Characteristic Relations of the Physical, Vital and Mental Beings to Life, Oneself and Others, Work and Facing Difficulties

Understanding the operation of the three Gunas, or qualities of Nature, is an important part of understanding yogic psychology. The Bhagavad Gita devotes considerable effort to describing the Gunas and their functionality. For most people, however, translating things like reactions, responses, attitudes, etc. into the language of the Gunas is a difficult task. This is particularly the case for Westerners who have no background or grounding in the yogic psychology and its terminology. Dr. Dalal has found a way to describe the action of the Gunas as a type of ‘attitude’ of response. He is essentially assigning the predominant quality of each Guna to a specific aspect of the being; thus, the physical being is characterized primarily by tamas; the vital being by rajas and the mental being by sattwa, in their purest and ideal forms. Of course, there is an intermixture at each level so no one represents any Guna solely, nor is any element of the complete being free from the action and qualifying ‘attitude’ of the other Gunas.

Dr. Dalal observes: “The differences among the parts of the outer being … are illustrated … in relation to attitudes towards (1) life, (2) oneself and others, (3) work, and (4) difficulties.

With respect to attitudes of the outer being towards life, the physical being exhibits “aimlessness, with life governed by habit and routine.” The vital being fixates on “pursuit of wealth, sex and power; life governed by desire.” The mental being’s attitude is governed by “pursuit of knowledge; life governed by moral and mental principles.”

With respect to oneself and others, the physical being focuses on ‘identification with the body.” The vital being identifies with ‘impulses and emotions.” The mental being focuses on “identification with the mind.”

With respect to work, the physical being sees it as a “chore, drudgery”. The vital being looks upon work as a ‘means of earning, exercising power and exhibiting one’s skills and abilities.” The mental being is concerned with ‘performance of duty, rendering a service, means of self-expression and self-improvement.”

Regarding difficulties the physical being tends to respond with ‘indifference, passive resignation, avoidance or escapism.’ The vital being responds with ‘struggle, anxiety and tension; irritability and aggression.’ The mental being acts by focusing on ‘dispassionate problem-solving.’

“Since all human beings have physical, vital and mental components in the make-up of their personality, the attitudes pertaining to these parts of the being exist in everybody. The attitudes vary in different persons in the degree of their predominance, depending on the extent to which each of the three parts of the being is dominant in a person.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Looking from Within, Introduction by Dr. Dalal, pp. viii-ix