Sattva, Rajas & Tamas - 1

I am writing this blog to explain three basic building block of Hinduism known as Sattva, Rajas & Tamas Gunas (Traits). Sometime back I was listening Mr. Bawa explaining the same. I’ll try to put the crux of his speech as well in this blog as it was really impressive.
Let us first understand Gunas.

What is GUNA?
Guna means rope. As a rope binds an object and keeps it under control, so gunas bind all things from atoms to the sun and keep them under perfect control. Cosmic forces control the multiplicity of the Universe.

They are thus classified: - 

1. Satoguna, protonic force, intelligence-stuff;

2. Rajoguna, electronic force, energy-stuff;

3. Tamoguna, force of inertia, mass stuff

A Guna is a state of mind--an attitude. Attitudes are basically qualities or tones of vibration and are found in everything, especially in the human. There are three Gunas, or attitudes, from which all the more subtle attitudes are derived. The three Gunas bind your spirit to the body, keeps it here. A Guna is an earthly quality. The three Gunas are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
Gunas— three human qualities: tamas — dullness, ignorance, rajas — energy, passion, sattva — harmony, purity.
In the unmanifested Universe, energy has three qualities, known as Gunas, that exist together in equilibrium: Sattva (purity); Rajas (activity, passion, the process of change); and Tamas (darkness, inertia). Once energy takes form, one quality of the three predominates. Thus on an apple tree, some of the fruit is ripe (sattvic), some ripening (rajasic) and some overripe (tamasic). But no matter which quality prevails, an element of each of the other two will always be present as well. Most of an individual apple will be ripe, but part will be rotten, even if the naked eye cannot see it, and part will be in the process of changing from one state to the other. The three Gunas encompass all existence, all actions. If a man commits a robbery, the action is basically rajasic but the decision tor ob and the motive may be predominantly tamasic, rajasic or sattvic, according to the situation. In all people one of the three Gunas has superior strength and is reflected in all they do and think.
Only in enlightenment are the Gunas completely transcended. The Gunas can be found in all beings and objects surrounding us.
Substances which are self-shining, self-revealing, and which behave as a unit of conscious energy is called satoguna (the Guna of sattva). Substances which are energetic, which have power of attraction and repulsion, and which behave as units
of activity, change, and motion are called rajoguna(the Guna of rajas). Substances which are units of mass and inertial are called tamaguna. Prakriti (nature or creation) is a rope made of three strands. All things are composed of the three gunas and the variety of the world depends on the relative predominance of the different gunas
Tamas
Tamas or inertia, binds the spirit by laziness, ignorance and too much sleep. It is the trickster of Jeeva, which is female or soul. Tamas attaches you to ignorance by hiding knowledge from you. Tamas dominates by suppressing Rajas (activity) and Sattva (goodness). Ignorance, laziness, carelessness, and delusion arise when Tamas is predominant. People that are tamasic are gloomy, sluggish, dull and blinded by greed. Sometimes people who are tamasic can be characterized as lazy and slothful.
Rajas
Rajas or selfish activity is seen in people that are chasing materialistic or egocentric dreams. Rajas is born by desires and the results of work, for example: unnecessary nice material trinkets and ego decorations. Rajas binds you to action\work.
Rajas rules by suppressing Tamas and Sattva. Greed, activity, restlessness, passion, and the doing of selfish works arise when Raja is ruling in your life. If you die while Rajas rules in your life, you are re-incarnated as a person in which Rajas rules. The consequence of Raajasika action (a selfish action) is pain. Raajasika persons are reborn in the mortal world, or earth.
Generally: is a passionate, frenetic, creative, tumultuous energy.
People that are rajasic are full of desire, thirsting for worldly enjoyment, and even at more extreme ends of the scale, fuelled by competition and ambitiousness. The Sanskrit root means "impure". It is also related to the root rakta, "redness". And raga, "passion." If you think of living in a bright red room or a woman wearing a red dress, you can feel the energy of Rajas.
Sattva
Sattva or goodness, is calm and clear. If Sattva rules in a person, they always do the right thing. Sattva binds the spirit to the body with happiness and knowledge. Sattva rules by suppressing Rajas and Tamas. When goodness and wisdom are present in your whole being, flows out from your whole self - then Sattva is ruling. If you die while Sattva rules in your life, you go to heaven, the pure world where the knower of the Supreme live. The consequence of Saatvika action (a good action) is pure. Knowledge comes from Sattva. Those who are established in Sattva go to heaven.
Sattva is a calm, peaceful and clear energy. The Sanskrit word is based on the principle "Sat" or "being, as it should be, perfect" People that are Sattvic are calm, centred, compassionate and unselfish.
Listed below are the three gunas: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. According to Yogic philosophy, everything is made up of the gunas in different proportions.

Rajas	Sattva	Tamas
Activity	Truth / Goodness	Inertia
Passion / desire	Light / illumination	Darkness
Energy	Spiritual Essence	Mass / matter / heaviness
Expansion	Upward flow	Downward flow
Movement	Intelligence / Consciousness	Sloth / dullness
Binds by passion born of craving and attachment.	Binds by means of attachment to knowledge and joy.	Binds by means of ignorance and obstruction.
Is the ruling trait when greed, excessive projects, cravings and restlessness arise.	Is the ruling trait when the light of knowledge shines forth.	Is the ruling trait when darkness, dullness, stagnation, indolence, confusion, torpor, and inertia appear

Key Points
Matter is inert, temporary, and unconscious. It is composed of three qualities (gunas) corresponding to creation, sustenance, and destruction. They are:
sattva (goodness) – pure, elevating, enlightening
rajas (passion) – motivates us to create, acquire and enjoy
Tamas (ignorance) – dirty, degrading, deluding & sloth

Each Guna is controlled by one of three main deities – Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva respectively.
The eternal atman is entrapped within successive temporary bodies made of matter (prakriti). Everything made of matter undergoes three stages of existence – (1) it is created, (2) it remains for some time and, (3) it is inevitably destroyed. These three phases correspond to the three gunas – qualities or modes of material nature.
Passion (rajas) creates, goodness (sattva) sustains and ignorance (tamas) destroys. These three are ranked hierarchically, with ignorance considered the lowest and goodness the highest. Each member of the Hindu trimurti represents one of the three gunas. All material phenomena can be analyzed in terms of the gunas. According to the soul's preference for a particular mode, it takes on a corresponding body. A person influenced mainly by goodness will be elevated to the heavenly planets at death.
Those largely in passion stay in human society, and those infected with ignorance enter into the lower species. Only pure souls, transcending even sattva Guna, attain liberation (see moksha) and escape the entanglement of matter.

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Now the most important discussion…Balancing of the three gunas.
What Happens when a person has uncontrolled Tamas and Rajas …in Next blog.