Life is not comprised of Duality, but a single spectrum comprised of a Triality, and the two ends of the spectrum appear similar.
One of the core and distinctive elements of Indian darshana is Triguna where Creation is described as having three modes or Gunas. This apparently simple recognition has very deep implications, and can help bring about a great deal of clarity in all matters of life. This is a foundational principle of Yoga which one should always be aware about.
To begin with, let us consider a purely physical example of the electromagnetic spectrum. At one end of the spectrum are the low-frequency radiations (radio waves, microwaves etc.) that are invisible to the human eye. Thereafter, a certain range of frequencies (the seven colours of light) is visible. And then again, the high-frequency waves that are at the other end of the spectrum (x-rays, gamma rays etc.) are invisible to us. Now if we go by the criterion of visibility, there are only two types of waves – visible and invisible. But that would misrepresent reality and lead to misapprehensions. Radio waves are invisible because it is below the visible frequency, and gamma rays are invisible because it is beyond the visible frequency. The former is low energy, and the latter is high energy; they cannot be put into the same category just because both are invisible.
The same is true with sound waves as well. We can mark three basic regions in the sound spectrum based on our hearing range: infrasound (< 20 Hz), sound, and ultrasound (> 20 kHz). The intermediate region of ‘sound’ is what is audible to us. Ultrasound is inaudible to us just the same way as infrasound is, but they cannot be clubbed together.
Just so, we can mark three basic regions in the Spectrum of Life itself, i.e., in the spectrum that represents our experience of life – dullness, turbulence and tranquility, or Tamas, Rajas and Sattva. Or going by the terminology of the sound spectrum, we can call these as infra-energy, energy and ultra-energy.
In Tamas (literally, darkness), there is lack of energy, and sluggishness; there is a feeling of nothing happening. In Rajas (literally, discoloured), there is some energy, and it becomes evident through movement and turbulence; there is a feeling of something happening. Unfortunately, these are the only two regions of our being that we spend most of our life in: infra-energy and energy; sleep and wakefulness. But if the energy is pitched up further, there is what is called as meditativeness – a very potent, blissful and lively Stillness. It is a state of heightened wakefulness which enables a more direct experience of life. Sattva literally means essence, and it also means Life. Sattva is the essence of your existence; it is aliveness. Your experience of life is enhanced only to the extent you come alive and awake.
However, just as one may erroneously group gamma rays alongside radio waves, saying that both are invisible and therefore of low-energy, an onlooker may deem someone sitting in a state of meditativeness also as ‘nothing happening’ (I do not mean that meditativeness necessarily means sitting still, but just that such a person can sit by himself). Although the personal experience of dullness and tranquility are worlds apart, some of their external characteristics may appear similar to an onlooker who is not observant enough. He may confuse ultra-energy and infra-energy, super-wakefulness and lack of wakefulness with each other.
Let us say you are a very chirpy person who runs about all day talking to everyone. Once, to take a break from your monotonous life, or for some health reasons, suppose you happened to attend a weeklong retreat away from the hustle of the city in a lovely location amidst greenery, mountains and streams. You spent time in nature, played games, sang and danced, ate healthy, went through detox procedures, practiced yogic techniques early in the morning and so on. Suppose it really went well for you, and offered you much more than you expected. When you came back home, there was an element of Sattva in you – your body was light and energetic, your heart was full, and your whole being was blissful. In that state, you entered the house and sat on the couch for a few minutes with eyes closed, simply celebrating your presence and aliveness. What do you think your family would feel? Having known you for many years, they are most likely to consider this change as something negative, as something wrong, as some kind of dullness or withdrawal. They are most likely not going to like it. Unless they are perceptive, they will be worried that you are not yapping away like before. And the fact that you appear pleasant by yourself would become a bigger worry. Today the situation is unfortunately such that if people are feeling light and joyful without any external stimulant, many can only think of some psychological issue! Some people around you will perhaps think that you have been ‘brainwashed’ by some cult or something like that. Basically, your state of Sattva will be misunderstood as Tamas.
Similarly, we can also find instances where Tamas is confused to be Sattva. And in this case the person himself may fall prey to the confusion. When we are in Sattva it is self-evident, and there is no question of confusing it with Tamas; but when we are in Tamas, we may very well fantasize that it is Sattva. Someone may be seeking isolation because of psychological depression, but may think and claim that he is getting meditative. Someone may let their imagination loose, and assume that to be extrasensory perception. And so on. Tamas and Sattva can be easily mixed up.
It is because the state of Sattva has been misapprehended as Tamas that Yoga and spirituality are largely and wrongly associated with peace – in the sense of a passive state and a mere absence of turmoil. It is true that in meditativeness there dawns a profound sense of peace from within, but it is a very vibrant state, and not paleness. Yoga is about making yourself come alive, and not rest in peace! It offers methods through which we can pitch up our intensity, consciously and sustainably, towards the ultra-energy region of Sattva so that our perceptivity levels are heightened. Otherwise, Sattva is just accidental; we go through just a few spikes of aliveness and lucidity here and there.
Swami Vivekananda observes this Sattva-Tamas semblance in a few places in his works. For e.g., “Extremes often appear similar” (1899, p. 135). This heuristic rule seems to be very fundamental to Creation with a very general applicability, and can be seen in action literally everywhere. Mixing up one extreme with the other is one of the major fouls that human intellect commits.
A few examples of this has been discussed in this video.
This misapprehension creates a lot of clutter in us, and this is one of the primary reasons why so much clarification becomes necessary in spiritual discussions. When we negate dullness, people think of turbulence, and when we negate turbulence, people think of dullness! Since mind is possessed by the idea of opposites, it does not easily realize that what spirituality is pointing at is actually ‘neither this nor that’. Contrasting two things all the time, human intellect has apparently gotten so impotent that considering three possibilities at once is also too much for it! One can notice the confusion between extremes occurring quite regularly in daily life, and we will be stumbling upon this observation in many of our discussions.
All in all, Life is not comprised of Duality, but a single spectrum comprised of a Triality, and the two ends of the spectrum appear similar.
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