3 Modes of Material Nature

Lord Sri Krishna has said that the whole world is ultimately just a product of the 3 gunas- passion, goodness and ignorance. In the Bhagavad Gita, 14.5, He says that when the living being comes into contact with nature, he becomes conditioned by these modes.

The 3 gunas are: Rajah- passion; Sattvam- goodness; Tamah- ignorance.

Srila Prabhupada has likened the 3 gunas to 3 primary colors: namely, red, yellow and blue respectively, and states that just as the three colors are mixed and result in further colors, the same way, when the gunas are mixed with one another, they give rise to nine different combinations and when these nine are mixed further they give produce eighty one combinations and so on.

In this way, the gunas play a pivotal role in shaping the world. In English, 'guna' is translated into 'modes', 'quality' and 'rope', hence, we can say that the gunas give living beings their personality and they bind us and limit us to perceive, think and act in a certain way.

Rajah
Translation: Passion
Deva who oversees: Brahma
Characteristics: Creation and activity

Sattvam
Translation: Goodness
Deva who oversees:
Characteristics:

Tamah
Translation: Ignorance
Deva who oversees:
Characteristics:
- BTG Magazine, May/June 2012