Image Credit: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Introduction:
Krishna discusses the "three modes of material nature" in detail in the Bhagavad-gita. These are subtle influences that have an impact on our behaviour as well as every area of our physical, mental, and emotional states. Guna, "rope," is the Sanskrit term for these forces, and the Gita explains how they pull us in many directions, even against our better judgement.
The Three Modes of Material Nature:
The characteristics of various modes are listed in the table below. One's mode can be determined by studying one's behaviour and likes and dislikes.
- Sattva Guna - Mode of Goodness
- Raja Guna - Mode of Passion
- Tama Guna - Mode of Ignorance
How do we identify a specific mode?
According to Krishna in Bhagavad Gita 14.6, the attributes of the mode of goodness include enjoyment, wisdom, and freedom from sin. So, if a person is in a good mood, he will be naturally joyful. It is unnecessary to obtain a gorgeous woman, a lovely home, or a wonderful career to be happy. If you are in the mode of goodness, you will be naturally cheerful and knowledgeable. You will not commit any sins.
In contrast, if you are in a state of passion, you will have an abundance of cravings. You will never do anything until there is a profit to be made. In a state of ignorance, a person goes insane, is destructive, and sleeps a lot.
Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita 14.11 that in the mode of goodness, knowledge illuminates all the gates of the body. Our bodies have nine gates: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, a mouth, anus, and genital. These are referred to as gates because when a person dies, the soul exits through one of these entrances. So we dwell in this city with nine gates, all of which are illuminated in a good way. That is, we do not wish to see anything nonsense, listen to anything nonsense, or talk anything rubbish. We have no desire to engage in these filthy activities in our good mood.
Similarly, BG 14.12 states that while you are in a mode of passion, you will have a strong attachment to your action. You will go to great lengths to satisfy your irrepressible urges. In Srimad Bhagavatam, this rigorous labour is equated to that of a donkey. And the last one, there is only darkness in the mode of ignorance.
Destination based on the three modes:
Krishna describes people's destinations in various manners in Bhagavad Gita 14.14. If you are in goodness mode, you will reach higher planets after death, i.e. the celestial planets. After fulfilling one's destiny there, one is obliged to return to this terrestrial planet. Because of his religiosity, a soul may sometimes ascend to higher planets such as Jana Loka, Tapa Loka, Mahar Loka, and Satya Loka. There, one can live for trillions of years till the conclusion of Brahma's life, at which point one can return to the spiritual realm.
If you are in a mode of passion, you must return to this material world and take birth among fruitful labourers. You must once again struggle on this planet. And if you are ignorant, you will enter the animal realm after death (BG 14.15).
The impact of three modes:
Purity will result if you are in a mode of goodness. You will always be stressed and tense if you are in a state of passion. The mode of ignorance leads to stupidity. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita 14.17 that if you are in the mode of goodness, you develop knowledge, and the culmination of knowledge is detachment. Attachment is a style of desire that breeds avarice and causes us to suffer.
Food according to the three modes:
People in various modes consume various types of food. People who are in a mode of goodness eat foods that make them live longer and purify their hearts. These foods, such as boiled vegetables, grains, milk, and foods with few seasonings, provide power, happiness, and contentment while also keeping you healthy. Such dishes are juicy, fatty, healthy, and heart-warming.
People eat food that causes distress and disease while they are in a mode of passion. Typically, such dishes are bitter, too sour, and hot. People in a mode of ignorance consume meat and alcohol. These foods are usually decayed and nasty.
Actions based on the three modes:
Similarly, in this world, there are always three types of activities. All actions concerning maintenance are in a mode of goodness. A mother, for example, requires a manner of goodness to sustain her child. Sustaining the family necessitates a manner of goodness as well. Any act of creation is an act of passion, but any act of destruction is the mode of ignorance.
Similarly, society is divided into four classes. The intelligent elite primarily acts in the mode of goodness. The administrative class is primarily in a mode of passion. The corporate elite is stuck in a mode of passion and ignorance. The labour class is mostly ignorant; they gain money via hard labour and waste it on drinking and smoking.
Three modes and several species of life:
The plant kingdom, aquatic kingdom, insect and reptile kingdom, bird kingdom, animal kingdom, and human kingdom are all examples. As a result, there is a hierarchy. From one body to another, and finally, from the animal world to the human body, the soul is transmigrated.
Because the cow is largely in the mode of goodness, when it gives up its body, it receives a human body in the intellectual class. Because the lion is predominantly in a mode of passion, when it gives up this body, it receives a human body from the administrative class. An elephant is in a mode of combined passion and ignorance, so when it gives up this body, it receives a human body from the business class. A monkey is essentially in a mode of ignorance, therefore it acquires a human body among the labour class.
Summary:
When there is an atmosphere of peace, tranquilly, and harmony in our environment and ourselves, the impacts of sattva-guna, the mode of goodness, can be seen. Rajo-guna, the mode of passion, is sensed as an insatiable yearning for fleeting things, a constant striving for more of them, and a state of perpetual discontent. Tamo-guna, or ignorance, is characterised by lethargy, despair, alcoholism, and insanity.
The fourteenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita gives detailed descriptions of the modes, their symptoms, how they effect us, and eventually how to get free of their influence through the practise of bhakti-yoga, or God consciousness.
