The Three Modes of Material Nature

This is derived from Chapters 14, 17 and 18 from the Bhagavad-gétä As It Is and
Chapter 25 of the 11th Canto of Çrémad Bhägavatam. (© Bhaktivedänta Book
Trust)

SaTTVaGau<a rJaGau<a TaMaGau<a

Goodness Passion Ignorance
Symptoms • Frees one from • Unlimited desires • Ignorance
sinful reactions. and longings • Delusion
• Gates illumined • Great attachment • Darkness
• Mind and sense • Fruitive activity • Madness
control • Intense endeavor • Inertia
• Tolerance • Uncontrollable • Illusion
• Discrimination desire • Intolerant anger
• Sticking to one’s • Audacity • Stinginess
prescribed duty • Dissatisfaction • Speaking without
• Truthfulness even in gain scriptural
• Mercy • False pride authority
• Careful study of • Praying for • Violent hatred
the past & future material • Living as a
• Satisfaction in advancement parasite
any condition • Considering • Hypocrisy
• Generosity oneself different • Chronic fatigue
• Renunciation of and better than • Quarrel
sense gratification others • Lamentation
• Faith in the • Sense • Delusion
spiritual master gratification • Unhappiness
• Being • Rash eagerness • Depression
embarrassed at to fight • Sleeping too
improper action • Fondness for much
• Charity hearing oneself • False
• Simplicity praised expectations
• Humbleness • The tendency to • Fear
• Satisfaction ridicule others • Laziness
within oneself • Advertising one’s • Anger
• Self-control own prowess
• Justifying one’s
actions by one’s
strength
• Lust

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 SaTTVaGau<a rJaGau<a TaMaGau<a
Goodness Passion Ignorance
Conditioning • Binds due to • To material, • Madness
feeling of fruitive activities • Indolence
happiness and • Sleep
knowledge
Destination • Higher planets of • Birth amongst • Animal kingdom
great sages those engaged in • Lower planets
• Higher Planets fruitive activities (hell)
(humans)
• Earthly planets
Result of action • Pious activity • Misery • Foolishness
• Real Knowledge • Greed • Madness
• Happiness • Attachment • Illusion
• Virtue • Separatism • Excessive sleep
• Activity • Indulging in false
• Desire for hopes
prestige and • Lamentation
fortune • Violence towards
others
Faith (worship) • Demigods • Demons • Ghosts/spirits
Food • Gives strength • Bitter • Prepared more
• Purify one’s • Sour than three hours
existence • Salty before being
• Give health • Hot eaten
• Give happiness • Pungent • Tasteless
• Give satisfaction • Dry • Decomposed
• Juicy • Burning • Putrid
• Fatty • Cause distress • Remnants
• Wholesome • Cause misery • Untouchable
• Pleasing to the • Cause disease things
heart • Gives immediate • Unclean
• Easily obtained pleasure to the • Causes distress
senses
Sacrifice • As a matter of • For material • Without regard
duty benefit for directions of
• Under direction • For sake of pride scripture,
of scripture distribution of
• Those who desire prasada, chanting
no reward Vedic hymns, or
Sacrifice remuneration’s to
(continued) priests

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Austerity of the body consists in worship of the Supreme Lord, the brähmaëas, the
spiritual master, and superiors like the father and mother, and in cleanliness,
simplicity, celibacy and nonviolence. Austerity of speech consists in speaking words
that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others, and also in
regularly reciting Vedic literature. And satisfaction, simplicity, gravity, self-control
and purification of one’s existence are the austerities of the mind. (Bg. 17-14-16)

SaTTVaGau<a rJaGau<a TaMaGau<a

Goodness Passion Ignorance
Austerity • With • For the sake of • Performed out of
transcendental gaining respect, foolishness
faith honor and • With self torture
• Not expecting worship • To destroy others
benefits • It is neither stable
• Only for the sake nor permanent
of the Supreme
Charity • Given out of duty • With expectation • In impure place
without of return • At improper time
expectation of • With desire for • To unworthy
return fruitive results person
• At the proper • In a grudging • Without proper
time and place mood attention and
• To a worthy respect
person

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The giving up of activities that are
based on material desire is what great learned men call the renounced order of life
[sannyäsa]. And giving up the results of all activities is what the wise call
renunciation [tyäga]. Some learned men declare that all kinds of fruitive activities
should be given up as faulty, yet other sages maintain that acts of sacrifice, charity
and penance should never be abandoned. O best of the Bhäratas, now hear My
judgment about renunciation. O tiger among men, renunciation is declared in the
scriptures to be of three kinds. Acts of sacrifice, charity and penance are not to be
given up; they must be performed. Indeed, sacrifice, charity and penance purify
even the great souls. All these activities should be performed without attachment or
any expectation of result. They should be performed as a matter of duty, O son of
Påthä. That is My final opinion. (Bg. 18.2-6)

Renunciation • Performs duty • Because of fear • Because of

because ought to of bodily illusion
be done discomfort
• Renounces mat.

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 association and
attachment to the
fruit

O mighty-armed Arjuna, according to the Vedänta there are five causes for the
accomplishment of all action. Now learn of these from Me. The place of action [the
body], the performer, the various senses, the many different kinds of endeavor, and
ultimately the Supersoul—these are the five factors of action. Whatever right or
wrong action a man performs by body, mind or speech is caused by these five
factors. Therefore one who thinks himself the only doer, not considering the five
factors, is certainly not very intelligent and cannot see things as they are. One who is
not motivated by false ego, whose intelligence is not entangled, though he kills men
in this world, does not kill. Nor is he bound by his actions. Knowledge, the object of
knowledge, and the knower are the three factors that motivate action; the senses,
the work and the doer are the three constituents of action. According to the three
different modes of material nature, there are three kinds of knowledge, action and
performer of action. Now hear of them from Me. (Bg. 18.13-19)

SaTTVaGau<a rJaGau<a TaMaGau<a

Goodness Passion Ignorance
Knowledge • Sees everything • Sees different • Attached to one
as same spirit- soul in every kind of work as
soul body all in all
• Absolute • Based on duality • Materialistic
Action • Regulated • Seeking to gratify • Performed in
• Performed senses illusion
without • From false ego • Without regard
attachment • Attached to work for scriptural
• Performed and fruits of work injunctions
without love or • Greedy • Without concern
hatred • Envious for future
• Without desire • Impure bondage
for fruitive results • Moved by joy • Impelled by envy
• Without and sorrow • Causes violence
association of the or distress
modes of nature • Engaged in
• Without false ego works against the
• With great injunctions of
determination scripture
and enthusiasm • Materialistic
• Obstinate
• Cheating
• Expert in

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 insulting others
• Lazy
• Always morose
• Procrastination

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 SaTTVaGau<a rJaGau<a TaMaGau<a
Goodness Passion Ignorance
Understanding • Knows what is to • Cannot • Considers
be done and not distinguish irreligion to be
done between religion religion and vice
• What is to be and irreligion versa
feared and not • Does not know • Under spell of
feared what should be illusion and
• What is binding done and should darkness
and liberating not be done • Always in wrong
direction
Determination • Unbreakable, • Holds fast to • Cannot go
steadfast fruitive results in beyond
• Controls mind, economic dreaming,
life and senses development, lamentation,
religion and sense moroseness,
gratification illusion, and
fearfulness
Happiness • Poison in the • Derived from • Blind to self-
beginning but senses and their realization
happiness in the objects • Delusion from
end • Nectar in the beginning to end
• Awakens one to beginning but • Arises from sleep,
self-realization poison in the end laziness and
• Derived from self illusion
Worship of Krsna • In loving • For material • With desire to
devotion advancement commit violence
• Without material to others
attachment
Consciousness • Clear • Unsteady • Lack of higher of
• Fearless perplexity of awareness
• Senses are mind • Mind is ruined
detached from • Distortion of • Ignorance
matter intelligence • Depression
• Detachment from because of too
material mind much activity
• Inability to
disentangle the
senses from
material objects
• Unhealthy
working of

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 physical organs
SaTTVaGau<a rJaGau<a TaMaGau<a
Goodness Passion Ignorance
Sleep • Alert • Dreaming • Deep sleep with
wakefulness no dreams
Residence • Forest • Town • Gambling house
Faith • Directed towards • Rooted in fruitive • In irreligious
spiritual life works activities