There is a particular phenomenon that manifests from these three rhythms of the mind, which each has its particular influence. The three qualities of the mind--slow, gentle, and quick--are the outcome of the three Gunas, as they are called in Sanskrit: Satva, Rajas, and Tarnas.

There is one person to whom we may say something and he answers, "Will you give me time to think it over? May I tell you about it tomorrow?" The answer that he will give us will surely be of some worth. There is another person who has heard us say something and he says, "And then, what then?" and then we go on speaking, and while we are saying something else he is thinking about what has struck his mind. By the time we have finished our conversation he has found a proper answer to what we said first. And there is a third man who answers us even before we have finished our sentence; far from thinking about what we have said, he has not even heard it. He has at once formed an opinion on it and promptly gives an answer. Such a man may easily make a mistake.