Everything we see with our eyes is born, has a life, and dies eventually.
The entire universe, according to Ayurveda, unfolds through the dynamic interaction of the three fundamental gunas or mahagunas we discussed in the previous blog.
The mahagunas are always expressing themselves in a dynamic cycle.
Each mahaguna predominates in a specific dimension of consciousness appearing as experience, according to Ayurveda:
- The manas (mind) and the five sense organs (hearing, feeling, seeing, taste, and smelling) are dominated by the Sattva.
- Speaking, feeling, moving, procreating, and eliminating are the five organs of action where bullet Rajas predominates.
- The mahabhutas (five great elements) are dominated by tamas: space, air, fire, water, and earth.
The mahagunas and the five elements (mahabhutas) are more subtle expressions of the doshas than the body's physical qualities (gunas).
The mahagunas make up the mind, as they do everything else in the cosmos.
Our perception clarity reflects the quality of sattva in our minds.
We can transcend time and space and experience our core spiritual nature—the calm and harmony of pure consciousness—when pure sattva is the prevailing quality of our mind, according to Vedic thinking. As a result, we desire to cultivate sattva as much as possible in our life.
IN BALANCE:
The mahagunas provide us the perception of truth when they are in balance in the mind.
OUT OF BALANCE
The mahagunas create ignorance (tamas) and desire or false imagination (rajas) when out of balance, which can block or distort our perception.
One of sattva's responsibilities is to keep the rajas and tamas in check.
As a result, we can experience our natural state of balance and harmony through enhancing sattva in the mind.
To restore balance, the mahagunas must work together.
Life progresses through stages in which one of the three mahagunas predominates: sattva predominates in childhood, rajas predominates in middle age, and tamas predominates as we grow older.
When sattva is dominated by rajas and tamas at any point in time, disease seeds are sowed, as imbalances at the subtle level of the mind manifest as illness in the physical body over time.
ILLNESS
Rajas can cause energy dissipation, while tamas can cause decay and death. Usually work hand in hand.
As the principle of outward force, Rajas promotes energy loss, which leads to tamas, or decay.
Excess rajas in the mind-body can lead to overworking, burnout, and tiredness, all of which are states where the quality of tamas predominates.
Rajas and tamas, on the other hand, might be beneficial in the healing process.
HEALING
Sattva does not always have the ability to eliminate rajas or tamas. It has a tendency to harmonise too much and accept everything.
An equivalent (hypoactivity) amount of tamas can neutralise Rajas (hyperactivity).
An equal amount of rajas (activity) can counterbalance tamas (inertia).
The goal of Ayurveda is to restore harmony. It has a predominantly sattvic perspective and methodology, focusing on cultivating a daily lifestyle that extends our experience of joy, harmony, peace, laughing, and love.
The mahagunas and the five elements also work hand in hand.
The mahabhutas (five components) are primarily a manifestation of tamas, which is required for the creation of the physical cosmos, while sattva and rajas also play a role.
The five components express the principles of genesis, maintenance, and dissolution, which are invoked by the manifestation of consciousness into the material world.
Space comes from: Sattva (light)
Air comes from: Sattva (light) and Rajas (movement)
Fire comes from: Rajas (energy)
Water comes from: Rajas (energy) and Tamas (inertia)
Earth comes from: Tamas (inertia)
The mahagunas and mahabhutas are principles in Ayurveda that help balance and healing.
Adding opposing qualities will assist you in regaining your natural equilibrium.
As we progress through life, the proportions of elements fluctuate, and we can alter the proportions of the doshas by increasing or lowering them. When too many of the same or similar elements enter our mind-body system, the doshas become unbalanced, which can result in sickness.
A simple technique to fix an imbalance: develop the polar opposite qualities. In sanscrit this principle of known as samanya vishesha siddhanta.
Samanya: similarity
Vishshe: opposite
Siddganta: established view or perspective
You may tap into the inner mechanics of your body and infuse opposite traits to restore balance as you become more aware of what is going on in your physiology.
Balancing is done in pairs.
In Ayurveda, there are 20 characteristics (or gunas) that are employed to balance the doshas in ten pairs of opposites.
The 20 gunas are physical characteristics, often known as attributes. They are used to describe the Vata, Pitta, and Kapha doshas.
The three mahagunas (sattva, rajas, and tamas) influence our physiology on a subtle level, notably in the mind. The 20 gunas, or attributes, are more concerned with physical qualities.
Gunas of Vata: light (laghu), cold (sheeta), dry (ruksha), sharp/penetrating (tikshna), mobile (sara), hard (kathina), rough (khara), fluid/liquid (drava), subtle (sukshma), clear (vishada),
Gunas of Pitta: Light (laghu), hot (ushna), oily (snigdha/sneha), sharp/penetrating (tikshna), mobile (sara), soft (mridu), fluid (drava), subtle (sukshma), gross (sthula), (clear (vishada)
Gunas of Kapha: heavy (guru), cold (sheetah), oily (snigdha/sneha), dull (manda), subtle/slow (sthira), soft (mridu), smooth (shlakshna), dense/solid (sandra), cloudy/sticky (picchila), gross (sthula)
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