The three gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas) are represented by the three blades in the fan. Only when the blades circulate together in harmony do you get the air. When they move in the same direction they bring the cool air. Within us, the three gunas are going all in different directions. When you turn in the same direction, all are going around together, then you will get the one-pointedness and you will be able to know. (CWBSSB, p. 24)
When you make friendship with God, then all the three gunas go away from you. This ego and anger and jealousy disappear. Scientifically also, the blood goes to the top and then circulates back. When it goes there and turns, then is speed; it goes faster. This is a most important point in life. (CWBSSB, p. 24)
Gunas are all artificial creations. God exists in all these created gunas, but the gunas themselves do not exist in God and therefore we can correctly describe him as being above gunas. (SSB 1974, p. 86)
The thumb represents Brahman, the eternal absolute, the Immanent Principle. The forefinger, the index one, which indicates this and that, you and other is the Jiva, the individual feeling separate and distinct. When these two are joined at the tip, held in that position it is Jnana mudra, the gesture of wisdom, for wisdom consists in the Jiva becoming One with the Brahman, the mergence of that which felt that it had emerged! The other three fingers, represent Prakriti the objective world, which negated when the mergence is affected. They are the three gunas, the sattvika, the rajasika and the tamasika, that by their interplay create the phenomenal world. Hold the rosary over the middle finger, keeping the three guna fingers together.
This means that you are now transcending the world of attributes, and qualities of name and form, of multiplicity that is the consequence of all this transformation, and proceeding towards the knowledge of Unity. The Jiva finger now slowly passes each bead towards the thumb (Brahman), touching the tip of the Brahman finger when the bead passes over, so that the mergence is emphasised with every breath, for, while the fingers learn and teach the lesson, the tongue too repeats the Mantra or the name, with the Pranava. (SSS Vol.7, pp. 34-35)
In the first twelve years of Rama’s life, He encountered three types of women. When he went with the sage Vishwamitra to protect his sacrifice, he encountered the ogress Thataki. He put an end to her without any compunction or aversion. After Vishwamitra’s sacrifice was completed, Rama went with the sage to Mithila. On the way, he came across Ahalya, who had been transformed into a stone. He gave her life, absolved her of sin through penitence and restored her to her husband. At Mithila, he encountered Sita. He accepted Sita without any hesitation. What is the inner meaning of these three incidents? They show that even from his boyhood Rama displayed extraordinary qualities and stood out as an example to the world. Thataki, the first woman he encountered, symbolises the Tamasika quality. Ahalya represents the Rajo guna. He taught the right lesson to Ahalya purified her and sent her safely to her place. He took to himself Sita who represented the Sattvika quality. Bhagavan approves of and accepts only that which is Sattvika. He values the Sattvika quality. He protects and fosters it. (SS May 89, p. 123)
The entire world is a form of the three Gunas. As long as these three Gunas take up residence in your heart, beclouding your understanding, you remain in bondage. Among the three Gunas, Rajas and Tamas are responsible for all the sorrows, grief, troubles and problems that you experience. Whenever fear, rage, laziness, inertia, drowsiness or sleep manifest, then you are overwhelmed by Tamo guna. When Rajo guna holds sway, your true human nature is forgotten; Rajo guna brings out the animal nature and the demonic nature. As long as the two Gunas, Rajas and Tamas are in your heart, the heart will remain impure. These two Gunas continuously pollute and dirty the heart. As long as it is dirty, the divinity will not enter your heart; you will not be able to perceive its presence there. Therefore, you must first remove the Tamo guna and having done that, you must remove Rajo guna. The Sattvika Guna will then shine. Start now by making every effort to remove every bit of dirt that has accumulated in your heart.
A person who is filled with Rajo guna will always be hasty in everything, he will have no patience or forbearance. He cannot be steady for even a moment. And he will exhibit a great deal of anger. Not only this, he will also have unlimited desires. These are all characteristics of Rajo guna. This becomes clear when you go to watch animals in a Zoo, be it a cheetah, a tiger, or a fox, they will not be quiet and steady for even a moment. The reason is that they are filled with an excess of Rajo guna. When Rajo guna enters into the heart of man it makes him, unsteady in body and mind; he will be moving all the while. Not only does it make him unsteady but it also makes him deluded. Once be gets deluded he gets a strong desire for the objects of the world. As these desires manifest in his heart, he takes action to procure these different things for himself. You see then that delusion, desire and karma are the three powerful qualities which are the characteristic features of Rajo guna.
It is because of this Rajo guna that you constantly move about. For example when you sit in a particular place, you find you will not be steady for very long; some part of the body, or other, will always be moving. This may be compared to the Peepal Tree. Even if there is no breeze or wind, the leaves in such a tree will always be moving. The same applies to a horse. The word for horse in Sanskrit, refers to that which has no steadiness. Whenever you see a horse, whether it be the head, the tail or the legs, some part of it will always be moving. This is why the ancient sacrifice called Ashvamedha Yaga or the sacrifice of the horse, has been described as the means for steadying the mind.
The preceptor for Rajo guna is Ravana, the king of the demons. The preceptor forTamo guna is Kumbhakarna, the demon who slept most of the time.Vibhishana is the preceptor for the Sattva Guna; he was also of the family of demons, but he surrendered himself at the feet of Rama and chose the side of the good. All three,Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana are brothers. If you allow Ravana and Kumbakarna into your heart, they will lead you into endless harm and grief. If you want to enter the kingdom of liberation, you must remove all three from your heart. All three belong to the same family and there is a brotherly relationship between them. That is why Vedanta has been teaching that you must transcend all three Gunas and offer them to Shiva, who will keep a watch on them with His three eyes and render them harmless with His three-forked trident.
What is the best way to remove the Gunas? If a thorn were to enter your foot, you need not take a big sharp knife to remove it; you just take another thorn and remove the first with the second. Once that has been accomplished, you throw away both thorns, without making any distinction between them. In that way you have to remove the Tamo guna with the help of the Rajo guna. Then you have to remove the Rajo guna with the help of the Sattva Guna. Finally, you give up, the Sattva Guna also. Before you can enter into the kingdom of God-realization, you have to cast out all three Gunas. If any Guna remains it will keep you out of this kingdom of liberation. That is why Krishna commanded Arjuna to transcend all three Gunas. He warned Arjuna that he will have to make maximum effort arid take great care to permanently rid himself of these three Gunas. The primary cause of these three Gunas is the mind. It is impossible to transcend this human nature and realize your divine nature until your mind loses its waveriness and becomes silent. Therefore, the first step is to offer your mind to the Lord. After you have offered your mind to Him completely, God will take care of you in all respects.
You should become Amanaska, which means mindless. Only when you have a mind will pleasure and pain, happiness and sorrow, and all the other pairs of opposites be present. If you want to be free of these opposites and treat all things equally, you have to offer up your mind to the Lord. That is why it has been said in Vedanta that it is the mind, which is responsible for liberation or bondage. As long as you retain the mind, the Rajo guna and Tamo guna will not leave you. So long as you have Rajo guna and Tamo guna, you will have no steadiness. Why is the mind so unsteady, constantly hopping from place to place? It is on account of desires. These desires all relate to the body. If you want to keep your mind steady, you must keep your body steady. You must constantly keep good thoughts in your mind. When you are having good thoughts, then there will also be good feelings in your heart. 1n SamkhyaYoga,Krishna explained a number of ways in which Gunas can be conquered and you can transform yourself into a Sthitaprajna, one who is steeped in the highest wisdom. (DBG, pp. 210-217)