Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati Kapilopadesha, 2, 10 Prakriti is constituted of the three Gunas of Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. It is imperceptible, not being apprehended by any organ of knowledge, but it exists eternally, as it provides the basis and substance for all objects in their causal and effectual conditions. These are described in Aswamedha Parva, Sections 34 to 39 in Mahabharata. Brahma (the Grandsire Prajapati) said: Darkness, Passion and Goodness–these are called the three qualities. Darkness should be known to have the night (or obscurity) for its essence. It is otherwise called Delusion. It has unrighteousness (or sin) also for its indication, and it is always present in all sinful acts. This is the nature of Darkness and it appears also as confined with others. Passion is said to have activity for its essence. It is the cause of successive acts. When it prevails, its indication, among all beings, is production. Splendour, lightness and faith – these are the form, that is light, of Goodness among all creatures, as regarded by all good men. Tamas (Darkness) Complete delusion, ignorance, illiberality, indecision in respect of action, sleep, haughtiness, fear, cupidity, grief, censure of good acts, loss of memory, unripeness of judgment, absence of faith, violation of all rules of conduct, want of discrimination, blindness, vileness of behaviour, boastful assertions of performance when there has been no performance, presumption of knowledge in ignorance, unfriendliness (or hostility), evilness of disposition, absence of faith, stupid reasoning, crookedness, incapacity for association, sinful action, senselessness, stolidity, lassitude, absence of self-control, degradation, - all these qualities are known as belonging to Darkness (Tamas). Rajas (Passion) Brahma said: I shall now declare to you accurately what the quality of Passion (Rajas) is. Injuring others, beauty, toil, pleasure and pain, cold and heat, lordship (or power), war, peace, arguments, dissatisfaction, endurance, might, valour, pride, wrath, exertion, quarrel, jealousy, desire, malice, battle, the sense of meum or mineness, protection of others, slaughter, bonds, and affliction, buying and selling, lopping off, cutting, piercing and cutting off the coat of mail that another has worn, fierceness, cruelty, vilifying, pointing out the faults of others, thoughts entirely devoted to worldly affairs, anxiety, animosity, reviling of others, false speech, false or vain gifts, hesitancy or doubts, boastfulness of speech, praise and criticisms, laudation, prowess, defiance, attendance (as on the weak and the sick), obedience (to the commands of preceptors and parents), service or ministrations, harbouring of thirst or desire, cleverness or dexterity of conduct, policy heedlessness, contumely, possessions, and diverse decorations that prevail in the world among men, women, animals, inanimate things, houses, grief, incredulousness, vows and regulations, actions with expectation (of good result), diverse acts of public charity, the rites in respect of Swaha salutations, rites of Swadha and Vashat, officiating at the sacrifices of others, imparting of instruction, performance of sacrifices, study, making of gifts, acceptance of gifts, rites of expiation, auspicious acts, the wish to have this and that, affection generated by the merits of the object for which or whom it is felt, treachery, deception, disrespect and respect, theft, killing, desire of concealment, vexation, wakefulness, ostentation, haughtiness, attachment, devotion, contentment, exultation, gambling, indulgence in scandal, all relations arising out of women, attachment to dancing, instrumental music and songs – all these qualities have been said to belong to the quality of Passion (Rajas). Sattwa (Goodness) Brahma (the Grandsire Prajapati) said: Sattwa is beneficial to all creatures in the world, and unblamable, and constitutes the conduct of those that are good. Joy, satisfaction, nobility, enlightenment, and happiness, absence of stinginess, absence of fear, contentment, disposition for faith, forgiveness, courage, abstention from injuring any creature, equability, truth, straightforwardness, absence of wrath, absence of malice, purity, cleverness, prowess- these appertain to the quality of Goodness (Sattwa). He who is devoted to the duty of Yoga, regarding knowledge to be vain, conduct to be vain, service to be vain, and mode of life to be vain, attains to what is highest in the world hereafter. Freedom from the idea of meum (mineness), freedom from egoism, freedom from expectations, looking upon all with an equal eye, and freedom from desire, - these constitute the eternal religion of the good.
There are three Gunas or modes of nature: Sattva: the mode of goodness Rajas: the mode of passion Tamas: the mode of ignorance These three modes are clearly delineated in the Bhagavad-gita Chapter 14. TEXT 5 Material nature consists of the three modes--goodness, passion and ignorance. When the living entity comes in contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these modes. TEXT 6 O sinless one, the mode of goodness being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode develop knowledge, but they become conditioned by the concept of happiness. TEXT 7 The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kunti, and because of this one is bound to material fruitive activities. TEXT 8 O son of Bharata, the mode of ignorance causes the delusion of all living entities. The result of this mode is madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul. TEXT 9 The mode of goodness conditions one to happiness, passion conditions him to the fruits of action, and ignorance to madness. TEXT 10 Sometimes the mode of passion becomes prominent, defeating the mode of goodness, O son of Bharata. And sometimes the mode of goodness defeats passion, and at other times the mode of ignorance defeats goodness and passion. In this way there is always competition for supremacy. TEXT 11 The manifestations of the mode of goodness can be experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge. TEXT 12 O chief of the Bharatas, when there is an increase in the mode of passion, the symptoms of great attachment, uncontrollable desire, hankering, and intense endeavor develop. TEXT 13 O son of Kuru, when there is an increase in the mode of ignorance, madness, illusion, inertia and darkness are manifested. TEXT 14 When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets. TEXT 15 When one dies in the mode of passion, he takes birth among those engaged in fruitive activities; and when he dies in the mode of ignorance, he takes birth in the animal kingdom. TEXT 16 By acting in the mode of goodness, one becomes purified. Works done in the mode of passion result in distress, and actions performed in the mode of ignorance result in foolishness. TEXT 17 From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; and from the mode of ignorance, foolishness, madness and illusion develop. TEXT 18 Those situated in the mode of goodness gradually go upward to the higher planets; those in the mode of passion live on the earthly planets; and those in the mode of ignorance go down to the hellish worlds. TEXT 19 When you see that there is nothing beyond these modes of nature in all activities and that the Supreme Lord is transcendental to all these modes, then you can know My spiritual nature. TEXT 20 When the embodied being is able to transcend these three modes, he can become free from birth, death, old age and their distresses and can enjoy nectar even in this life.
