The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v2.c40.s7.t2.8

v2.c40.s7.t2.8

It is, however, unnecessary to consider further the contradictions of the Sāṁkhya, and it is only requisite to note that in the nature of Prakṛti there is supposed to be contained a triad of constituent factors, Guṇas, literally 'threads' rather than 'determinant qualities', which in the passive condition of Prakṛti are in a quiescent state of equilibrium, but which in the process of evolution develop differently in the several psychic apparatuses, producing, therefore, the very varied characters of men and of life. These factors are Sattva, the light, the intellectual principle, Rajas, the active and emotional principle, and Tamas, the dark and gloomy principle. The terms are wholly indefinite and unphilosophical, and the use made of them in practice is mainly psychical, whereas, as constituents of Prakṛti, they ought to have received some different cosmic sense, such as that of conditional being, energy, and inertia, suggested by Hopkins.¹ Their importance in the system, however, cannot be underestimated, and it is significant that, while Çaṅkara rejects definitely the validity of these principles, they are accepted by the later school of Vedānta and interwoven with the Vedānta philosophy.²