1. NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Bhagavatas,
We give below excerpts from Chapter 15 of " Hinduism Rediscovered" on "Triguna and "Aahaara Niyamam". Hope you will find it interesting.

Dasoham
Anbil Ramaswamy

2. Excerpts From Chapter 15 of "Hinduism Discovered"
"TRIGUNAS' AND AAHAARA NIYAMAM (THE DIETARY REGIMEN)

SECTION 1 : TRIGUNAS

We saw that a person is born in this world with a heavy load of `Vasanas' from previous lives. These `Vasanas' not only provide the initial conditions but also the propensities of the soul towards good or evil - depending upon which kind of `Vasana' is preponderant in the bunch that it has inherited.

In a democracy even though there are several political parties co-existing, it is only that party which gets the majority votes that rules for the moment; So also, even though all the Gunas are present in the psyche of a person, it is that Guna which is predominant that would determine the behavior of that person at any given moment. If the preponderant element is good, its tendencies will also be good. It would suffice if the individual soul keeps on the right track, taking care to keep away from the evil `Vasanas'. If the major content is bad, the propensity of the soul would be to indulge in evil ways. In this event, the individual would have to employ his free will endowed to him for fighting back the evil tendencies as also to augment the good `Vasanas' by a conscious effort.

In both the above cases the soul would become progressively more `evolved' at the end of its current life than what it was at the beginning. If, however, the individual allows the evil tendencies to sway by indulging in acts of commission and omission, the soul would get more and more depressed in the quagmire of sin and slide downward on the path to damnation.

Do we have any mechanisms or guidelines to improve our `Vasanas' of the healthy kind and to curb those of the evil kind?

Lord Krishna elaborates the characteristics of individuals and lays down the `Dos' and Don'ts for strict observance. The whole of Chapter XVII and Slokas 1 to 40 of Chapter XVIII of Bhagavad Gita deal with these issues.

And, it is for us to take note and follow the ground rules - if we desire to improve our spiritual lot so that ultimately we would become worthy of `Moksha'- or liberation from the cycle of births and deaths It has already been mentioned that the knowledge of the reality to be attained (Upeya) and the knowledge of the means of attaining (Upaya) can be gained only through the Vedic scriptures. Whatever is not ordained or specifically prohibited by the Sastras is harmful and should be scrupulously avoided. The inclination and the extent to which one adheres to or abhors the scriptural injunctions depend on the `Gunas' (characteristics) one inherits and cherishes in this life.

These `Gunas' have been classified into 3 Categories. 'Satva '(Serenity), 'Rajo' (Vigour) and 'Tamo' (Sullenness). What these mean has been amplified by commentators on the `Gitabashya' and modern writers. That the `Gunas' influence tendencies and actions which in their turn influence the accumulation of the different `Gunas' should be clearly understood. While `tendencies' acquired is a thing of the past, the control of `actions' is well within our power - thus moderating the Gunas in the present and for the future

The characteristics of persons governed by the different `Gunas' can be understood to denote generally the following: Sl.

No.     Satva Guna      Rajo Guna       Tamo Guna       
1       Vaiharika       Taijasa         Bhutadi         
2       Serene          Vigourous       Sullen  
3       Mind            Life            Body    
4       Mental          VITAL           Material        
5       Balanced        Dynamic Inert   
6       Syntrophy       Negentropy      Entropy 
7       Normative       Irascible       Indolent        
8       Good            Indifferent     Evil    
9       Lucid           Vivid           Blurred 
10      Brahmin         Kshatriya       Vaisya  
11      Equable         Active          Passive 
12      Attractive      Distractive     Repulsive       
13      Centripetal     Convoluted      Centrifugal     
14      Cohesive        Volatile        Diffused        
15      Conscious       Cognitive       Unconscious     
16      Constructive    Engineering     Destructive     
17.     Integrated      Integrating     Disintegrated   
18.     Intelligent     Unintelligent   Ignorant        
19.     Luminous        Vivacious       Obscure 
20.     Neutral         Positive        Negative        
21.     Orderly         Organizing      Chaotic 
22.     Pervasive       Revolving       Contracting     
23.     Quiescent       Boisterous      Benumbed        
24.     Rarefied        Expanding       Dense   
25.     Resolute        Passionate      Dissolute       
26.     Transparent     Translucent     Opaque  
27.     Vishnu          Brahma          Rudra   
28.     Lucidity        Passion         Darkness