The Advaitist

In the universal condition of nature Gunas are the substance of all things, in the individual manifestation they are the psychological basis of all things. Sattva Guna is the abstract principle of illumination. In the mental world it accounts for joy, pleasure, enlightenment, detachment, compassion and pure action. Rajas Guna is the abstract principle of activity which moves either of the other gunas to suppress each other. In the mental world it accounts for attachment, heedlessness, falsehood and all craving of senses. Tamas Guna is the abstract principle of restraint. In the mental world it accounts for indolence, delusion, ignorance etc. The individual proceeds from the universal condition of Purusha/ Prakriti to manifesting as Jiva. Man therefore has two aspects, subtle and gross. The subtle body known as the Linga Sharira is the vehicle of the Jiva and survives the destruction of the physical body. It is constant and does not change throughout the cycles of life and death. Howe...

Prakriti is the Cause of the manifestation of the Manifest Universe and Purusha is the seat of Universal Consciousness which the witness to Manifest Existence. When Prakriti manifests it goes through three steps: a. creation b. maintenance c. involution Therefore for each of these there must be some constituent which would account for the diversified objects of nature. These are the three Gunas, which are like strands or strings. Sattva guna is the cause of equilibrium. Rajas guna is the cause of motion and change. Tamas guna is the cause of resistance. These gunas inhere in Prakriti in a tightly coiled state and come into play by specific activations during the process of creation or involution.