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One of the most popular concepts of psychological significance in ancient Indian thought is the doctrine of Gunas discussed in the Sankhya system of philosophy. The system of Gunas means quality, attributes or nature of a person. According to Sankhya, human conduct and behaviour is basically determined by three Gunas or qualities.
These three types of Gunas are “Satva” “Rajas” and “Tamas”. In each individual the balance among these three humors or fluids varies. In some, Satva is more dominant, in some Rajas and in some Tamas. This relative dominance among these three, determines the quality of behaviour or the actual Guna of the person.
An individual high in Rajas is impulsive, more action-oriented, aggressive, lays emphasis on physical strength and ambition and is after power and authority. The thought processes are rather shallow and his emotions and affective processes dominate over his intellectual and cognitive processes. A person who is high on Satva or is Satvic, is generally calm and maintains equanimity.
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He is soft spoken and places a premium on ethics, principles and moral conduct. He is highly thoughtful and proactive rather than reactive. He is long-term goal-oriented and mentally clear. His cognitive and reasoning abilities are highly developed.
He has a high degree of self-esteem and is always moderate and tempered in his behaviour. An individual high on Tamas is poor in knowledge, and does not care for it. He is almost anti-intellectual, lazy and lethargic. He is guided by the principles of immediate sensuous gratification and also slow in action. His reflexes and reactions are slow.
There are many more qualities attributed to each of these Gunas including their likes and dislikes, food preferences, forms of speech. What has been mentioned here is only a brief list for the purpose of illustration. It may be seen that the greater the proportion of Satvic behaviour, the more evolved is the person.
Hindu psychology further holds that the composition of these Gunas can be modified by diet control, mental discipline, control of emotions and many other strategies.
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The development of a personality from birth onwards proceeds in a sequence from the Tamasic to the Rajasic stage and then to the Satvic stage. Thus it may be seen that the Hindu concept of temperament is developmental, based on bodily composition and envisages the possibility of change through individual efforts.
The reader may see here a certain degree of similarity between the Guna types of the Sankhya and some of the western typologies. For example, one sees a similarity between the Satvic type and ancient Greek type of Sanguine, between the Rajasic type and the Choleric and the Tamasic and the Phlegmatic.
Similarly, one can see a parallel between the Satvic and Sheldon’s Cerebrotonic; the Rajasic and the Somatotonic and Tamasic and the Viscerotonic. But while there are certain broad similarities, there are also differences. For example, while the Hindu doctrine of Gunas allows the possibility of a modification in the ‘Guna’ type, the western concepts do not hold out such a possibility.
Similarly, as is the general view, in Hindu thought, the Guna composition in a particular individual, is a result of his evolution, through a series of births. It is very much a part of an individual’s ontogenetic history. An elaborate communication of the concept of Gunas is found in the Bhagavad-Gita.
In the words of Prof. Chakravorty:
“To revert to the Gita, Sattwa represents prasada and prakash, rajas raga and trishna and tamas moha and pramada. These stand for felicity and illumination, attachment and negligence respectively. ausally speaking Sadgunas (divine qualities) spring from Sattwa, the Rakshasas (demonic qualities) from Rajas and Tamas though the dynamic or kinetic core of Rajas is indispensable for performance. In chapter 2 of the Gita, Arjun is being aroused from Tamas of Vishad Yoga to that of Rajas, the source of energy to fight the righteous battle for a cause bigger and higher than self-aggrandizement.”