Tridoshas & Trigunas - A Guide for Better Understanding

Indian school of perineal psychology has been one of the most ancient school of thoughts on personality. Lost in the thought currents of the western psychology, two interconnected personality theories have been thriving in the bosom of Upanishadic traditions of India. These personality models are not only explaining ‘why we are, what we are’, but gives us the guiding light on happiness and harmony of human life. Which is unlike of the most western personality theories.

In India, Ayurveda has described personality as –

A) Tridoshas: Vata – Pitta – Kapha – which is referred as the Tridosha Personality Theory.

B) Trigunas: Satva – Rajas – Tamas – which is referred as the Triguna Personality Theory.

Explaining the Tridoshas:

When the five eternal substances – space, air, fire, water and earth combine to form the human body, they do so by creating three vital energies, or doshas. These are the forces that govern all psycho-physiological functions in the body and mind respectively. They construct the body and serve to maintain it in a dynamic state of health. However, when these vital forces are aggravated, due to improper gross or subtle factors, the body- mind connection begins to suffer and the disease process begins.

Vata

It is the most powerful among the doshas. Formed by the interaction of space and air, Vata is movement, the body in motion. Warm food, moderately heavy textures, added butter and fat; salt, sour, and sweet tastes; soothing and satisfying foods, All are good for settling the disturbed Vata. Use food such as: warm milk, cream, butter, warm soups, stews, and hot cereals, fresh baked.

Pitta

Formed by the interaction of fire and water. The polarity of these two elements plays an important role for Pitta, which regulates the body metabolism and transformations in the body’s form. Cool or warm but not steaming hot foods; bitter, sweet, and astringent tastes, are what are perfect for this body type. Take cool, refreshing food in summer. Reduce the consumption of salt, oil and spices, all of which are “heating” to the body. Salads are good, so is milk and ice cream.

Kapha

It is formed by the structural properties of earth, with water in its role as a lubricant to different tissues of the body, which also aids strength and adds stamina to the body. Warm light food, dry food, cooked without much water, minimum of butter, oil and sugar are recommended for this body type. Stimulating foods with pungent, bitter and astringent tastes and deep fried foods are best avoided. Eat lightly cooked foods or raw fruits and vegetables. ‘Eat’ spicy, bitter and astringent foods. Watch out for eating that little bit extra, a typical Kapha tendency

Explaining the Trigunas:

Ayurvedic philosophy provides an idea of the creation of the universe, from which the concept of Trigunas of Nature is evolved out.

Sattva

Sattva refers to Pure hence indicates your personality type as such. Sattva Guna is the positive and spiritual quality that, when dominant, you have a natural tendency to be kind, caring, and Hence possesses Sattvic Personality. 

Sattva Guna is present in a correct proportion in you if you are:    

• Mentally Strong
• Respect your Teachers (Gurus)
• Non-violent
• Kindred
• Self-controlled
• Meditative

Rajas

Rajas people are very desirous and full of attachment. Due to their acute self-interest, sometimes they may face difficulties in differentiating between right and wrong. It is called Rajasic Personality.

Rajas Guna is in the balanced proportion if you are:

• Enthusiast
• Deeply Interested
• Dedicated to Work
• Restless
• Self-centered
• Achiever

Tamas

Tamas means Darkness, which indicates the psychological state of Illusion, negativity, dullness, and inactivity. 

The state of the dominance of Tamas Guna is indicated by the 

• selfish 
• uncaring 
• cynical behavior 

& hence called Tamasic Personality.

To know more about your Trigunas and Tridoshas attempt this test at https://brainberg.in/i-persona/ and get a report of your own.

Psychometric Assessments

Have you ever heard of the words, Psychometric Assessment? If not, these long words may seem really scary with some heavy meaning. But you don’t have to worry, we are here to help you out and explain what really psychometric assessment is!

Simply put, psychometric assessment has a bunch of tests which calculate different things about the person taking the test. These tests are of different types which we will learn more about further in this article.

They may measure what kind of personality you have, for example, if you like hanging out with people more or if you like to stay at home and read in quiet places; if you get nervous easily or if you can stay calm even in stressful situations; if you like to explore new things and people or if you like to stay with the people you know and do things the way you always do, etc.

A psychometric test may measure your level of knowledge in a certain subject like, mathematics or a language, or even your overall intelligence level for your age. It may calculate the level of skills you have in a specific area, such as your communication skills, how well you can talk formally with people, or your technical skills, how well you can use particular software on a computer.

A psychometric test can even measure your stress levels and motivation levels; how do you deal with stressful situation and how much motivated you feel when studying or working. We can make plans on how to do better in the areas we are lesser in based on the test results. The students who are at the age of deciding their careers especially need to take psychometric tests, so they can know more about their own interests and skills. This will help them to make right decision about which stream of further study they want to take; they will also be aware of what career options they have.

Psychometric tests basically tell you what talents you have, how good or bad you are in something, what your strong areas are, how your nature is, etc. It gives you more information about yourself that you may not know before. All you have to do is solve or answer the questions in the test honestly. So the person taking your test can calculate your results and help you learn more about yourself.

Our regular school exams focus more on the book knowledge and how well a student can remember and learn it. Other parts of his/her personality and the abilities he/she may have are usually ignored. So we need to do a more complete evaluation of a person to know about their strengths and weaknesses. Psychometric assessment does just that for you. It helps you to know what your capabilities are and a good career counselor can help you in using those capabilities to your benefit.

Aptitude is the potential or the future ability of a person to do better in certain field of study or a skill. Many schools these days let their students take aptitude tests in the higher grades like 8^th, 9^th, or 10^th standards. These tests help them in understanding where and how well they can do, career-wise.

In today’s world, we need to prepare our children for the harsh reality check. Psychometric tests help you in that by telling you where to work more and improve the skills that the children already have. By knowing what things your child likes to do, you can help him/her follow that as a career. And a person does far better when he/she has interest in and likes the work he/she does.

There are different types of psychometric tests available in market nowadays.

1.     Intelligence (IQ) tests: These are the most commonly used psychometric tests. They measure your intelligence in particular areas, such as, mathematics, language, etc., and also your overall intelligence. They can also measure your memory and other intellectual abilities.

2.     Aptitude and Ability tests: These tests calculate your skills or abilities in certain area, such as your logical ability, problem solving, etc. They also measure your aptitude in a certain field of study. How well you will be able to do if you chose that career.

3.     Personality tests: These tests tell you more about your own nature and personality. What qualities you have that can help you more if you chose a certain career. They can help you understand why you behave like you usually do. How you would react in certain situations.

4.     Interest inventories: These are the tests that help you in understanding where your interests actually are, what professions and career options are better for you based on your interests.

5.     Stress batteries: These are the tests that tell you about your stress levels. How well you can deal with stressful situations. What career options are better for you based on that?

6.      Emotional Intelligence tests: EQ or Emotional quotient is something that has become important in recent times. It is an ability to understand, manage, and use our own emotions and feelings in a good way. It helps us build strong relations with others, make good decisions, and deal with difficult situations. Knowing and improving our EQ can help us choose proper career and do extremely well in that career. 

Benefits of Psychometric Assessment:

1.     As stated above, psychometric tests give complete information about the person taking the tests. They focus on the whole instead of just certain parts like our regular schools exams.

2.     Psychometric tests are completely neutral and impartial. There is no chance of personal opinions and errors to get in the way of correct results. They are completely objective.

3.     They help us to understand our own skills, talents, interests, and abilities in a way nothing else can. We can then make right decision to select a proper career path based on our strengths and interests.

4.     They are very cost-effective. As it only takes little time to give a psychometric test and get results, we save a lot of time. Most tests are affordable, so we save money as well and that too while making proper decisions about our children’s futures.

5.     As these tests are made scientifically and by following all the rules and regulations, the results of the tests are almost always correct. There is almost no possibility of errors or mistakes.

We are now living in a world where it is becoming quite normal for us to get psychometric assessment done. It is important for our children to have good future and psychometric assessment is the way to go for that. So, we have no other option than being aware about this ever-growing service industry and making use of it for our and our children’s better future!