The
Tri-Guna Theory of personality
The
first manifestation of the interaction that occurs between Purusha and
Prakriti, occurs in the form of consciousness (mahat). This manifestation
confines one to individualism which can result in the development of ego
(ahamkara). This ego or ahamkara further manifests in mind'(manas'). These
interactions result in the development of Trigunas, the Sattwa 'Rajas, and
'Tamas' which reflect the temperamental aspect of an individual.
The
Satva guna: A person with sattva guna has balance, orderly, or pure nature and
a positive or evenhanded state of mind. They are kind, calm, alert, and
thoughtful. The activities of satvic individuals are directed towards the
welfare of the world. They are always hardworking, alert, and live the life of
modesty. They lead an uncorrupted life, eat moderately, speak the truth, and
are bold in their response. Satviks do not talk in a rude manner or use
discourteous, insulting language while they communicate. They also don't feel
jealous or carried away by greed and selfishness. They do not cheat or mislead
anyone and prevent evil thoughts or tendencies from entering their mind. They
have good memory and concentration and show a keen interest in improving
spiritual knowledge, as a result, they spend more time worshiping god or
meditating. Some even perform penance or uninterrupted meditation. A satvic
individual is recognized by the way their mind, speech, and actions (Manasa,
Vacha, karmana ) synchronize while they involve in any activity.
The
Rajas guna: Rajas guna is the quality of the activity. Rajas are the motivating
force that creates desires for acquiring new things and fears for losing
something. These desires and fears compel a person to involve in activities
that leads to satisfaction of these desires or bring down the intensity of the
individual. If a person tends to be extremely active, excited, or passionate,
then he is Rajasic or a person with dominant Rajas Guna. Rajas are described in
the Samkhya philosophy, as a force which promotes one or more of the following:
(1) action; (2) change, mutation; (3) passion, excitement; (4) birth, creation,
generation
The
Tamas Guna: The tamas guna is the quality of inactivity, darkness, and
laziness. Tamas is characterized by heaviness and resistance. The person with a
dominant tamas guna has disturbances in the process of perception and
activities of the mind. They experience dominant feelings of Imbalance, chaos,
disorder, impurity, destruction, anxiety, delusion, negativity, inactivity,
dullness, lethargy, inertia, violence, ignorance, false knowledge, apathy,
sleep, and drowsiness.
Aurabindo
(1972) had interpreted 'Sattwa 'Rajas and 'Tamas' from a psychological
perspective. For him 'Rajas stands in the middle of the two polarities of the
gunas, the 'Sattwa' and Tamas' supplying energy to both, like a kinetic force.
According to him Rajas guna, It is born out of nature's thirst for an
unprocessed satisfaction
The behavioral and cognitive qualities
of the sattvic rajas and Tamas guna according to Bhagavad Gita are
Food
preferences- Sattvic people prefer Food that provides longevity, vitality,
strength, health, brings happiness, cheerfulness, nourishment, pleasantness,
and tenderness. Rajasic people prefer food rich in tastes like sour, bitter,
salty, hot, spicy, dry, and burnt is while tamasic people don't bother even if
the food is stale, tasteless, smelly, spoiled, leftover, and untidy.
Spiritually
oriented Sacrifices- A Sattvic performs sacrifices in accordance with the
methods given scriptures and without any expectations in return. A Rajasic
performs sacrifices with the intention to show his power or in the greed of
results and fruits of the actions and Tamasic performs sacrifices which are not
in conformity with scriptures and without true faith
Habit-
A Sattvic performs social verbal, mental, and physical actions that are
pro-social in nature. He tends to use words that are truthful, agreeable, and
beneficial to others and avoid words that annoy others. He is interested in
acquiring knowledge for betterment and has a cheerful mind, calmness, and
control of feelings. The verbal, mental, and physical activity of a rajasic is focused
on gaining popularity, honor or adoration, selfish gain, and yields in for
uncertain and momentary pleasure, satisfaction, or benefits. Usually, the
verbal, mental, and physical activities of tamasic happens because of their
unreasonably stubborn attitude and approach, their tendency to indulging in
self-humiliation and act to harm others
Attitude
towards duties - A Sattvic performs the duties as they are prescribed in the
scriptures. They perform these duties even if it involves giving up of pleasant
and unpleasant emotional attachments and fruits related to them. Rajasic
generally have the tendency to be incomplete in their duties and shift from one
to another frequently. They also tend to abandon their duties due to fear of
physical strains. A Tamasic is generally has a lethargic attitude towards his
duties and abandons his duties because of ignorance. They are more interested
in performing acts that are prohibited, mostly, and motivated immediate desires
and pleasures.
Gnana
(knowledge) –A Sattvic's knowledge perceives imperishable divinity in all
things A Rajasic uses his knowledge to discriminates between various things. A
Tamasic's knowledge is dominated with irrational, trivial information, without
a real grasp of truth. But they pretend as if they know everything.
Mindset
– The Mindset of a Sattvic is egoless, determined, and can stay unattached and
unaffected by success and failure. They have faith in goodness. The mindset of a Rajasic is full of
attachments to materialistic desires. They feel joy and sorrow strongly, seeks
the fruit for every action has an oppressive. Nature. They practice impure
conduct, and they are greedy aggressive, ambitious, and anxious. A Tamasic
lacks devotion and self-control, behaves in an uncultured, arrogant, and deceitful
manner. They are inclined to rob others for their livelihood and have the
predominant tendencies to be sluggish, hopeless, procrastinating, stagnant,
gloomy, and delusional. They tend to have an altered view of the truth and are
attracted by pretenses and arrogance. They have an inclination to tortures
themselves with harsh austerities that are not in accordance with scriptures
Intellect-
A Sattvic's intellect is directed towards determining the correct path of
activity which can lead to renunciation. They are aware of the dos and don'ts
and bondages and liberations. A Rajasic intellect is at the level where they
are unable to perceive the difference of dharma from adharma, dos from don'ts.
A Tamasic's intellect is wrapped in ignorance, which makes them perceive
adharma as dharma and sees all things upside down
Perseverance
(Dhrti) – The perseverance of a sattvic is unwavering by which he is able to
gain control over his mind, breath, and senses. The perseverance of a Rajasic
is based on the reward for his actions and focused on increasing his worldly
possessions and enjoyments with extreme fondness. Tamasic has perseverance towards being
evil-minded, sleepy, fearful, anxious, sorrowful, and arrogant.
Happiness
- A Sattvic finds happiness in expressing unconditional love towards every
living being without any bias. They also experience happiness worshiping god
adoration, meditation, and serving the needy. A Rajasic feels delighted when
stays in contact with sensual objects and tamasic find joy in sleep, idleness,
being stubborn, and gets absorbed in enjoyments without bothering about the
destructive ending.
The
Sixteen personality types
The
scientific theory of personality is developed in Indian medical texts. Ayurveda
defines personality in terms of bodily components, the tri doshas i.e., 'Vata'
(wind), pitta' (bile), and 'Kapha' (phlegm). There should be an equilibrium
between these three components. Depending upon the change in the proportion of
these three humors, a specific type of personality arises. While 'Vata',
'pitta', and 'Kapha' constitute the On physical plane of personality, the
psychological plane is Associated mental attributes, the 'Trigunas' or three
attributes — 'Sattwa', 'Rajas', and 'Tamas'. There is a possibility of seven types
- 'Vata, pitta, Kapha, vatapitta, Vata-Kapha, pitta-Kapha, and sannipada'.
Based on the Triguna theory the personality types have been further specified
into sixteen types — 6 "rajas 7
sattwa and 3 "tamas.
There
are seven subtypes of personality under the satvic type. They are
Brahma
type: The type of person who comprises of purity, truth, self-control, proper
discrimination and knowledge, good understanding, power of exposition and
repartee, possessing good memory, and lack of desire, anger, greed, conceit,
delusion, envy, and intolerance. The person treats others with equality.
Rishi
type: The type of person who comprises devotion to rituals, studies of
scriptures, sacrificial offering, celibacy, hospitality, ingenuity, eloquence,
understanding, and good memory. People with rishi types of personality are
devoid of Pride, arrogance, attachment, hatred, delusion, greed, and anger.
Indra
type: The type of person who has the nature that commands power. They are
brave, energetic, and courageous. They are farsighted in their pursuit of
virtue, wealth, and pleasure from the sensory stimulus
Yama
type: A type is a person whose nature is to do the right things at the right
time. They are conscientious and possess memory. They are detached and exhibit
an unbiased neutral attitude towards everything. They are also devoid of
passion, hatred, and delusion.
Varuna
type: The type of person who is valiant, courageous, clean, and dislikes
untidiness. They are the people who are devoted to sacrifices, interested in
aquatic games, and uncomplicated work. They tend to show a balanced approach of
both anger and favor towards everyone.
Kubera
type: The type of person who commands status, respect, luxury, and have plenty
of associates. They are the people whose pursuit is focused on attaining
virtues, wealth, and satisfying their desires. They give importance to
cleanliness and enjoy recreations. Their anger and compassion are reasonable.
Gandharva
type: The type of person who is fond of dance, music, and flattery. They have a
high interest in artistic activities. They also possess proficiency in poetry,
history, and epics. They are addicted to perfumes, cosmetics, garlands, fine
garments, women, and recreation. They are not jealous of others but they have a
high interest in attracting others towards themselves.
Rajas
have been sub-typed into six types of personality:
Asura
type: The type of person who has high levels of determination and stubbornness
in their approach. They possess high valor authority. They are inflexible and
conservative. They are harsh and aggressive in their approach. They tend to
feel jealous and also involve in self-exaggeration.
Rakshasa
type: The type of person who is intolerant. They are always angry, greedy, and
cruel in their approach. They are fond of non-vegetarian food. They also
possess the habit of sleeping excessively, being lazy, and feeling jealous of
others.
Pisacha
type: The type of person who is a voracious eater. These are the type of people
who fall easily for women and can be easily controlled by them. They tend to
maintain a secret unethical relationship with women. They dislike cleanliness
and don't bother about remaining dirty. They act in a cowardly manner and tend
to threaten others. They give high importance to unusual recreation and food.
Sarpa
type: The type of person who is brave when excited but tends to remain timid
otherwise. They are sharp, lethargic, but can arouse fear in others. They are
also fond of food and recreation.
Preta
sattwa type: The type of person who is fond of food have unacceptably mean
Character. They are highly jealous, greedy, and lazy.
Sakuna
type: The type of person who is passionate, fond of good food, indecisive, and
unpredictable. They are inconsistent and intolerant in their approach. But also
generous.
The
tamasic type has been subtype into three types of personality
Pashava
type: The type of person always has the tendency to be critical. They are
unintelligent and disgusting in behavior. They are fond of eating, sensual
pleasures, and sleep.
Matsya
type: The type of person who is timid and greedy. They are unintelligent,
passionate, and irritable. They are fond of traveling, have difficulty in
remaining in one place, and unsteady in their approach
Vanaspatya
type: The type of person who is lazy, greedy, desirous, and dull.
According
to Nyaya philosophy, twenty-four factors contribute to the in the formation of
Gunas of all created things which in turn has a role in shaping the personality
Rūpa,
shape, color;
Rasa,
characteristic quality such as taste, flavor
Gandha,
odor;
Sparśa,
Touch tangibility;
Samkhyā,
number;
Parimāna,
dimension;
Prthaktva,
severalty;
Samyoga,
conjunction, combination
Vibhāga,
disjunction; separation, discontinuation
Paratva,
remoteness;
Aparatva,
proximity;
Gurutva,
weight;
dravatva,
fluidity;
Sneha,
viscidity; attachment
Shabda,
sound;
Buddhi
or jñāna, understanding or knowledge;
Sukha,
pleasure;
Duhkha,
pain;
Icchā,
desire;
Dvesha,
aversion;
Prayatna,
effort;
Dharma,
merit or virtue;
Adharma,
demerit;
Samskāra,
the self-reproductive quality;
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