Guṇa

() refers to the three fundamental tendencies or forces that constitute nature, or the matrix of material existence in Hindu philosophies. It can be translated as "quality, peculiarity, attribute, property".

The concept is originally notable as a feature of Samkhya philosophy. The guṇas are now a key concept in nearly all schools of Hindu philosophy. There are three guṇas (triguṇa), according to this worldview, that have always been and continue to be present in all things and beings in the world. All of these three guṇas are present in everyone and everything; it is the proportion that is different, according to Hindu worldview. The interplay of these guṇas defines the character of someone or something, of nature and determines the progress of life. In human behavior studies, Guna means personality, innate nature, and psychological attributes of an individual.

Like many technical terms in other languages, guṇa can be difficult to encapsulate with a single English word. Its original and common meaning is a thread, implying the original materials that weave together to make up reality. The usual, but approximate translation in common usage is "a quality".

Terminology

Guna appears in many ancient and medieval Indian texts. Depending on the context, it means:

virtue, merit, excellence (dharma and soteriological literature)
quality, peculiarity, tendency, attribute, property, species (sastras, sutras, the Epics, food and analytical literature)

The root and origins

Guṇa is both a root and a word in Sanskrit. Its different context-driven meanings are derived from either the root or the word. In verse VI.36 of Nirukta by Yāska, a 1st millennium BC text on Sanskrit grammar and language that preceded Panini, Guṇa is declared to be derived from another root Gaṇa, which means "to count, enumerate".

In the context of philosophy, morality and understanding nature, "Guna-" with more dental na takes the meaning of addressing quality, substance, tendency and property.

The gunas under various philosophies

Innate qualities and tendencies are key ancient concepts in Indian literature. Maitrayaniya Upanishad is one of the earliest texts making an explicit reference to Hindu trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and linking them to their Guna – as creator/activity, preserver/purity, destroyer/recycler respectively. The idea of three types of guṇa, innate nature and forces that together transform and keep changing the world is, however, found in numerous earlier and later Indian texts.

Samkhya school of Hinduism

In Samkhya philosophy, a is one of three "attributes, tendencies, qualities": sattva, rajas and tamas. This category of s has been widely adopted by various schools of Hinduism for categorizing behavior and natural phenomena. The three qualities are:

Sattva is the of balance, harmony, goodness, purity, universal-ism, holism, construction, creativity, positivity, peacefulness, and virtue.
Rajas is the of passion, activity, neither good nor bad and sometimes either, self-centeredness, egoism, individualization, drivenness, movement, and dynamism.
Tamas is the of imbalance, disorder, chaos, anxiety, impurity, destruction, delusion, negativity, dullness or inactivity, apathy, inertia or lethargy, violence, viciousness, and ignorance.

Scholars of Samkhya have three main views on defining what gunas are. They are seen as either substances, qualities, or capacities.

In Indian philosophy, these qualities are not considered present in an either-or fashion. Rather, everyone and everything has all three, only in different proportions and in different contexts.

Nyaya school considers quality as non-repeatable, a conceptual theme not found in Western philosophy where "quality" is presumed to be repeatable. It is also not found in some parallel schools of Hinduism. Repeatability means that the white in one object is same as white in other object, and white means the same thing. Nyaya scholars hold that "whiteness" is a guṇa of "white", but that is different from "whiteness" of an object or living being. To them, white has many hues and the "whiteness" is subjective.

There are twenty four gunas mentioned in the joint school of Nyaya - Vaisheshika system in the Indian philosophy. For example, the Indian philosopher Praśastapāda had mentioned the term gurutva (Sanskrit: गुरुत्व) for the cause of the act of falling, in his commentary text Praśastapādabhāṣya on the Vaisheshika Sutra of Maharshi Kanada. According to him, gurutva is the quality of the paramanus of prithvi and ap (water). Gurutva is a Sanskrit word made from two terms guru and tva. The term guru has meaning of weight or heaviness. And the term tva is a Sanskrit affix to convert an adjective word into an abstract noun. When the affix term tva is added after the term guru, then the compound word gurutva takes the form of an abstract noun. Sankara Mishra in his commentary text Upaskara explained the sutra 5.1.7 of the Vaisheshika Sutra which gives the reference of the term gurutva. According to him, gurutva is the cause of falling in the absence of conjunction. He states that the term conjunction indicates every type of impediments.

Similarly there is a sutra regarding saṃskāra (speed form) as

The Vaisheshika sutra 5.1.18 translates as "In the absence of propulsive energy generated by action (saṃskāra), gurutva causes falling effect".

In the combined Nyayavaisesika school, the twenty four gunas are divided into two types on the basis of generality and speciality of the gunas. They are sāmānya guṇas (general qualities) and viśeṣa guṇas (special qualities). The gunas which exist in two or more than two dravyas are called as sāmānya guṇas and similarly the gunas which specially exist in only one type of dravya are called as viśeṣa guṇas. Since gurutva exists in the two types of dravyas namely prithvi and jala, so it is classified as a sāmānya guṇa.

On the basis of its existence, it is classified as both eternal and non eternal (evanescent) gunas. It is eternal gunas for the paramanus of the dravyas prithvi and jala. Similarly it is non eternal (evanescent) gunas for composite materials. On the basis of perception, it is classified as atīndriyaguṇas. The atīndriyaguṇas are those gunas which are not perceptible by external sense organs.

Gangesha, a Nyaya scholar, suggests a somewhat different theory, stating that our awareness is of two types – true and false. True awareness is produced when we seek to observe some excellence (guṇa) in its cause, while false awareness results from observing fault (dosha) in its cause. In other words, in Gangesha's perspective, the observer's state of mind and attitude affects relational awareness.

Bhagavad Gita

Chapters 2, 3, 7, 13, 14, 17 and 18 of Bhagavad Gita discuss Guna. Verse 17.2 refers to the three Guna – sattvic, rajasic and tamasic – as innate nature (psychology or personality of an individual). Sattvic guṇa is one driven by what is pure, truth, compassionate, without craving, doing the right because it is right, positive and good. Tamasic guṇa is one driven by what is impure, dark, destructive, aimed to hurt another, contemptuous, negative and vicious. Rajasic guṇa is one that is ego-driven, out of personal passion, active, ostentatious, seeking the approval of others.

Similarly, knowledge that is attached to object of action, without concern for understanding the cause, without concern for purpose or significance, is Tamasic knowledge; knowledge that is segregated, that considers everything unconnected, individualistic and meaningless is Rajasic; knowledge that sees one being in all beings, that seeks the whole, a unity in diversity, and similarities in the divided components is Sattvic.

Furthermore, in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna advises Arjuna to transcend the three modes of existence and other forms of dualism.

Guna in theory of ethics

Guna is one of the four important elements in the framework of ethical theories in Indian philosophy. Bommer et al. suggest that ethical/non-ethical behavior is an outcome of individual attributes, personal environment, social environment and institutional rules and laws. Guna theory is the ancient Indian philosophy on individual attributes, while the theories of Dharma and Ashramas address the personal and social environment, as well as part of its institutional framework. Guna theory, states Crawford, The guṇas are not considered static and set. Hindu literature, such as the Bhagavad Gita, state it to be dynamic and changeable with knowledge, introspection and understanding of sva-dharma. Realizing one's sva-dharma and Self is emphasized in Indian ethical theories. The highest state of existence and bliss, in Advaita school of Hinduism for example, is jivanmukti (Self-realization) and moksha.

Guna theory's perspective on values constituting human personality is unique yet congruent with other ethical theories.

Guna in cosmology

Samkhya cosmology combines the three with primal matter (universe, Prakrti). These are present in all things and beings in the world, and it is their interplay that defines the physical and psychological character and nature. When any of the guṇa is out of balance in a being or object, the Samkhya school suggests that a pattern of evolution starts, affecting not only itself but its environment. These innovations are not unique to Sanskrit, but also found in Greek, Latin, Italian and to some extent Russian. Guna and other rules of language for Sanskrit are described by Pāṇini in his Ashtadhyayi.

Ayurveda

In the terminology of Ayurveda (traditional medicine), guṇa can refer to one of twenty fundamental properties which any substance can exhibit, arranged in ten pairs of antonyms, viz. heavy/light, cold/hot, unctuous/dry, dull/sharp, stable/mobile, soft/hard, non-slimy/slimy, smooth/coarse, minute/gross, viscous/liquid.

Guṇa is also a concept in Ayurvedic medicine, as a system to assess conditions and diets. For this reason Triguṇa and tridosha are considered to be related in the traditions of Ayurveda.

References

External links

Sattva, Rajas & Tamas From The Mahabharata
Guna debate 1, One of many in The Vedanta-Sutras, Ramanuja's views, George Thibaut (Translator)
Guna debate 2, One of many in The Vedanta-Sutras, Shankara's views, George Thibaut (Translator)
Chapter 2: Each is Great in His Own Place Sattva, Rajas & Tamas – gunas and Karma Yoga, Vivekananda
Sattva, Rajas & Tamas From a Shamanic perspective