The Guna framework is drawn from the Sankhya school of Indian philosophy. This philosophy states that the entire physical universe, including the human mind, is composed of three basic constituents (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas) termed Gunas. Dr.S Radhakrishnan explained the 12 dimensions of Gunas as below,
1. Faith: The faith of each individual corresponds to his or her temperament. Sattva makes one worship gods and thus value all godly tendencies; Rajas shows inclination towards power and wealth, and Tamas towards ghostly spirits.
2. Food: Sattvic people like food that increases their vital force, energy, strength, appetite, and health. Such food is juicy, soothing, savoury, fresh, and agreeable. Rajasic people prefer food that is violently bitter, sour, salty, hot, pungent, acidic, and burning. Such food causes pain, bitterness, ill health, and distemper of mind and body. Tamasic people take pleasure in food that is stale, tasteless, cold, insipid, putrid, rotten, and impure.
3. Sacrifice: Sattva dominates when people offer sacrifice willingly as a duty without desire for fruits thereof. Rajas inspires sacrifice that is performed for outward show and in the hope of divine reward. Sacrifice that is performed without faith and with complete disregard to scriptural instructions is driven by Tamas.
4. Austerity: Austerity guided by Sattva is three-fold—of body, of mind, and of speech. Austerity of body makes one revere gods and scholars and practice straightforwardness, harmlessness, physical cleanliness, and sexual purity. Austerity of mind withdraws one from sense objects and inspires integrity of motive, serenity, sympathy, and meditation. Austerity of speech inspires spiritual study and use of words that do not hurt others and are true and agreeable. Austerity guided by Rajas is practised for ostentation and for gaining praise and honour. It is fleeting and unstable. Austerity driven by Tamas is practised with foolish obsessions of torturing oneself or hurting others.
5. Gift: Gift given as a matter of duty, without expectation of any return, at a suitable place and time, and to the deserving person is said to be inspired by Sattva. Gift that is given either with the hope of receiving in return or with a view of winning merit or grudgingly is driven by Rajas. From Tamas comes the gift that is given to an unworthy person at the wrong time and place disdainfully, without regard to the feelings of the person who receives it.
6. Obligatory work: Sattva is dominant when one does obligatory work with a sense of duty, abandoning attachment to the outcomes. Rajas makes a person shirk from difficult work from fear of pain or bodily trouble. Tamas leads to total abandonment of one’s allotted task due to delusion.
7. Knowledge: Knowledge guided by Sattva enables one to see the underlying oneness in all things despite the superficial diversities. Knowledge guided by Rajas makes one see various entities of distinct kinds and many souls in different beings. Tamas shrouds all knowledge rendering one incapable of seeing either the different souls or the underlying oneness.
8. Action: Sattva prompts one to act with non-attachment. Rajas makes one act with self-conceit for want of fruits thereof. Such action involves much dissipation of energy. Tamas makes one act in delusion without assessing one’s capabilities to perform the same and be heedless of harm to others.
9. Agent: An agent who is free from attachment, non-egoistic, endued with fortitude and enthusiasm, and unaffected by success or failure is inspired by Sattva. Likewise, agents in Rajas are passionate, greedy, malignant, impure, and easily elated or dejected. Those under Tamas are unsteady, vulgar, arrogant, dishonest, malicious, indolent, despondent, and procrastinating.
10. Intellect: People whose intellect is guided by Sattva know the path of work and renunciation, right and wrong action, fear and fearlessness, and bondage and liberation. When Rajas dominates, the intellect decides erroneously between right and wrong and when the conscience is so thickly wrapped in ignorance that it mistakes wrong for right and sees everything distorted, then it has the nature of Tamas.
11. Determination: Determination inspired by Sattva never wavers. People with this kind of determination gain control over their mind, vital energies, and senses. Rajas-inspired determination makes one seek wealth or do duty looking for reward and personal advantage. Determination inspired by Tamas is nothing but obstinacy. It makes a person stubbornly refuse to shake off dullness, fear, grief, low spirits or vanity.
12. Happiness: Sattva drives happiness that is experienced through realization of the ultimate reality. Such happiness may be attained after strict self-schooling and toil; such realization is not easy, but once achieved, it gives deep delight. Happiness in Rajas arises from the contact of objects with senses and is short-lived, ultimately graduating into pain. Bred from Tamas is brutish contentment in stupor and sloth and obstinate error. Such happiness begins and results in self-delusion.
