Srivatsa Ramaswami's talk onYoga and the Three Gunas

Lots of good content on Ramaswami's YouTube channel now, the ten part Vinyasa Krama demo from a while back and now the four 1980's TV slots I posted yesterday and this morning an hour long talk, split over five videos, on Yoga and the Three Gunas.

http://www.youtube.com/user/srivatsaramaswami

"During my LMU visit for the 200hr TT program, I gave a talk on "Yoga and the three Gunas" at the studio of Sarah Mata in LA. The hour long talk in 5 videos are available in my channel. Please have a look. Thank you "Srivatsa Ramaswami

Nothing happens in the first video, just the image you see in the screenshot below

The talk starts here








And this article below on the Three Gunas from one of Ramaswami's first newsletters in January 2009.
His other Newsletters can be found on his webpage here
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/vinyasa-krama-announce

Three years of Ramaswami's newsletters have been brought together into three volumes available for free download on my googledocs page

Ramaswami's newsletters Volume I 2009

Ramaswami's newsletters Volume II 2010

Ramaswami's newsletters Volume III 2011


The Three Gunas (Triguna) and the Four Human Goals (Purusharthas) 

According to Yoga and other sibling philosophies, the entire universe
is made of the three Gunas, Satwa, Rajas and Tamas and these permeate
everything (including all of us) everywhere in dominating everything
in varying degrees.  Due to the preponderance of one of these Gunas,
in every individual, different human beings follow different goals.
Even as everyone’s desire is to get happiness and get rid of
unhappiness, each one, depending upon his or her guna temperament,
pursues different means and goals (arthas) for one’s satisfaction or
happiness. The three gunas are satwa, rajas and tamas. The four
purushartas or human goals are dharma (order), artha (material
possession), kama (sensual desires) and moksha (spiritual freedom). A
satwic person is inclined towards dharma, while the rajasic, tamasic
and the one who is able to go beyond the influence of all the gunas
(gunaateeta)  are attracted respectively towards artha, kama and
moksha. These four are called purusharthas or chatur- vidha-
purushartha (four different human endeavors/goals)

Persons whose personality is predominantly satwic, follow ‘dharma’ as
a goal of their lives for happiness. Dharma is the Law of Piety,
Compassion, and orderly life. They follow the benevolent dictates of
the scriptures, the laws of the land, leading a life consistent with
the gods of nature. It is anathema for them to cross the Laws of
Dharma. Such Dharmis are said to lead a very peaceful life here and
hereafter, as they, who are said to be in a small minority, do and
accumulate good karmas.

The Rajasic people are like the proverbial “A” type personalities.
Highly energetic and mostly restless, they pursue very down to earth
policies and follow the goal of artha or material possessions. More
wealth and more power give them happiness and the means are less
important than the goals. Only a few who follow this life long pursuit
of possessions and power ever succeed and sustain, leading to
collective unhappiness of this lot. The happiness of the majority of
them rises with the tide of increasing possessions and ebbs with the
loss of wealth and power.

We have then the third group of people who are dominated by tamas. It
is said Tamas, because it veils the intellect, makes such people short
sighted. Their happiness lies in sensual gratification. Tasty food,
frequent tactile stimulus, attractive visual objects and captivating
sounds dominate their life. When the senses over a period of time lose
their acuity, they have less room to be happy and fall into a state of
depression as they get older.

Then there are the spiritual Yogis who relentlessly follow the path of
spiritual wisdom and intuitively understand the nature of the ever
present, non changing nature of their own Self and reach a state of
Kaivalya or Moksha or spiritual Freedom. In that state, according to
Yogis, the three Gunas reach a state of equilibrium. This, the yogis
call a state of Nirodha of the mind, or a state the Lord in the Gita
calls Gunateeta or beyond the dominance of the Gunas. This state leads
to a permanent and irrevocable state of peace of mind and the yogis
aver that it is superior to the other variable and unstable states of
happiness; superior to that attained by sensual gratification of the
tamasic personality or the happiness arising out of possessions of the
Rajasic, or even the dharmic life of a Satwic person. Though the
satwic state of happiness is superior to the other two, even that is
said to be impermanent. Hence the Lord urges everyone, through His
disciple Arjuna in the Gita, to go from Tamas to Rajas and then to
Satwa and ultimately transcend all the Gunas. It is easier said then
done.

But how is it done? Only Yoga comes with specific measures to change
the individual personalities. One can transform a Tamasic mind to a
Rajasic bent by practice of Pranayama, in addition to the observance
Yamaniyamas. The observance of a well designed practice of asanas will
reduce the addictive influence of Rajas and hence a yogi who practices
asana and pranayama will become more and more Satwic, thanks  the
reduction of Tamas and Rajas. And by spiritual meditation one will be
able to transcend all the three Gunas.

So as Lord Krishna says, “Tatha yogi bhava Arjuna”, (Therefore become
a Yogi). One should practice Yoga. You will agree?

Srivasta Ramaswami