3 GUNA'S AND THE UNIVERSE

WHAT IS GUNA

Guna means Quality, Nature, Property, Attribute, Tathva [element], Tendency or Characteristic feature of anything and everything.
In general everything and everywhere, The whole world [material world]  is said to be evolved in the 3 Guna's or has three modes naturally, they are 

• The Mode of goodness [or] Sathva Guna
• The Mode of Passion [or] Rajo Guna / Rajas
• The Mode of Ignorance or Darkness [or] Tamo Guna / Tamas

They can be generally understood as their name indicates. Each of the Guna's are associated with various qualities, some of the qualities are as follows

Sathva Guna : Happiness, Piece, Purity, Satisfaction, Self-controlled, Wisdom, Spirituality.

Rajo Guna : Action, Change, Passion, Movement, Instability.

Tamo Guna : Lazyness, Inactive, Darkness, Ignorance, Fear.

TRIGUNA'S AND THE SUPREME

Srimad Bhagavatham, say's that the Supreme, the one, who don't have any form and Gunas [Nirakara and Nirguna] and who is beyond the Guna's [Gunatheeth], had accepted 3 Gunas and taken three forms as Lord Bramha, Lord Vishnu And Lord Shiva. Where Lord Bramha depicts Rajo Guna, Lord Vishnu depicts Sathva Guna and Lord Shiva depicts Tamo Guna. 

This shall not be concluded as it is same as of the humans beings, Why ?
Because the Supreme soul [Athman or Parabramhan] started the creation of the cosmic universe as Lord Bramha [Tamo Guna] and maintain's the world as Lord Vishnu [Sathva Guna] and take it [the World/Universe] into him [Put to an end] as Lord Shiva [Rajo Guna]. The process of creation, maintenance and destruction can be possible only by the Guna's.

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GUNA'S AND HUMAN BEHAVIOR

The behavior of a Person completely depends on the Guna's he have, [or] you are what's your Guna or nature is 

SATHVA GUNA 
The person with Sathva Guna is always filled with happiness and goodness and will always be satisfied and show gratitude all the time and will be with good thoughts and Pure heart. The people with Sathva Guna will be closer to the Supreme God, mentally and physically. He is tend to be in the spiritual path. 

RAJO GUNA 
The person with Rajo Guna is said to be aggressive, dominating in nature and reacts quickly in every situation without any proper analysis, the person will never get satisfied for what he get or have and always rotates around unlimited desires which never end [The situation where the person act or work foolishly for sense gratification].

TAMO GUNA
The person with Tamo Guna is said to be lazy, inactive and lack of interest, as well as knowledge, the person will be in the deep ignorance which prevents him to know the truth or reality, he will always be depressed and also sleep for longer hours and would not be able to show the interest in gaining the actual knowledge.

Is there anything which is beyond Sathva Guna ?
Yes, there is a something which is beyond the Sathva Guna, it is called Nirguna Thatva or the state of the Supreme, The stage when the being's crosses the three Guna's.

In general animals exhibit Tamo and Rajo Guna's, only Cow is said to have Sathva Guna, Cow is not even believed as animal as per Indian Scriptures, rather called Gowmatha as everything given by it is pure and treated as mother to all.

NOW, WHAT GUNA OR NATURE DO YOU HAVE ?
Tamas, Rajas or Sathva, which Nature do you have? 
Well, you have all the three Guna's, but in different proportions [percentages], it is said that every human always tend to rotate in the circle of these 3 Guna's, which means a person can't have only Tamas, or only Rajas or only Sathva Guna. We will sometime sleep, feel lazy and depressed which is Tamasik, We sometimes behave angry, selfish to earn more, which is Rajasik and sometimes we will be happy and in piece which is Sathvik, one person every time behaves in the these three Guna's.

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FOOD AND TRIGUNA'S [SATHVIK, RAJASIK, TAMASIK]

We are what we eat, Yes, the food we eat has an enormous influence on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual life.
As the whole world naturally has this 3 Guna's, the Food we eat is also classified into Sathvik, Rajasik and Tamasik. 
One can have the control on their Guna's only by the food, eating the particular food will increase those particular Guna or nature of the person, or can be said as eating Sathvik foods will increase the Sathva Guna, foods of Tamo Guna will increase the Tamo Guna and the foods of Rajo Guna will increase the Rajo Guna.

SATHVIK FOODS
Sathvik food is a food which naturally obtained from trees or nature and sometimes even be consumed raw or without cooking and also signifies the non violence [Ahimsa] and includes clean and fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes excluding onion and garlic. Eating these foods can make one feel energetic, enthusiastic and promotes happiness, satisfaction for the mind.

RAJASIK FOODS
Rajasik food is the food which is more spicy and salty, includes onion and garlic, pickles, addictions like tobacco and alcohol also come under Rajo Guna. The Sathvik foods if added more spices becomes Rajasik. Having these foods regularly promotes more aggressiveness and even considered poisonous to health.

TAMASIK FOODS
Tamasik foods are the foods which generally stored for longer time, also signifies Violence and includes every junk food, animals meat, eggs etc., The Sathvik food when stored for long hours, fried or cooked with more spices then it becomes Tamasik food. These foods if taken regularly will harm mental health where the person would not be able to think positively in his life.

WILL EATING SATHVIK FOODS REALLY INCREASE THE SATHVA GUNA ?
Yes, but the way you eat also plays a key role in structuring the Guna's. Have you ever heard the saying that one should not talk or should not concentrate on the other things, while eating, 
Indian scriptures say that 1/6th part [16.666…%] of the food we eat will be formed as mind and impact the thoughts of individual,  It is even been proved that what you eat directly affects the structure and function of your brain and, ultimately, the mood of individuals. The thoughts of the individual while eating will also structure his character. Even the thoughts which the person engage with, while cooking will effect behavior of the person who consumes it.
For example if you eat the food at home, which is prepared by your mother for you, it will give the all positivity which is needed for you, And if you eat the food in restaurants then your mind will definitely get the negative energy, because the thoughts of the person who prepare the food will also matters and he would not have any intention for growth of your personality. Thus, the way you eat also matters.

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Hope this helped you in understanding the concept of Triguna's. Share this if you find informative and useful.