GuNaateeta

गुणातीत

(A person who has overcome the guNas)

GuNa means quality, attribute, characteristic. GuNa also means a rope which has three strands. Three GuNas bind a man like a rope.

When we were children playing in the open in the evenings, suddenly a pink light lit the sky . We clapped and danced shouting saanhja phullela - i.e. evening had blossomed. Twilight.

In Samskrut, we call twilight Godhooli Prakaash. Evenings, when cows returned from grazing on the hills, their hooves raised dust and the sunlight falling on dust particles gave that beautiful hue to the sky. Hence the name. In Raghuvamsha, Kaalidaasa put this ocurrence in colourful and joyous words.

The Hour of God is a small booklet by Aurobindo. He talks of moments in life when you feel uplifted for no known reason. You feel springs under your feet. It had nothing to do with the situation you are in. You may be worried over something at the moment or you may be in a hospital bed. But you you feel like humming a tune. This may happen anytime unlike "godhhooli" in the evenings only. In the Geetaa, this phenomenon is explained as caused by the Saattvic Nature being on the rise within you.

Sattva is one of the three GuNas which govern your lifestyle and ultimately life itself. Although we have lost knowledge of what GuNas are we are aware of their influence in our lives.

The three constituents of GuNas are
1.Sattva -This leads to buoyancy, illumination, knowledge and happiness.
2. Rajas - This leads to agitation, stimulation, mobility, action and pain.
3. Tamas - This leads to heaviness, enveloping, darkness, indiference, laziness, inertia, lethargy.
The three keep alternating , one overpowering other two and dominating. Results of one dominating over the other two are listed above.

The Geetaa deals extensively with the play of GuNas. All other characteristics and actions thereof are described in detail. The Idea is to subdue Rajas and Tamas by Sattva and finally transcend Sattva as well. A man who is successful at this is called TriguNaateeta or simply GuNaateeta - a liberated soul, also called NistraiguNya.