Descriptions of the Three Gunas, from “Spritual Compass” by Satish Kumar. A chart on 4 pages.

Described as/by: SATTVA RAJAS TAMAS

Modern science Creativity • Transformation Inertia
and Vedic tradition • Energy
of wisdom see • Excess rajas in body: heart
nature as forces attacks, disease, cancer
of: (p.9, preface, • Excess rajas in mind: anger,
Deepak Chopra) hostility, resentment, grievances
• Excess rajas in society: war,
terrorism
• Today: excess rajas, leading to
tamas
pp. 10-11, • True, natural, nourishing • Change, achievement, excitement Weight, control, inertia
foreword, Peter • Gandhi as exemplar: humility • Today: dealing with symptoms, not
Russell and non-violence root causes
p. 12, invitation, • Elegant, simple • Extravagant, excessive • Dark, depressing
Satish Kumar • Truest path of the natural and • Pitfalls of the glittering, the • Destructive, disempowering, confusing
real glamorous, and the tempting • To be strenuously avoided (an alarm)
• To be embraced (a reminder) • Complicated nature bringing
disappointment and discontent
• Generally to be avoided (a warning)
Three qualities of [see the 10 rows below, purple [see the 10 rows below, purple [see the 10 rows below, purple headings]
life (pp. 14-16, headings] headings]
Bhagavad Gita)
Food • Promoting vitality, health, joy. • Producing pain, grief, disease • Producing dullness, heaviness, lethargy
• Soft, sweet, nourishing • Bitter, sour, pungent, harsh • Tasteless, intoxicating, stale
Service In accord with natural laws, Offered for display, gain, reward Offered without faith and with an empty heart
expecting no reward in return
Practice Pure, upright, non-violent, non- For gain and honor Obstinate, causes injury to self and others
offensive, truthful, pleasant and
beneficial speech; gentle, serene,
restrained thoughts
Gifts Made with pure motives, without With expectation of something in Made with contempt, demeans the receiver
expecting anything in return, given return
at appropriate time and place
Understanding Sees unity in diversity, wholeness,
relatedness; creates synthesis
Action Performed with love, without
attachment, without desire for
reward
Person No ego, unperturbed by either
success or failure
Thinking Knows difference between right and
wrong, what is to be feared and not
feared, what brings freedom and
what brings bondage
Determination Maintains balance and harmony
between thinking, breathing,
sensing
Happiness Result of clear understanding of the
self and of the world
Ishvarakrishna, 3rd- Buoyant, shining
5th centuries (p. 21)
Sanskrit writings True, natural, uncorrupted, original,
(p. 21) simple, sincere, good, delightful,
honest, undiluted, refreshing, lucid,
luminous, spiritual
Means versus ends Purity of means
Concerned with / Kindness
focus of
Seeks Fulfillment
Personality types / • Appreciates and celebrates
mind intrinsic goodness of natural
world (nature embodies
complementary opposites)
• Maintains balance and harmony
of opposites
• Recognizes and understands
things as they are without
judgment or desire to alter
• Flowing with flow, going with
grain, remaining equanimous
Based on disunity and causes
separation
Performed under stress and for
gratification
Greedy, swayed by passion, seeks
results
Confused between right and wrong,
courage and cowardice
Seeks to fulfill desire for wealth and
power
Arises from gratification of the senses,
seems like nectar at first but is poison
in the end
Stimulating, moving
Regal, royal, shining, glorious,
glamorous, glittering, sophisticated,
seductive, splendid, strong,
extravagant, exciting
Achieving the ends
Anger
Success
• Leans toward improvement of
things
• Natural world can be transformed
or engineered to better suit
human purpose
• Cultivated flowers better than wild
• Exotic flowers in magnificent vase
better than flowers in a field
Focuses on a part and sees it as if it was the
whole
Performed in ignorance, without regard for
consequences, which brings injury
Unbalanced, vulgar, deceitful, malicious,
despondent
Conceives right as wrong and wrong as right
Brings depression, arrogance, grief, fear
Comes from delusion and derived from sloth
and negligence
Heavy, dominating
Dark, dulling, depressing, sinister, ugly,
fearful, dictatorial, diseased, heavy, harmful
The end justifies the means
Revenge
Control
• Original or natural is not good
• Plastic flowers are best
• Beauty divorced from source
• Attracted to alien and artificial version of
reality
River (p. 22) Normal, steady, slow flow;
refreshes
Way of life (p. 23, • Available to all
see quote) • Authentic, ordinary
• Doesn’t require money or
resources
• Simple, sincere, unassuming,
sublime
• Sustenance from sun, moon
stars, oceans, mountains,
forests
• Culture, community, creativity
• Spiritual, subtle
• Easy, self-organizing
• No demands on natural
resources (small footprint)
• Sustaining and sustainable
• Fulfilling, healing
• Small steps
• Trust process of universe and
that things work out
• Zen (Buddhism), Tao (China),
Sufi (Islam), Shakers, Amish
• Synthesis, integrity, diversity
• Values stillness and silence
• Appreciative, affirmative, less
rather than more
Person embodies Firmness, courage, self-command,
good sense, magnanimity,
inner/outer freedom, freedom for
self and others, wisdom
State of Effortless being
Economy • Livelihood for individuals
• Livelihood for families and
communities
Waterfall (dramatic event)
• Elite, slick, analytical
• Impresses and makes impact
• Celebrates speed, grandness,
extravagance
• Big projects
• Achievement, outcome, success
• Admires celebrities, prestigious and
powerful people
• Display and decoration
• Does not mind waste
• Lip service to fairness and justice
but then serves own interest
• Loves technical solutions
• Believes nature should serve
humanity
• Progress, science, technology,
economic growth
• Power, money, military
• Seeks comfort and convenience
• Rulers dominate and believe their
path superior and appropriate for
all people
Searching, seeking, longing for
enlightenment or nirvana (temples,
books, techniques, drugs, therapy)
Active seeking
• Large economy, motivated by profit
• Still some social responsibility
Blocked water (stagnant, impure, polluted)
• Destructive mind
• Pleasure via infliction of suffering on others
• Attacks to defend itself
• Destroys others’ interests to serve self-
interest
• Forces of darkness
• Dictatorial, cunning, fearful, secretive
• Produces depression, dullness, apathy,
inertia
• Casinos, underworld, brothels, crime,
drugs, prisons, torture, black market
• Factory farms, genetic engineering, large-
scale mining, huge slaughterhouses
• Destroys culture and community
[not discussed here]
[not discussed here]
• Humans and earth serve the economy
• Multinational corporations
Political power Minimum impact; quest for simple, Country, kingdom, democracy Colonies, empires, wars/conquest,
long-lasting benefits and non- dictatorship
violent means with the goals of
wholeness and harmony
Military [same as political power, above] Defend the weak against invasions; Bomb others; kill civilians; disproportionate
use appropriate force force backed with nuclear weapons. Abuse,
torture, violations of human rights
Communication (p. Dialogue Diplomacy Monologue
26)
Time (p. 27) Present (try 80% of one’s time) Future (15% of one’s time) Past (5% of one’s time)
Food (p. 30) Sweet Spicy Stale
Buildings (p. 34) Homes Palaces Prisons
Clothing (p. 36) Cotton Silk Synthetics
Rajasic means Desired outcomes of beautiful Dominant values today of actions, --
cannot achieve surroundings, good health, decisions, and policies on personal,
sattvic ends (pp. contented existence political, and social levels
40-41)
Solutions Genuine, multiple, from inside out Controlling and imposing solutions --
and bottom up from outside or from top down
Methods Humble, slowly and surely, from -- --
inner voice, respecting nature of
reality. Quest: seek the truth (“know
thyself”)
Attitude towards Reverential attitude Scientific and analytical understanding Utilitarian understanding; equals exploitative
nature; environmentalism
understanding and
practicing ecology
(p. 93)
Time Cyclical Linear Stopped