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Bhagwad Gita (English) | Chapter 14 | Verse 5

Chapter 14, Verse 5

The Three Modes of Material Nature

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.

Verse

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणाः प्रकृतिसंभवाः।निबध्नन्ति महाबाहो देहे देहिनमव्ययम्।।14.5।।


sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇāḥ prakṛiti-sambhavāḥ
nibadhnanti mahā-bāho dehe dehinam avyayam

Meaning of each word

sattvam — mode of goodness;
rajaḥ — mode of passion;
tamaḥ — mode of ignorance;
iti — thus;
guṇāḥ — modes;
prakṛiti — material nature;
sambhavāḥ — consists of;
nibadhnanti — bind;
mahā-bāho — mighty-armed one;
dehe — in the body;
dehinam — the embodied soul;
avyayam — eternal

Interpretation

This verse tells us about how the material world affects us. It says that everything around us, including ourselves, is influenced by three main qualities or modes: goodness, passion, and ignorance. Let's break this down further.

1. **Three Modes Explained**:
- **Goodness (Sattva)**: This mode represents purity, knowledge, calmness, and happiness. When someone acts under this influence, they tend to think clearly, seek truth, and make wise choices. For instance, a person who helps others or seeks to learn new things is influenced by goodness.
- **Passion (Rajas)**: This mode is all about desire, action, and energy. People in this mode often experience strong feelings and are driven by their cravings. Think about someone who works hard to achieve their goals but is often restless and unsatisfied—this is the influence of passion.
- **Ignorance (Tamas)**: This mode involves confusion, laziness, and delusion. It can lead to a lack of understanding or awareness. For example, when a person feels lazy, unmotivated, or engages in destructive behavior due to a misleading belief, they are under the influence of ignorance.

2. **Influence of the Material World**:
- The verse suggests that even though our true selves (the living entities) are beyond these modes—meaning we have a deeper spiritual nature—we often get caught up in them because of how we interact with the world around us. When we are in contact with the material world, we can’t help but be influenced by these modes.
- Imagine walking into a room filled with people who are either very energetic or very calm. You might find yourself either inspired to be active or relaxed based on the atmosphere. This is a simple example of how environments influence our behaviors and feelings based on the three modes.

3. **Conditioning**:
- The word "conditioned" here means how our experiences shape our behavior. Just like a dog can be trained to sit or stay, our experiences in life train us to respond in certain ways based on which mode we are influenced by at that time. We might act kindly when we feel peaceful (sattva), act out of frustration when feeling passionate (rajas), or do nothing when we feel confused (tamas).
- Because everyone experiences different combinations of these modes, we all have unique personalities and reactions to situations, leading to various experiences of happiness and sadness.

4. **Conclusion**:
- The essence of this verse is to help us understand that while we are spiritual beings at our core, our interaction with the material world and these three modes of nature shape our actions and experiences. By becoming aware of these influences, we can start to choose our actions more mindfully and perhaps lean towards the mode of goodness more often to live a more fulfilling and peaceful life.

Other Verses of Chapter 14
Verse 1
The Blessed Lord said: Again I shall declare to you this supreme wisdom, the best of all knowledge, knowing which all the sages have attained to supreme perfection.
Verse 2
By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain to the transcendental nature, which is like My own nature. Thus established, one is not born at the time of creation nor disturbed at the time of dissolution.
Verse 3
The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata.
Verse 4
It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 9
The mode of goodness leads to happiness, the mode of passion leads to the desire for results from one's actions, and the mode of ignorance leads to confusion and madness.
Verse 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.
Verse 11
The manifestations of the mode of goodness can be experienced when all the gates of the body are illuminated by knowledge.
Verse 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.
Verse 13
O son of Kuru, when there is an increase in the mode of ignorance madness, illusion, inertia and darkness are manifested.
Verse 14
When one dies in the mode of goodness, he attains to the pure higher planets.
Verse 15
When someone dies while influenced by passion, they are reborn among those who are focused on achieving results from their actions. On the other hand, if someone dies under the influence of ignorance, they are reborn in the form of animals.
Verse 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.
Verse 17
From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, grief develops; and from the mode of ignorance, foolishness, madness and illusion develop.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 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.
Verse 21
Arjuna asked: O my dear Lord, how can we recognize someone who has gone beyond these three modes of nature? What is their behavior like? And how do they manage to rise above these modes?
Verse 22
The Blessed Lord said, "When light, activity, and delusion are present, he does not hate them, nor does he long for them when they are absent."
Verse 23
He who, seated like one unconcerned, is not moved by the dualities, and who, knowing that the dualities are active, is self-centered and does not move.
Verse 24
Who is the same in pleasure and pain, who dwells in the Self, to whom a clod of earth, a stone, and gold are all alike, who is the same to the dear and the unfriendly, who is firm, and to whom censure and praise are one and the same.
Verse 25
Who is the same in honor and dishonor, the same to friend and foe, abandoning all undertakings, he is said to have transcended the dualities.
Verse 26
One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.
Verse 27
And I am the basis of the impersonal Brahman, which is the constitutional position of ultimate happiness, and which is immortal, imperishable and eternal.
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