The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (892 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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(Skt., ‘strand’ or ‘cord’). In Hindu
S
kyha
, the three components, qualities, or attributes (i.e.
sattva
,
tamas
, and
r
jas
) of material nature (
prak
ti
). Everything mental and physical consists of these three gu
as in varying degrees; only pure consciousness (
puru
a
) is without attributes (
nirgu
a
). Disturbance of the equilibrium of the gu
as is the cause of creation, and all of creation can be classified according to the predominance of one of the three gu
as.
In Jainism, gu
a is one of the qualities which apparent objects exhibit: any substance (
dravya
) has certain gu
as which appear in different modes (
par
ya
).

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