What is Guna (गुण)?
Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2 Verse 45 Explained
Introduction
Bhagavad Gita is a conversation between Krishna and Arjun. This dialogue begins just before the war of Mahabharata is about to begin. On seeing his family in opposition, Arjun is gripped with fear and confusion and wants to run away, but Krishna convinces him to fight and tells Arjun why he today raise his weapons to kill his brothers and relatives in this war.
Bhagavad Gits teaches us how to live life!
The core message of the Bhagavad Gita is considered very powerful for it can fundamentally transform the way you live your life. Bhagavad Gita is also called a summary of Vendantic Knowledge or simply ancient Knowledge.
Bhagavad Gita is crystallized form of the Hindu thought.
Bhagavad Gita is 700 verses long, spread across 18 chapters. Here we will understand Verse 45 of Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita.
Verse 2.45
त्रैगुण्यविषया वेदा निस्त्रैगुण्यो भवार्जुन |
निर्द्वन्द्वो नित्यसत्त्वस्थो निर्योगक्षेम आत्मवान् || 45||
trai-gunya-vishaya veda nistrai-gunyo bhavarjuna
nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho niryoga-kshema atmavan
Translation
Vedas mention three Gunas (qualities): Sattva, Rajas, Tamas.
O Arjun, rise above these three Gunas. Free yourself from the notion of duality, go beyond the desire to seek personal gains, beyond the desire to protect yourself, and always center yourself in truth.
Commentary:
What is Guna (गुण)?
Krishna for the first time makes mention of the term “Guna”(गुण). The word “Guna”/(गुण) itself means “Quality”. Therefore “Guna” in this context means the quality of material energy from which this entire universe is made up.
There are three types of Gunas of material energy: Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva
Now energy is something which has not been described in detail in spiritual literature, all mentions of it are metaphorical and poetic, but on the contrary modern Science has studied energy in great detail.
Since Gunas describe the quality of energy, thus we must make use of Science to understand this aspect.
Using Physics to understand Guna!
Physics is the study of matter and its properties while matter itself is a manifestation of energy.
As per Newtonian physics, matter has three states of being. It is either at rest(Inertia) , or at motion, or at equilibrium i.e. at perfect balance.
What is Inertia(Rest)?
Technically “Rest” is not an absolute state but rather a relative description, for nothing in this universe is at absolute rest. The man who appears standing still in front of you is actually in motion since the earth is spinning on its axis. Even the earth rotates around the sun, and the sun itself rotates around the centre of our galaxy. Thus everything is in motion.
Thus rest is best denoted by the term “inertia” which means the tendency of the body to resist a change in its state.
Eg: Imagine a stone kept on the ground. It has a tendency to remain in that state of rest, despite any effort applied to lift it. The point to note is that stone wishes to “be in its same state” of rest
What is Motion?
“Motion” is evident in a movement when the forces on a body are not in balance and causing the body to move. The net force acting on a body leads to acceleration and the body moves. Hence to change the state of a body from Inertia to Motion, a force needs to be applied. Or when a force is applied on a body which is at rest, it starts moving!
Eg: Imagine a car moving on the road. The motion is obvious. The moment you press accelerator, the engine exerts force and accelerates the car.
What is Equilibrium?
“Equilibrium” is when all forces acting on matter balance out, leaving the matter in a delicate state of balance, where the matter which is nothing but energy has a tendency to break its state of balance, but yet is not in motion.
Equilibrium can best be called a state of balance.
Eg: Imagine a spherical ball resting on the tip of a finger. It is momentary in balance but has a tendency to fall at any moment.
Interia v/s Equilibrium
The key thing to note is that in Inertia the body will resist a change in its state. It has a bias to remain in its original state. But in Equilibrium, the body won’t resist the change. It has thus a tendency to break the state of equilibrium and enter into a state of motion.
Thus in Inertia the change is being resisted, while in Equilibrium the change is being emraced without any rush
Gunas as per Physics
The Gunas also reflect the same quality as states of Motion. Infact it can be said that Physics derives its three states of motion from the three states of nature i.e. the three Gunas.
Tamas means Inertia, Rajas means Motion, and Sattva means Equilibrium.
General Theory of Relativity
As per Einestine, E=MC2 which can interpreted as the fact that everything in this universe is made up of energy. So every living being is also a pool of energy and energy makes up matter which has state of motion.
Gunas go deeper than Newtonian physics in defining the quality of energy in to three states of Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva.
However the approach is not scientific in the sense that it can’t be measured and proved. But that is the limitation of modern science. Perhaps some day science will advance and prove the Vedic concepts via experiments.
Gunas and a Man’s Nature
Now a man is also pool of energy manifesting itself as matter. Hence it is natural that a man also reflects these Gunas(qualities) in his actions, which manifest as thoughts and behaviours.
For example:
- Tamas or inertia can be equated to laziness, rest, and inaction.
- While Rajas or Motion can be equated to action, passion, energy, hard work etc
- Sattava or Equilibrium can be equated to wisdom i.e when a man knows when to rest and when to act. This reflects decision-making where a balance is struck between Tamas and Rajas, which is essential for achieving a person’s goal.
Story of a Body Builder
Let’s understand this with an example.
There were 3 bodybuilders preparing for a competition. The first bodybuilder works out 7 days a week without any rest. The second one is lazy and doesn’t work out at all. While the third one works out 4 days a week and rests on alternate days. All take similar diets and have same lifestyle.
After 90 days if the results are observed. What will happen?
Now, Muscles only develop while we are at rest. Thus the last body builder who took ample rest is likely to develop the best muscles as he is giving his body rest to recover. This person is said to be acting in the state of Sattva, for he has taken a wise call. Knows when to work and when to rest. There is balance in his approach.
While the one who works out 7 days a week, is likely to develop muscles but his growth will stop after a while and he is more likely to injure himself due to building up of stress. This person is said to be acting in the state of Rajas, for he is determined and works hard, but lacks thought behind his strategy.
The lazy one will anyways have no growth at all, rather he will gain fat due to overeating. This person will be acting under the influence of Tamas, as he was lazy and didn’t move his ass!
What is the significance of Gunas in the Bhagavad Gita?
This is interesting as states of motion we study in modern science were a result of Newtonian mechanics which was discovered by Sir Isaac Newton and known by his famous “Newton’s law of Motion” in the 1600s
But the Gunas find their mention in Vedas and in the Bhagavad Gita- texts which were in existence thousands of years before Newton or even Western science was born. This highlights the fact the people of Vendant were actually the first scientists and thought in a scientific manner without the limitation of modern science which allowed them to deal with the spiritual aspect of life which can’t be measured but can only be experienced.
What is Duality?
Krishna mentions the word “Dwand” which means “Fight between two factions” or simply “Duality”. He is asking Arjun to free himself of duality. He tells Arjun to free himself from the desire for personal gains and the fear of death.
What does Duality mean? Let’s understand it.
Everything in life is born of nothingness. It can be said everything is born of complete Zero. Due to this fact, in this world, everything exists in pairs. For everything in existence, there would an anti as well. This is the duality.
Duality of Emotions
Take, for example, our Feelings. We classify feeling as Good or Bad, Positive or negative, Right or wrong. All these things are a set of two. One exists because of the other. If one doesn’t exist, the other will also not exist.
Even human emotions, at the core of it, are a result of a sensation that is born in our body as a response to an external stimulus. This sensation is signalled to our brain by the nervous system and the brain then takes a dualistic response to this sensation.
The Duality: Raag and Dvesh
We either like it which is called “Raag” or we are averse to it which is called “Devsh”. Every sensation passes through this dual choice, which is made subconsciously. We are trained over years, and in fact lifetimes, to develop an inclination towards certain sensations and reject some.
For example, consider ice cream. You might say I “like” it or you might say I “don’t like” it. It is making a choice between the duality of “Raag” and “Dvesh” but only on a mild scale. This choice does not affect your life as such or define you as a person in any meaningful manner. You might also be indifferent towards this ice cream, but even in that indifference, there would be an inclination towards this duality in some manner. To remain completely indifferent is not so easy, nor natural.
Similarly, Love and Hate are also dualities but of a higher degree. So are pleasure and pain. Some dualities are part of your DNA, which you choose without any conscious control. For eg. no one like pain, it seems like an automatic choice. So is Love which comes naturally to everyone!
So when you say you Love or Hate a certain thing or a certain person, it does speak of your personality and values.
But most things fall in a spectrum, between the extremes, where you can exercise a choice. And on these choices, your personality, your character are developed.
One can choose to be Selfish and look for personal gain, or one can be selfless and look to give to the world, which means doing things from which the world will benefit.
One can think of self, and fear death due to his ignorance or one can rise above this fear of death by realizing the wisdom that death is inevitable and even when the body dies, the soul lives on.
How to rise above Duality?
Most people in the world live life stuck in such dualities. Selfish Desires which are a result of Ego, are the cause of such dualities. But the one who attains true wisdom knows the true nature of desire. They know that a desire by its very nature can’t get fulfilled. They know that one had to rise above dualities in this world to attain true liberation. And that state can only be achieved by desirelessness.
But wisdom tells us that desirelessness doesn’t mean inaction. Desirelessness means the absence of any selfish desire.
Such wise people know that while desire can be evil and can make you its slave, but can also be a great servant and can serve a great purpose, for it allows one to choose a goal and pursue a journey in life.
Thus they end up choosing a life that is devoted to helping others. A life that is free of selfish desires, a life that is dedicated towards the fulfilment of their Dharma, a life lived while being in Yoga.
When one does so, he rises above all dualities. He even rises above pleasure and pain, happiness and grief. In a true sense, he is liberated.
The state of Desirelessnes is free of duality and is indeed true Liberation (Moksha)
Krishna’s message to Arjun
Krishna thus asks Arjun to gain wisdom, which starts by rising above his selfish desires, dropping preconceived notions, and being open to knowledge.
This verse is very deep, and it is addressed not only to Arjun but to every man who walks and who will walk on this earth for time immemorial!
Think about it: Which state are you in Tamas, Rajas, or Sattva?
What is your biggest Desire? Is it a selfish Desire or a selfless Desire?
The answer to this question will tell you a lot about who you truly are!
