guṇān etān atītya trīn dehī deha-samudbhavān
janma-mṛityu-jarā-duḥkhair vimukto ’mṛitam aśhnute || 20||

My Understanding : The three gunas—Satvaguna, Rajoguna, and Tamoguna—can be observed in the human body. Once a person begins to control their body, they will gain an understanding of how these gunas operate and affect them. The gunas influence the body, but the body is not truly “owned” by the individual; it is governed by the nature of the gunas. The gunas shape the body’s character and actions, but the person is not the ultimate creator or controller of these influences. The body functions in accordance with the workings of the gunas. Consider a person owning a house: eventually, that house will be demolished, and they should not be attached to the idea of permanence. Instead, they should focus on rebuilding it. Similarly, a woman experiences intense suffering before giving birth, but once the child is born, she moves past the pain and focuses on nurturing the new life. As a person ages, they often feel sadness and discomfort due to the body’s suffering. The centralization of the gunas in the body marks birth, while the slowing down of these forces leads to old age. When the gunas no longer act with the same intensity, it leads to death, which is simply the cessation of the body’s functions in accordance with the gunas.