The three guṇa: a map for reading ourselves and the time we live in

Today, during the reading of the Bhagavad Gītā, we made some important reflections, which I wanted to share with you.

In chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gītā, Kṛṣṇa introduces. one of the most important teachings to understand the nature of material life: the three guṇa, the three modes of the prakṛti, the material nature.

These three energies are sattva, rajas e tamas. We can translate them simply as virtue and clarity, passion and movement, inertia and obscuration. But we must not imagine them as abstract concepts, far removed from our daily lives. I guṇa not Are only a philosophical theory. They are living forces, present in every thought, every choice, every desire, every relationship, every environment, and every piece of information we receive.

Kṛṣṇa is giving us a map. And a map is useful when we have to orient us. Without a map, we risk confusing what elevates us with what drags us down, what empowers us with what consumes us, what brings clarity with what blocks us.

The three guṇa act throughout the material creation. They affect not only the human being, but the entire manifested universe. Everything arises from the combination of these three energies, just as many different substances can arise from the combination of a few basic elements. Material life is a great mixture of sattva, rajas e tamas, and learning to recognize them means learning to read reality better.

Tamas Is the heaviest energy. It is what blocks, obscures, burdens. When tamas dominates, the mind tends to remain tied to the past, to regrets, to frustration, to anger that does not transform, to the feeling that nothing can be done. It is an energy that can bring procrastination, depression, closure, confusion, addictions, loss of vital momentum.

Not always tamas shows up in an obvious way. Sometimes it manifests as a subtle form of victimhood: the person fails to recognize his share of responsibility, fails to see where he can grow, and thus remains stuck in the past. Everything becomes the fault of others, of circumstances, of fate, of life. But in this way there is no transformation. There is no evolution. There is no possibility of getting out of the cycle.

Recognizing an error, on the other hand, may already be a step toward sattva. Not because we should blame ourselves, but because taking responsibility for one's life opens a space for growth. When I see where I went wrong, I can learn. When I learn, I can mature. When I mature, I can make more conscious choices.

Rajas, on the other hand, is the energy of desire, of movement, of the drive toward action. Without rajas there would be no initiative, no planning, no outward transformation. But when rajas is not driven by sattva, becomes agitation, craving, competition, obsession.

Desire burns. It wants something right away. He wants to possess, to get, to arrive, to prove. But it often does not consider the right timing, the others, the context, the consequences. That is why desire, when it remains only desire, can consume the mind.

One goal, however, is different. The goal arises when the desire is ordered, purified, transformed into a project. The desire says, “I want this thing.” The goal, when illuminated by sattva, asks, “How can I implement it in the right way? What steps are necessary? What effects will it have on my life, on the people close to me, on my spiritual path?”

This is a very important distinction. Because not everything we desire elevates us. And not everything that attracts us is necessarily good for us. The Bhagavad Gītā invites us to develop discernment, not repression. It is not a matter of denying life, but learning to read the energies that move it.

Sattva Is the quality of clarity, virtue, light, and harmony. When sattva grows, the mind becomes clearer. Emotions do not disappear, but they no longer completely dominate reason. The person is able to observe, understand, choose with more balance. A more stable inner peace arises, a broader vision, a greater ability to plan with foresight.

Sattva Is not yet transcendence, but it is the best platform for approaching transcendence. It is the most favorable ground for spiritual life. When there is sattva, we can listen better, study better, pray better, meditate better, love better. We can more easily recognize what brings us closer to the Divine and what scatters us.

This teaching is very topical, especially In the world in which we live today. We think of the social media. At one time the television conveyed the same message to a very wide audience. Today, however, everyone receives different content, selected according to their own interests, fears, behaviors, and reactions. It is as if we live in parallel worlds.

Two people can open the same social and see two completely different realities. One receives content that fuels fear, anger, and distrust. Another receives content that fuels desire, comparison, ambition, dissatisfaction. Still another may receive content that brings study, inspiration, clarity, growth.

For this discernment becomes critical. We must not only ask, “Is this information true or false?” We must also ask ourselves, “Where is it leading me? What inner state does it nurture in me? It leads me toward sattva, that is, clarity, responsibility, vision, balance? Or does it drag me toward tamas, that is, blockage, fear, depression, sterile anger? Or does it agitate me in the rajas, igniting desires, competition, impulsive reactions?”

This question is very powerful, because it restores our freedom. We are not forced to absorb everything that is offered. We can choose the food of the mind, just as we choose the food of the body.

A lot of information today is built precisely to move the guṇa. Some feed tamas, because they lead the person to feel helpless, depressed, angry, with no way out. Others fuel rajas, because they ignite continuous desires, comparison, performance anxiety, the need to appear. Still others may support sattva, because they bring reflection, clarity, study, centering, responsibility.

The point is not to isolate ourselves from the world, but to learn not to be manipulated by its currents. The spiritually mature person is not naive. He does not believe everything, does not get carried away by every emotion, does not react mechanically to every stimulus. Observe. Discern. He wonders what energy is acting.

This is true even in difficult choices. When a person experiences a heavy situation, often the first impulse is to flee. But escape is not always a free choice. Sometimes it arises from fear. Sometimes it arises from the tamas, when we feel crushed and just want to disappear. Other times it arises from the rajas, when we want to change everything impulsively, without considering the consequences.

A more sattvic choice, instead, arises from a deeper understanding of karma. It does not mean to suffer passively. It does not mean staying where you suffer. It does, however, mean asking yourself, “Which choice brings the most growth?What is the choice that truly enriches my life? Which decision also takes into account the people involved, my partner, my family, my dharma, my evolution?”

La Bhagavad Gītā Does not invite us to run away from life, but to live it with awareness. It does not ask us to deny complexity, but to go through it with a clearer mind.

In this sense, the guṇa Are a map of inner energies. Every day we can observe them in ourselves. When we continually put off something that we know is important, we can ask ourselves whether it is acting tamas. When we are agitated by an all-consuming desire that won't leave us alone, we can recognize rajas. Instead, when we feel clarity, calmness, direction, responsibility and openness of heart, we can recognize the presence of sattva.

Also in relationships we can observe the guṇa. There are relationships that drag us down, fueling confusion, lament, anger, dependence. There are relationships that agitate us, that stimulate desires, competition, expectations, instability. And there are relationships that uplift us, that bring peace, truth, respect, growth, vision.

Choosing more sattvic relationships does not mean judging others, but protecting one's own conscience. The company we keep profoundly influences our inner state. And in the yogic tradition, this is an essential point: spiritual evolution depends not only on what we think, but also on what we listen to, what we look at, who we hang out with, and what we feed on a daily basis.

All beings are children of the same divine origin. This opens us to a vision of cosmic brotherhood. But precisely because life has an evolutionary meaning, we are called to grow. It is not enough to say that everything is divine if we then remain captive to the lowest energies of nature. The spiritual path asks us to to recognize where we are, what forces affect us, and how we can gradually elevate our consciousness.

Increase sattva means Create the inner and outer conditions for better living. It means choosing clearer thoughts, purer food, higher companies, deeper readings, more regular practices, more responsible words, more consistent actions. It also means learning to turn desire into a project, suffering into understanding, the error in maturity, the confusion in discernment.

Therefore, studying Chapter 14 of the Bhagavad Gītā, we can do a very practical exercise: start observing the guṇa in our daily life.

When we make a decision, we can ask ourselves: From what energy does it arise?

When we react to news, we may ask ourselves: What is it fueling in me?

When we desire something, we can ask ourselves: is it a pulse burning or a target which can become a project?

When we feel stuck, we can ask ourselves: Am I looking at the past without transforming it?

When we choose a company, a content, a word, a direction, we can ask ourselves: Does it lead me toward more clarity or more confusion?

This is the immense value of the Bhagavad Gītā: offers us not just a philosophy, but a tool for living. It teaches us to recognize the forces at work within us and in the world so that we can choose with more freedom.

Why true freedom is not simply doing what we want to do. True freedom arises when we understand from what energy comes what we want.

And then, little by little, we can move. by tamas a rajas, from rajas a sattva, and by sattva toward what is beyond the guṇa: the spiritual dimension, where the soul is no longer carried away by the currents of material nature, but finds its eternal relationship with the Divine.

Have a great day everyone!

P.S.
Because it is an important message, I will send this Lesson from the Bhagavad Gita live again, at this link: WATCH THE VIDEO

P.S.S.

Find all previous episodes of the Bhagavad Gita for Modern Yogis on the platform Patreon. They are also listenable on Spotify.