Kundalini Yoga Glossary
Gunas
The three qualities, Tamas, Rajas and Sattva, said to underlie all matter and mind.
Meaning
What the Gunas Mean
The Gunas are three eternal forces said to make up both the body and the mind: Tamas, heaviness, confusion and lack of clarity; Rajas, active and creative energy; and Sattva, balance, subtlety and clarity.
Every manifestation of Prakriti, primal matter, is described as some combination of the three Gunas, and the qualities of the mind reflect varying degrees of activity and combination between them.
In Practice
How It’s Used
When life circumstances are ruled by Rajas, they become expansive and outward, a time to take risks. Balanced practice is described as keeping the Gunas even, so the mind is not slow to react, as under Tamas, nor scattered, as under too much Rajas.
The Gunas are one of several frameworks the training layers together, alongside the seven chakras, five Tattwas and Ten Bodies, to describe the different levels of a person's energy.
