Ayurvedic Psychology  ·  Resources

Your Dosha, Gunas and Life Goals

20th October 2019

The Nakshatra Wheel

 

Your Three Birthdate Gunas, Life Purpose and Energetic Constitution According to Vedic Astrology and Ayurveda

Use the table at the bottom of this page to find out which Three Gunas, Dosha and life purpose are associated with your birthdate to help explain your personality and what drives you.

 

The Three Gunas – The Qualities of Psychology

Each manifestation in the universe is formed of three gunas or qualities. This includes your personality.

Tamas:

  • Tamasic states include: laziness, inertia, depression, helplessness, doubt, guilt, shame, boredom, addiction, hurt, sadness, apathy, confusion, grief, dependency, resistance to change
  • Tamas means ‘ignorance’ or ‘darkness’

Rajas:

  • Rajasic states include: anger, anxiety, stress, fear, irritation, worry, restlessness, rumination, chaos, over-excitement, nervousness, jealousy, busy-mind, impatience, craving
  • Rajas means ‘pollen of the flowers’ indicating that flowers have the ability to create new flowers, therefore rajas is the quality of creativity and seeking

Sattva:

  • Sattvic states include: balance, purity, happiness, joy, peace, wellness, freedom, love, compassion, equanimity, empathy, truth, focus, self-control, trust, calmness, friendliness
  • Sattva means ‘Sat’ = ‘being’ and ‘Va’ = ‘where purity dwells’

 

Currently, one of the gunas is dominant in your life (take a quiz to find out which) and it may differ to the guna triplicity you were born with (see table below)

 

“Take anger. I may be furious, pacing the room up and down; at the same time I know what I am, a centre of wisdom and love, an atom of pure existence. All subsides and the mind merges into silence… Anger came and dissolved on my remembering myself. It is all a play of gunas (qualities of cosmic matter). When I identify myself with [the gunas], I am their slave. When I stand apart, I am their master.”

– Nisargadatta Maharaj (Advaita guru)

The Four Life Goals in Hinduism (chaturvarga)

There are four purposes of life to which each individual is born and which each of us has to experience:

  • Dharma (duty) – the ability to take the right action in life, duty to others and to ourselves
  • Artha (material gain) – goals orientated around work, career, and financial matters
  • Kama (physical and sense pleasures) – desires and needs on a practical level, passion: sexual, religious, for life
  • Moksha (release or salvation) – enlightenment, nirvana, transcending the physical life to attain higher Awareness

Ayurvedic Doshas

The three doshas are energies present within the body and mind. Maintaining the balance of each dosha allows the body systems to work effectively. All of the doshas can be found in everybody, but different people have more of some doshas than others – this determines a person’s constitution (or “prakriti” in Sanskrit). The doshas and gunas combine to affect personality. Although you have all three doshas inside you, you have a primary, secondary, and tertiary dosha. You may relate more to a specific dosha in your mind and another in your body. The dosha you have today may be different from the one you were born with. The Doshas form the foundation of Ayurvedic Psychology.

 

  • Vata (wind) – the natural qualities of vata are action, sensation, and enthusiasm, perception, enthusiasm, inspiration, communication, exercise and action. Mentally, Vatas are extremely creative.
  • Pitta (fire) – suppleness of body, cheerfulness, intelligence and vision. Mentally, Pittas are very driven.
  • Kapha (water) – stability of the body, potency, strength, suppleness of joints, calmness and forbearance. Mentally, Kaphas are very compassionate.

Take the Dosha personality quiz here

How are the Gunas and Doshas connected?

  • Rajas is connected to Vata and movement, hence these individuals’ constant desire for change.
  • Sattva is connected to Pitta and associated with the ability to concentrate for long periods.
  • Tamas is connected to Kapha and can make an individual slow and deliberate with a tendency to dislike change.

Your Dosha-Guna combination may be different. “These qualities greatly influence your mental state. For example, if you are predominantly vata and sattvic, then the qualities of vata that you’ll notice most are your creativity, clear thinking, and lightness. If you are predominantly vata and rajasic, then you will likely feel anxiety, fear, and hyperactivity—the more mobile effects of vata. If you are predominantly vata and tamasic, you could feel sadness, grief, and confusion.” – Heidi E Spear

The Cosmic Forces of Ayurveda

Prana, Tejas and Ojas are the more subtle forms of these three doshas, which have an influence on the mind. These forces are the mental forms of the Doshas. 

  • Ojas – expressed as vitality, endurance, fertility, and patience (all qualities of Kapha)
  • Tejas – expressed as courage, intellect, drive, and radiance (qualities of Pitta)
  • Prana – expressed as creativity, lightness, enthusiasm, and intuition (qualities of Vata)

Ojas is the mental form of Kapha. Tejas is the mental form of Pitta. Prana is the mental form of Vata.

Agni

According to Ayurveda, the secret to health lies in the digestive system. The Ayurvedic word for digestion is the Sanskrit term for fire, agni. In an Ayurvedic Psychology sense, not only does agni digest food, but also emotions, senses, and experiences. If your agni is not burning bright, you feel stuck and depleted, both physically and mentally. Unprocessed emotions are just as harmful as unprocessed foods, adding heaviness and toxicity to the mind and body. (Source:  Sahara Rose Ketab)

Agni has several emotional functions listed in Ayurveda:

  • Shauryam: Confidence, courage, bravery
  • Harshna: Joy, cheerfulness, laughter, happiness
  • Dhariyam: Patience, stability, balance
  • Buddhikara: Logic, mental reasoning, discrimination
  • Prasada: Mental clarity, comprehension, consistency
  • Raga: Enthusiasm, interest, affection, colorful personality

When agni is imbalanced, you experience the opposite of the emotional functions listed above:

  • Ashauryam: Fear, anxiety (Vata related)
  • Aharshna: Depression, sadness (Kapha related)
  • Adhirata: Impatience (Pitta related) or sloppiness (Kapha related)
  • Buddhihara: Indecisiveness (Vata related)
  • Vishada: Confusion, scatter-mindedness, inconsistency (Vata related)
  • Viraga: Withdrawal, depression (Kapha related)

 

“In order to realize That which is already with you, surrender to your consciousness and propitiate it. Then you will achieve all the four principal objects of human existence (Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha).”

– Nisargadatta Maharaj

‘The principle is that within the body, consciousness and the prana or life force together are atman. I call it antahkarana, “psyche.”‘

– Nisargadatta Maharaj

“When the Unmanifest manifests, it is called saguna-brahman. This brahman principle is ample, plenty and manifest and comprises the five elements, three gunas and prakriti-purush [Matter and Spirit]… “

– Nisargadatta Maharaj

“…when the mind is pure, the language of the sages becomes intelligible. Without such purification, it is not possible to understand the sages. And, ultimately, that purification leads to Self-knowledge, to the Self.”

– Nisargadatta Maharaj

The Effect of Your Guna Composition

  • If all the three levels of gunas are identical, there’s a concentration of the quality
  • If two gunas are the same, then the third guna helps to bring balance
  • If all are different, you will have many characteristics and the mind moves with the three qualities continually

Primary Guna, Secondary Guna and Tertiary Guna

  • Primary level guna (physical): the one whose quality is most evident and which others perceive
  • Secondary level guna (mental): expresses concealed mental attitudes and helps to produce ideas and thoughts
  • Third level guna (spiritual): expresses a deeper, internal level, that stays hidden from others

This Table Shows Which Gunas, Doshas and Life Goals Are Associated With Your Birthdate

BirthdayPrimary Guna (Physical)Secondary Guna (Mental)Tertiary Guna (Spiritual)Aim / DesireAyurvedic Dosha
28 December to 11 JanuarySattvaRajasTamasMokshaPitta
11 January to 24 January SattvaRajasSattvaMokshaKapha
24 January to 6 FebruarySattvaTamasRajasArthaKapha
6 February to 19 February SattvaTamasTamasDharmaKapha
19 February to 4 MarchSattvaTamasSattvaDharmaVata
4 March to 17 MarchSattvaSattvaRajasArthaVata
17 March to 31 MarchSattvaSattvaTamasKamaPitta
31 March to 13 AprilSattvaSattvaSattvaMokshaKapha
13 April to 27 AprilRajasRajasRajasDharmaVata
27 April to 11 MayRajasRajasTamasArthaPitta
11 May to 25 MayRajasRajasSattvaKamaKapha
25 May to 8 JuneRajasTamasRajasMokshaKapha
8 June to 21 JuneRajasTamasTamasMokshaPitta
21 June to 5 JulyRajasTamasSattvaKamaVata
5 July to 19 JulyRajasSattvaRajasArthaVata
19 July to 2 AugustRajasSattvaTamasDharmaPitta
2 August to 16 AugustRajasSattvaSattvaDharmaKapha
16 August to 30 AugustTamasRajasRajasArthaKapha
30 August to 13 SeptemberTamasRajasTamasKamaPitta
13 September to 26 SeptemberTamasRajasSattvaMokshaVata
26 September to 10 OctoberTamasTamasRajasMokshaVata
10 October to 23 OctoberTamasTamasTamasKamaPitta
23 October to 6 November TamasTamasSattvaArthaKapha
6 November to 19 NovemberTamasSattvaRajasDharmaKapha
19 November to 2 DecemberTamasSattvaTamasDharmaPitta
2 December to 15 DecemberTamasSattvaSattvaArthaVata
15 December to 28 December SattvaRajasRajasKamaVata

(Source: Komilla Sutton)

Now, take the Three Gunas Personality Quiz to see how the gunas are influencing your life right now (click here)

 


Nic Higham

Nic Higham is a nondual therapist and coach in Leicester, UK whose work is based on the Nisarga Yoga of Nisargadatta Maharaj.