134 - The State Beyond the Three Gunas | Swami Tattwamayananda

14th Chapter: Verses 20, 21, 22<br /><br />Our temperaments are determined by a combination of the three <i>gunas</i> – <i>sattva guna, rajo guna</i> and <i>tamo guna</i>. <i>Sattva guna</i> is the highest and most sublime. It manifests itself as wisdom and serenity. <i>Rajo guna</i> manifests itself as dynamism and ambition. <i>Tamo guna </i>manifests itself as laziness and delusion.<br /><br />20th verse: “Highest spiritual evolution happens when we transcend the three <i>gunas</i>. Such a person is called <i>Guṇātita</i>. He reaches a state where there is no birth, no old age or sickness, and no death. He realizes his true identity as the Atman, which is never born, which never dies, which is not subjected to changes and which is all-pervading. He attains immortality (<a href="https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/w/amritam" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>am</i><i>ṛ</i><i>itam</i></a>).”<br /><br />Those who are endowed with <i>sattva guna</i>, they will be able to realize that human beings are not just a body-mind complex. There is something beyond that. Our real identity is as <i>Atman</i>. When we realize this true identity, we can transcend the three <i>gunas</i>. Then the <i>gunas</i> will be tools in our hands, not vice versa.<br /><i></i><br /><i>Gita</i> asks us to strive to transcend all the three <i>gunas</i>. Being established in sattva guna is not enough as there is a risk of descending down to <i>rajo guna</i> by the force of circumstances. To transcend the three <i>gunas</i>, we have to get established in sattva guna which promotes physical and emotional well-being and helps us make proper use of <i>rajo guna</i>.<br /><br />The difference between a <i>Guṇātita</i> and the one established in sattva guna is this. The one with sattva guna has the risk of descending down to a level where <i>rajo guna</i> becomes predominant. The <i>Guṇātita</i> may come down to the level of <i>sattva guna</i>, but never to the level to <i>rajo guna</i> or <i>tamo guna</i>.<br /><br />We attain immortality