Guṇa

Guṇa (Sanskrit: गुण) refers to the three fundamental tendencies or forces that constitute nature, or the matrix of material existence in Hindu philosophies. It can be translated as "quality, peculiarity, attribute, property".[1][2]

The concept is originally notable as a feature of Samkhya philosophy.[3] The guṇas are now a key concept in nearly all schools of Hindu philosophy.[4] There are three guṇas (triguṇa), according to this worldview, that have always been and continue to be present in all things and beings in the world.[4] These three guṇas are called: sattva (goodness, calmness, harmonious), rajas (passion, activity, movement), and tamas (ignorance, inertia, laziness).[5] All of these three guṇas are present in everyone and everything; it is the proportion that is different, according to Hindu worldview. The interplay of these guṇas defines the character of someone or something, of nature and determines the progress of life.[4][6]

In some contexts, it may mean "a subdivision, species, kind, quality", or an operational principle or tendency of something or someone.[6] In human behavior studies, Guna means personality, innate nature and psychological attributes of an individual.[7][8][9]

Like many technical terms in other languages, guṇa can be difficult to encapsulate with a single English word. Its original and common meaning is a thread, implying the original materials that weave together to make up reality. The usual, but approximate translation in common usage is "a quality".[10]

  1. ^ guna Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
  2. ^ guNa Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Koeln University, Germany
  3. ^ Larson, Gerald James. Classical Samkhya: An Interpretation. p. 37. Referring to the opinions of Surendranath Dasgupta. Quote: "An older school of Samkhya can be seen in the Caraka Samhita and in the doctrines of Pancasikha in Mahabharata 12.219. This school accepted only twenty-four principles. It included purusa within the avyakta prakrti. It had no theory of the gunas, and the ultimate salvation state was a kind of unconscious annihilation."
  4. ^ a b c James G. Lochtefeld, "Guna", in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A–M, Vol. 1, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 978-0823931798, p. 265
  5. ^ Alban Widgery (1930), "The principles of Hindu Ethics", International Journal of Ethics, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 234–237
  6. ^ a b Theos Bernard (1999), Hindu Philosophy, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120813731, pp. 74–76
  7. ^ Elankumaran, S (2004). "Personality, organizational climate and job involvement: An empirical study". Journal of Human Values. 10 (2): 117–130. doi:10.1177/097168580401000205.
  8. ^ Deshpande, S; Nagendra, H. R.; Nagarathna, R (2009). "A randomized control trial of the effect of yoga on Gunas (personality) and Self esteem in normal healthy volunteers". International Journal of Yoga. 2 (1): 13–21. doi:10.4103/0973-6131.43287. PMC 3017961. PMID 21234210.
  9. ^ Shilpa, S; Venkatesha Murthy, C. G. (2011). "Understanding personality from Ayurvedic perspective for psychological assessment: A case". AYU. 32 (1): 12–19. doi:10.4103/0974-8520.85716. PMC 3215408. PMID 22131752.
  10. ^ Karl H. Potter (2011), The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, Volume 2: Indian Metaphysics and Epistemology, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120803091, p. 112
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