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Meditation – Neuroscientific Approaches and Philosophical Implications pp 317–364Cite as

The Concept of Tri-Guna: A Working Model

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Part of the book series: Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality ((SNCS,volume 2))

Abstract

This literature review presents an overview of an ancient Indian personality system that shows promise for playing an important role in the applied research on well-being and spirituality: the concept of tri-guna. The core proposition of this concept is that the psyche consists of three energies (“gunas”) called sattva, rajas and tamas. They are said to be present in everyone in different degrees, explaining differences not only in behavior but also in well-being and spirituality. It is assumed that a dominance of sattva is favorable for well-being. In the first part of this chapter, we provide a summary of indicators for the three gunas, extracted from the available literature, and present empirical findings. The indicators are given separately for cognition, emotion, motivation, social and physical factors, the environment and behavior in general. In the second part we discuss interventions that are claimed to increase sattva and thereby further well-being. This review can be used as a theoretical basis for a more systematic empirical examination of the concept.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For readers who know Ayurveda it might be interesting to read a few words about the connection between the gunas and the doshas. The gunas are said to be the psychological correlates of the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha) of Ayurveda (Shilpa and Murthy 2011). It is described that the doshas affect the body, whereas the gunas take effect on the psyche (Bhardwaj 2003): In Indian medicine the body is mainly discussed in relation to the doshas and the psyche mainly in relation to the gunas. The gunas are seen as a more basic and subtle component of matter (which includes the psyche) than the doshas. Sankhya gives a detailed description of the evolution of matter, starting from the gunas. To depict this here would go beyond the scope of this chapter. However, it is relevant that the doshas are seen as composed of the mahabhutas (gross elements: space, wind, fire, water and earth), which are based on an evolution of the tri-gunas (Bryant 2009; Larson and Bhattacharya 1987). The doshas and gunas are said to interact with each other, and for a complete characterization of personality according to Indian psychology it is fruitful to consider both (Shilpa and Murthy 2011). Since the emphasis of our work is on examining psychological interventions to increase well-being from Indian psychology, and the interventions described in connection with the gunas are more numerous and psychological in nature, we chose to focus on the gunas.

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  1. Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany

    Maika Puta & Peter Sedlmeier

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  1. Maika Puta
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  1. Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Stefan Schmidt

  2. Institute for Transcultural Health Scien, European Universtiy Viadrina, Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany

    Harald Walach

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Puta, M., Sedlmeier, P. (2014). The Concept of Tri-Guna: A Working Model. In: Schmidt, S., Walach, H. (eds) Meditation – Neuroscientific Approaches and Philosophical Implications. Studies in Neuroscience, Consciousness and Spirituality, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01634-4_18

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