Personality Types And Features Based On Satva, Rajas, Tamas

By Vd.A.Rangaprasad Bhat
The physical features are categorized as Dosha body types (Prakruti) as per Ayurveda. Similarly, mental aspects are categorized into different types based on qualities of Satva, Rajas and Tamas.  

Types of Satva

Types of basic Traits of satva (mind):
The satva is of three types namely
1. Shuddham (satva),
2. Rajasam (satva),
3. tāmasamiti (satva)|

Sanskrit verse

tatra śuddhamadoṣamākhyātaṃ kalyāṇāṃśatvāt – The suddha satva is devoid of any negativity, and  relates to happy state of mind.

rājasaṃ sadoṣamākhyātaṃ roṣāṃśatvāt, – The rājasa satva expresses negative traits and relates to  raged stated / angered state of mind)

tāmasamapi sadoṣamākhyātaṃ mohāṃśatvāt| – The tāmasa satva expresses negative traits and relates to confused state of mind.

These three, if gets categorized based on the individual traits expressed by them, the total number of satvas (personalities) will become infinite.

Based on the mutual percentage of variable and constants and their mutual compliance with the physical charectaristics, either the physique complies with the satva or the satva confirms with the physique mutually.

Only hence to illustrate the traits of satva, several unfamiliar characterization and illustrations have been used to name a specific collection of traits into a types of satva. Because a physical reaction to a given social circumstance of an incidence,  influences the mind to react, or else gets influenced by the mind to enact the reaction.

Sub category of the satva

इत्यपरिसङ्ख्येयभेदानां त्रयाणामपि सत्त्वानां भेदैकदेशो व्याख्यातः; शुद्धस्य सत्त्वस्य सप्तविधो
Though the individual traits of personalility have been said to be innumerable, the broader 3 groups of satva have been further sub classified into  seven types of saTva (shuddha);  six of rAjasa; and three of tAmasa traits.

The sub types of śuddha, rājasa & tāmasa satva:
ब्रह्मर्षिशक्रयमवरुणकुबेरगन्धर्वसत्त्वानुकारेण, राजसस्य षड्विधो दैत्यपिशाचराक्षससर्पप्रेतशकुनिसत्त्वानुकारेण, तामसस्य त्रिविधः पशुमत्स्यवनस्पतिसत्त्वानुकारेण, कथं च यथासत्त्वमुपचारः स्यादिति||च.शा.४/४०||

Shuddha Satva types

śuddhasya sattvasya saptavidho – The Suddha satva aka SAtvika satva has been grouped into the following 7 categories – based on the mutual and synchronous involvement of the mind and physique, in being a cause for exhibiting the collective traits of  personality.
1. Brahma
2. Rishi
3. Shakra
4. yama
5. Varuṇa
6. Kubera
7. Gandharva – sattva

Rajasika Satva types

The rājasika satva  has been grouped into the following 6 categories – based on the mutual and synchronous involvement of the mind and physique, in being a cause for exhibiting the collective traits of  personality.
1.daitya
2.piśāca
3.rākṣasa
4.sarpa
5.preta
6.śakuni -sattvānukāreṇa,

Tamasika Satva types

tāmasasya trividhaḥ –  The tāmasika satva  has been grouped into the following 6 categories – based on the mutual and synchronous involvement of the mind and physique, in being a cause for exhibiting the collective traits of  personality.

1.paśu
2.matsya
3.vanaspati – sattvānukāreṇa,

The nomenclature of the in born personality traits of Ayurveda, may sound little bit outmoded and classical when viewed from the eyes of the readers who have been exposed to modern methodology of teaching with Physics, chemistry, biology. The periodical literature need to be understood from the nomenclature of the classification from the periodical view, to beget the essence of the study. To a mind exposed in the field of psychology one might be able to see – Sigmund Freud’s – conscious, preconscious, unconscious (now known as subconscious) levels of consciousness. Further, traits explained by Myers Brigs (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism & openness) could also be acknowledged for its existence in the groups of traits being mentioned in Ayurveda.

Personality also refers to the pattern of thoughts, feelings, social adjustments, and behaviors consistently exhibited over time that strongly influences one’s expectations, self-perceptions, values, and attitudes. It can be inborn in origin getting influenced by the social or environmental factors and adapting to the exposure of the same. It also predicts human reactions to other people, problems, and stress. There is still no universal consensus on the definition of “personality” in psychology.

The behaviorist approach views personality as a pattern of learned behaviors acquired through either classical (Pavlovian) or operant (Skinnerian) conditioning and shaped by reinforcement in the form of rewards or punishment. A relatively recent extension of behaviorism, the cognitive-behavioral approach emphasizes the role cognition plays in the learning process. Cognitive and social learning theorists focus not only on the outward behaviors people demonstrate but also on their expectations and their thoughts about others, themselves, and their own behavior. For example, one variable in the general theory of personality developed by social learning theorist Julian B. Rotter is internal-external orientation. “Internals” think of themselves as controlling events, while “externals” view events as largely outside their control. Like phenomenological theorists, those who take a social learning approach also emphasize people’s perceptions of themselves and their abilities (a concept called “self-efficacy” by Albert Bandura). Another characteristic that sets the cognitive-behavioral approach apart from traditional forms of behaviorism is its focus on learning that takes place in social situations through observation and reinforcement, which contrasts with the dependence of classical and operant conditioning models on laboratory research.

The study of personality has a broad and varied history in psychology with an abundance of theoretical traditions. The major theories include dispositional (trait) perspective, psychodynamic, humanistic, biological, behaviorist, evolutionary, and social learning perspective. However, many researchers and psychologists do not explicitly identify themselves with a certain perspective and instead take an eclectic approach. Research in this area is empirically driven, such as dimensional models, based on multivariate statistics, such as factor analysis, or emphasizes theory development, such as that of the psychodynamic theory. There is also a substantial emphasis on the applied field of personality testing. In psychological education and training, the study of the nature of personality and its psychological development is usually reviewed as a prerequisite to courses in abnormal psychology or clinical psychology. (use hyper link at appropriate level and word.
Read related: Sub types of personalities based on Satva, Rajas And Tamas

By Vd.A.Rangaprasad Bhat
“Padmanilayam”, (Ayurveda & Non Conventional Marma Chikitsa Clinic) 49/46,
Kanagaraya Malaiyappan St,
Raja Annamalaipuram,
Mandavelipakkam, Chennai- 600028.
Email: drrangaprasadbhat@gmail.com