sarbani sarkar rath

Foundation of Jyotiña I: Guëas

@kae=Vy´aTmkae iv:[unaRid> àÉurIñr>,

zuÏsTv jgTSvamI inguR[aiôgu[aiNvt>.

                                                                        eko'vyaktätmako viñëurnädiù prabhuréçvaraù|

çuddhasatvao jagatsvämé nirguëästriguëänvitaù||

                                                                                Båhat Paräçara Horä Çäçtra, såñöikramakathanädhyäya, çloka 13

The Beginning

In the beginning there was the great Void. The five primordial elements or the païca bhütas, the 14 lokas or the caturdaça bhuvanas, the Universe, dyu and Space, water and air, sound and light nothing existed. There was neither death nor life, no day nor night, neither beginning nor end. There existed only the one Brahmaë, immersed in the mire of dark ignorance and undivided from its Mäyä, formless and without any attributes or qualities. Then Parameçvara Brahma desired to create, and upon this desire, creation took place and the Universe unfolded.[1] The Supreme Being appeared with qualities and attributes; its creative energy latent within was stirred and activated, and manifested itself, to eventually give birth to this splendorous world.

Çakti and the Emergence of the Guëas

This creative impulse is called çakti, and the first attributes or qualities to manifest, are known as the Guëas. It is an impulse inherent within the Brahman or the Divine Absolute, which activates the process of creation, sustains the universe and then subsequently destroys it. It is not only the primordial energy but also the material matrix itself in which the manifest world is grounded and in that sense çakti is at once latent and manifest, both static and kinetic. It is the manifestation of the unmanifest, great void of the nirguëa Brahman as the five gross elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth, the triptychs of heat, water, food; red, white and black; the satva, rajas and tämas; the sixteen vikäras and the twenty-four tatvas. Çakti is speech as çabdabrahmaë, the masculine as puruña and the all-pervading Omnipresence as cit or consciousness.

 The first qualities or attributes of the Brahman that is discernible the moment the latent çakti is activated are the three guëas: satva, rajas and tämas. The guëas are in equilibrium before creation, lying dormant in the Primordial Nature, but as the Parameçvara desires to create, this desire itself activates the tamo guëa, and this brings alive the latent guëas and manifests them. Rajo guëa is stimulated and it is this rajas that creates the material world. Finally satva guëa is animated to sustain the created universe.  These three guëas constitute Prakåti from which the 24 tatvas evolve.

 In its latent, unmanifest, existence-less state, the Brahman is known as nirguëa that is, one who is bereft or devoid of guëas and once the latent çakti is galvanized and the guëas emerge, it is known as saguëa, that is, one who is endowed with the guëas. Prakåti is therefore by nature characterized by the three guëas, as she comes into being with the emergence of the guëas; hence she is known as guëamayé (one who is full of guëas) or triguëatmikä (one whose ätmä comprises of the three guëas). 

Paräçara: Väsudeva, the Three Çaktis and the Three Guëas

Paräçara inaugurates his monumental work the Båhat Paräçara Horä Çästra with the description of this unmanifest and manifest aspect of the Brahman (see çloka on top of page 1). He writes that the One, unmanifest Ätmä, who does not have a beginning or end, the God of all beings, the Lord of the Universe, Viñëu, is both without the guëas as well as endowed with them. He then proceeds to give a beautiful depiction of this process in the first chapter of the Båhat Paräçara which is devoted to the theory of Creation, thereby indicating the significance of the knowledge of scriptural and philosophical principles prior to the study of horä çästra.  

 The unmanifest Brahmaë is Väsudeva and as his creative impulse, his çakti assumes three hues according to the guëas associated with them. It is as if each çakti activates a particular guëa and then riding it is manifested.  The three çaktis are Çré Çakti, Bhü Çakti and Néla Çakti and they respectively activate the satva, rajas and tamo guëas.  Väsudeva is therefore saguëa now and his three amças which are replete with the guëas and the çakti are known as Aniruddha, Pradyumna and Saìkarñaëa.  Paräçara has visualized this process as a quadrant, probably a precursor to his later thoughts on the kendras, or probably to the scriptural reference of Narayana as connected with all that is associated with the number four. Of the quadrant, one quarter is Väsudeva as the unmanifest Absolute Brahmaë, while the other three quarters are his manifest, saguëa selves as Aniruddha, Pradyumna and Saìkarñaëa[2]. Brahmä, Viñëu and Çiva are the ahaàkära mürtis of the three guëas. United with Çré çakti he is Viñëu and sustains the universe, with Bhü çakti he is Brahmä and creates the material world and with Néla çakti he is Çiva and destroys all creation at the time of pralaya.  Väsudeva and his çaktis are also known as Puruña and Prakåti, with Puruña representing the latent, eternal aspect and Prakåti the changing and ever-evolving flux constantly manifesting herself in differing ways.

Figure  1

à*uçae rjsa z®ya=inéÏ> sTvyayut>,

mhan! s<k;R[a¾at> à*uça*dh< k«it>.

AinéÏat! Svym! jatae äüah<karœ mUitRixkœ,

sveR;u svRzi´í Svz®yaixkya yut>.

pradyumno rajasä çaktyä'niruddhaù satvayäyutaù|

mahän saìkarñaëäjjätaù pradyumnädyadahaà kåtiù||

aniruddhät svayam jäto brahmähaìkär mürtidhik|

sarveñu sarvaçaktiçca svaçaktyädhikayä yutaù||  

                                                                 Båhat Paräçara Horä Çäçtra, såñöikramakathanädhyäya, çloka 15-16

It is from the distortions or the vikäras of these guëas that the 24 tatvas which include the Mahat, Buddhi, Ahaàkära, the païca Tanmäträs, the païca Mahäbhütas, the daça Indriyas and the Mana from which both the animate and inanimate worlds are created. This created; manifestation of the Supreme Being is Prakåti.

The Grahas and the Guëas

The planets as created bodies embody the guëas and the tatvas. The guëas and tatvas of the planets indicate their true nature or essence and manifest themselves at particular times.  During the time of the manifestation of the planet, the prevailing guëa will surface. The guëas of the planets as given by Paräçara is as follows:

jIvsUyeRNdv> sÅv< buxzu³aE rjStwa,

sUyRpuÇxrapuÇaE tm>àk«itkaE iÖj.

jévasüryendavaù sattvaà budhaçukrau rajastathä |

süryaputradharäputrautamaùprakåtikaudvija||                                                                                                                                                     Båhat Paräçara Horä Çäçtra, såñöikramakathanädhyäya, çloka 22

 Jéva (Jupiter), Sürya (Sun) and Indu (Moon) are satvik planets, Budha (Mercury) and Çukra (Venus) are räjasik while Süryaputra (Saturn) and Dharäputra (Mars) are the tämasik planets.  The signs owned by these planets assume the guëas of their lords. Cancer, Leo, Sagittarius and Pisces are the sätvik räçis, Taurus, Gemini, Virgo and Libra are the rajasik räçis and Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aquarius are the tamasik räçis.

 Figure  2

Brahma as the ahaàkära mürti of rajas guëa creates an animate and an inanimate world. The animate world is created by Venus while the inanimate world is created by Mercury. Venus gives life as it rules the béja or semen from which the tree sprouts, while Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun, is ruled by påthvé tatva or the earth element. For the creation of non-living beings changes are required in the solid state which is brought about by Mercury. The destruction of creation is done by the two tämasik planets, with Mars being the destroyer of the non-living world and Saturn being the significator of the one who brings about the destruction of the living world. Saturn therefore is also the significator of disease and when Saturn and Mars aspect or are associated with 3rd from AL, death becomes very painful. Sun, Moon and Jupiter as the three sätvik planets sustain the creation. The Sun sustains by being the supplier of all resources and making sure they are available at all times. The Moon creates the need or the demand for these resources while Jupiter enables the utilization of the resources, thereby ensuring that the demand and the supply are balanced.

 The räjasik planets consume a high dose of energy as agni is required for creation, so when one speaks of renunciation, it implies the renunciation of rajas, so that the energy may be diverted towards täpas. Every form of manifestation in this world is because of rajas, hence for a renunciate all manifestations have to be shunned. The guëa which dominates at all times is satva guëa and guëas which prevail during pralaya is tämas.  

The Guëas in the Bhävas

In the bhäva cakra, the kendras are endowed with rajas guëa as they represent creation; the paëapharas sustain and hence represent satva guëa and the apoklimas signify destruction and represent tämas guëa.

 Figure  3

Mercury and Venus should be strong in a kendra from AL for the native to enjoy räjasik activities or bhoga to its fullest capacity. Saturn and Mars in kendras are bad as they will obstruct all activities which will lead to success and achievement in the material world. Instead Saturn and Mars placed in the apoklimas are good as tämas is strong in these bhävas. Jupiter, Sun and Moon are well placed in the paëapharas.

 Paräçara writes that the predominant guna at birth should be identified in a horoscope and accordingly the professions and character of the person should be adjudged. When a person has a predominance of satva guna he has perfect control over his senses and his mind, is truthful, just, patient and even tempered.

zmae dmStp> zaEc< ]aiNtrajRvmev c,                

AlaeÉ> sTyvaidTv< jne sÅvaixke gu[a>.

çamo damastapaù çaucaà kñäntirärjavameva ca |

alobhaù satyaväditvaà jane sattvädhike guëäù

                                                                                                Båhat Paräçara Horä Çäçtra, satvädiguëaphalädhyäya, çloka 22

The native who is predominated by rajas guëa will be valorous, splendorous, clever, protector of holy men and ever ready for war. He who is ruled by tämas guëa is greedy, lazy and a liar. Depending on the prevalent guna in a horoscope, the work and profession of the native should be determined.

The guëas in a person undergo change and they in turn modify and alter the tatvas. These changes in guëa are reflected in the daças.  Hence dasas are nothing but the time periods which show how the guëas are changing and affecting our mind. During daças of sätvik planets, one might be attracted to or even engaged in sätvik activities and professions provide satva guëa is prevalent in the chart. Similarly daças of räjasik and tämasik planets may push a person towards such activities. The degree and intensity varies with respect to the predominant guna in the birth chart.