Spiritual Compass

The Three Qualities of Life

In our modern, materialistic world it is easy to separate spirituality from everyday life, but this book encourages spirituality to be a part of our ordinary, everyday existence. It needs to be implicitly present in business, in politics, in farming, in cooking, and in relationships. To illustrate this, Satish Kumar draws on the Indian Ayurvedic tradition which characterizes the mind as having three gunas, or primary qualities: sattva (characterized by calmness, clarity and purity), rajas (energy and passion), and tamas (dullness and ignorance). These qualities can be applied to work and the environment. When we see ourselves in the light of the three gunas, they can orient us toward the direction in which we wish to go. They can help us to recover the art of living, and lead us towards a peaceful and contented existence. Extending the meaning of spirtuality further, Satish explains that there is no dualism between spirit and matter—all matter is imbued with spirit, and spirit manifests through matter. This integrated world-view forms the core of his book.