclusive of varieties. Here viśeṣavat = svāṁśa-kārya-rūpāṇāṁ mahad-ādi-viśeṣāṇām āśraya-rūpatayā tebhyaḥ śreṣṭham – because it is the support of its own effects, beginning with mahat which are distinct categories, it is superior to them.
3.  pradhāna is called prakṛti, because it is sad-asad-ātmaka, that is, of the nature of cause and effect. Here sad-asad-ātmaka = sad-asatsu kārya-kāraṇa-rūpeṣu mahad-ādiṣu kāraṇatvād anugata ātmā svarūpaṁ yasya tat, meaning because it is the cause of all causes and effects starting with mahat, its essential nature is to inhere in all causes and effects.

Interestingly, pradhāna is eternal as indicated in the verse by the word nityam. How is it eternal if it transforms into various effects? The answer is that even after transformation into effects, it continues to exist in the effect as latent cause, and it also maintains its separate existence from the effects. Śrī Jīva Goswami explains that during dissolution, pradhāna remains in its causal state together with its parts, while during creation and sustenance, it remains in unmodified form. In this way, pradhāna is distinct from Brahman because Brahman has no guṇas, and it is distinct from its effects like mahat etc., in that mahat etc. are manifest but pradhāna remains unmanifest. To support his explanation, Śrī Jīva cites a verse from Viṣṇu Purāṇa –

evaṁ ca śrī-viṣṇu-purāṇe—

avyaktaṁ kāraṇaṁ yat tat pradhānam ṛṣi-sattamaiḥ |procyate prakṛtiḥ sūkṣmā nityaṁ sad-asad-ātmakam ||akṣayyaṁ nānyad ādhāram ameyam ajaraṁ dhruvam |śabda-sparśa-vihīnaṁ tad rūpādibhir asaṁhitam ||triguṇaṁ taj jagad-yonir anādi-prabhavāpyayam |tenāgre sarvam evāsīd vyāptaṁ vai pralayād anu || [vi.pu. 1.2.19-21] ity-ādi |

That pradhāna, which is unmanifest and the cause, is called subtle prakṛti by the best of sages. It is eternal and of the nature of cause and effect. It is imperishable, has no other support, is immeasurable, does not become old and is changeless. It is devoid of sound and touch, and remains uncompounded into any form. It consists of the three guṇas, is the source of the universe and is beginningless. [During the dissolution] it is the source into which all generated substances are reabsorbed, and after the dissolution, it pervades everything in the beginning of a new creative cycle, (VP 1.2.19-21)

Learn more Realization of Brahman and the Individual Self

According to Advaitavāda, the one Brahman, cit, or caitanya, manifests in four ways by the influence of different upādhis.

These are called

1. pramātṛ-caitanya : the knower, or subject- consciousness;
2. pramāṇa-caitanya : the means of valid knowing, or cognitive-consciousness;
3. viṣaya-caitanya : the object of knowledge, or object-consciousness; and
4. phala-caitanya : the resultant valid knowledge of the object, or veridical percept consciousness

tathā hi ekam eva caitanyam upādhi-bhedāt catur-vidham — pramātṛ-caitanyaṁpramāṇa-caitanyaṁ viṣaya-caitanyaṁ phala-caitanyaṁ ceti. Tattvānusandhāna 2.30

There is no such thing as brāhmaṇa initiation. Brāhmaṇa is a varṇa or jāti and not a form of dīkṣā.

Learn more: Dīkṣā and Varṇāśrama