Guna Dictionary

Guna:

This means qualities or attributes. There are three main gunas: sattva, raja and tama. Purity, passion and ignorance, respectively.

(See also: Guna , Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

sat-guna:

sat-guna (sath-guna). Virtuous quality.

(See also: sat-guna , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

guna:

guna. Quality, characteristic. The qualities of sathwa, rajas, and thamas (serenity, passion, ignorance) are general universal characteristics of all kinds of mental tendencies and actions/thoughts, which are prompted by specific kinds and mixtures of these three qualities. For example, sathwic food is health-giving, strength-giving and delightful; rajasic food is spicy, sour, or salty and brings on diseases; and thamasic food is impure, old, stale, tasteless, or rotten.

(See also: guna , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Guna -

(1) in relationship to Krsna this refers to His transcendental qualities which are heard, described, and meditated upon by bhaktas as part of the practice of  sadhana-bhakti.

(2) qualities of objects such as hardness and softness.

(3) qualities in general such as compassion, tolerance, and mercy.

(4) the three ropes (binding qualities) known as - sattva (goodness) , rajas (passion) , and tamas (ignorance).

(See also: Guna , Bhakti, Bhakti Yoga, Bhakti Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Guna:

According to Samkhya philosophy, Prakriti (Nature or matter), consist of three gunas -usually translated as 'qualities' -known as sattva, rajas, and tamas. Tamas stands for inertia or dullness; rajas, for activity or restlessness; sattva, for balance or righteousness.

(See also: Guna , Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V X Y Z

guna: (Sanskrit) "Strand; quality." The three constituent principles of prakriti, primal nature. The three gunas are as follows.

• sattva: Quiescent, rarified, translucent, pervasive, reflecting the light of Pure Consciousness.
• rajas: "Passion," inherent in energy, movement, action, emotion, life. -
• tamas: "Darkness," inertia, density, the force of contraction, resistance and dissolution. The gunas are integral to Hindu thought, as all things are composed of the combination of these qualities of nature, including ayurveda, arts, environments and personalities.

See: ayurveda, prakriti, tattva.

(See also: Guna , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

guna:

Quality or trait. There are 3: rajas--active; tamas--passive; and sattvas--the balance of rajas and tamas.

(See also: guna , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

 Guna:

a quality of nature

(See also:  Guna , Body Mind and Soul)

Guna:

quality of nature viz. tamas, rajas, sattwa

(See also: Guna ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Guna:

Guna ("quality"): a term that has numerous meanings, including "virtue"; often refers to any of the three primary "qualities" or constituents of nature (prakriti): tamas (the principle of inertia), rajas (the dynamic principle), and sattva (the principle of lucidity)

(See also: Guna ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Guna:

Guna: quality born of nature.

(See also: Guna , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

guna:

guna - a quality of nature

(See also: guna , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

GUNA: quality

(See also: GUNA , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

GUNA: Quality born of nature.

(See also: GUNA ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Guna:

Guna. Quality or trait. There are 3: Rajas--active; Tamas--passive; and Sattvas--the balance of Rajas and Tamas.

(See also: Guna , Tantra, Tantra Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Guna: Quality, attribute, or characteristic arising from nature (Prakriti) itself; a mode of energy behavior. As a rule, when "guna" is used it is in reference to the three qualities of Prakriti, the three modes of energy behavior that are the basic qualities of nature, and which determine the inherent characteristics of all created things.

They are:

1)   sattwa-purity, light, harmony;

2)   rajas-activity, passion; and

3)   tamas-dullness, inertia, and ignorance.

(See also: Guna , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Guna: fundamental natural quality (e.g., dry, moist, hot, cold, etc.). Also applied to sattva, rajas, and tamas, the "three gunas"

(See also: Guna , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Brahman: (Sanskrit) "Supreme Being; expansive spirit." From the root brih, "to grow, increase, expand." Name of God or Supreme Deity in the Vedas, where He is described as 1) the Transcendent Absolute, 2) the allpervading energy and 3) the Supreme Lord or Primal Soul. These three correspond to Siva in His three perfections. Thus, Saivites know Brahman and Siva to be one and the same God.

• Nirguna Brahman: God "without qualities (guna)," i.e., formless, Absolute Reality, Parabrahman, or Parasiva- totally transcending guna (quality), manifest existence and even Parashakti, all of which exhibit perceivable qualities.
• Saguna Brahman: God "with qualities;" Siva in His perfections of Parashakti and Parameshvara- God as superconscious, omnipresent, allknowing, all-loving and all-powerful.

The term Brahman is not to be confused with 1) Brahma, the Creator God; 2) Brahmana, Vedic texts, nor with 3) brahmana, Hindu priest caste (English spelling: brahmin).

See: Parameshvara, Parashakti, Parasiva.

(See also: Brahman , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Sanskrit dictionary. From Advaita to Yoga.

Please note that all words in grey, like "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

tattva: (Sanskrit) "That-ness" or "essential nature." Tattvas are the primary principles, elements, states or categories of existence, the building blocks of the universe. Lord Siva constantly creates, sustains the form of and absorbs back into Himself His creations. Rishis describe this emanational process as the unfoldment of tattvas, stages or evolutes of manifestation, descending from subtle to gross. At mahapralaya, cosmic dissolution, they enfold into their respective sources, with only the first two tattvas surviving the great dissolution.

The first and subtlest form - the pure consciousness and source of all other evolutes of manifestation - is called Siva tattva, or Parashakti-nada. But beyond Siva tattva lies Parasiva - the utterly transcendent, Absolute Reality, called attava. That is Siva's first perfection.

The Sankhya system discusses 25 tattvas. Saivism recognizes these same 25 plus 11 beyond them, making 36 tattvas in all. These are divided into three groups:

1)    First are the five shuddha tattvas (shuddha = pure). These constitute the realm of shuddha maya.

2)    Next are the seven shuddha-ashuddha tattvas(shuddha-ashuddha = pure-impure). These constitute the realm of shuddhashuddha maya.

3)    3The third group comprises the 24 ashuddha tattvas (ashuddha = impure). These constitute the realm of ashuddha maya.

See: atattva, antahkarana, guna, kosha,

(See also: Tattva , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)