A Crash Course on the Modes of Material Nature

(written May 11, 2019)

(References: BG 14.6, 15. 10, 16.18, 16.32, 18.37-18.39)

To understand the three modes of material nature are, we must learn how we come under the influence of these modes. We all once began in the spiritual world, performing service for Krishna. So how could we leave the spiritual world to come to such a horrible place like the material world? It all began with the thought which maya transplanted into our minds. Why is Krishna the center of attention, why do we have to serve him? This thought bothers us so deeply that we begin to believe this false information, and thus fall to the material world, or in other words, fall under the control of the three modes of material nature. These three modes are as follows…

• Goodness: When one is in goodness, they experience symptoms of happiness. The mode of goodness is said to be the best, as those who are in it are free from sinful reaction. Nevertheless, many people in the mode of goodness fall down due to the pride which they gain when feeling that they are very learned. They do not gain any sinful reaction, but the reaction is still there. Those in the mode of goodness are often reborn into higher positions, however they do not gain liberation. In BG 18.37, it is said that that which begins like poison and ends like nectar is the experience of happiness in the mode of goodness. So, if the mode of goodness cannot achieve one liberation, what can? Transcendental goodness. Transcendental goodness is dovetailing everything for the service of Krishna, and therefore is the ultimate.

• Passion: The mode of passion is nothing but the attraction between opposite sexes. As Srila Prabhupada said in BG 14.7, “Woman has attraction for man, and man has attraction for woman. This is called the mode of passion.” Due to this constant attraction, one tries to impress others by heightening their position, fame, or physical attributes. When one is in passion, they experience symptoms of activeness. Those in the mode of passion are the people who develop hankerings for honor and sense gratification. They normally have to work very hard, which leaves them deep in the reactions of their fruitive activities. As Srila Prabhupada said in BG 14.7, the purport… “In order to please his wife, children and society and to keep up his prestige, one has to work. Therefore, the whole material world is more or less in the mode of passion. Modern civilization is considered to be advanced in the standard of the mode of passion. Formerly, the advanced condition was considered to be in the mode of goodness. If there is no liberation for those in the mode of goodness, what to speak of those who are entangled in the mode of passion?” Hence, in the mode of passion, as explained in BG 18.38, one begins in the taste nectar, but that ends up turning into poison.

• Ignorance: When one is in ignorance, they experience symptoms of helplessness. Most in ignorance are so delusional that they have lost their ability of discrimination and often indulge in intoxicants. One sign of a person in ignorance is that they sleep more than 6 hours a day, which is the necessary amount. Instead they sleep for up to 10 to 12 hours. It can be hereby understood that a multitude of the people in this material world are in the mode of ignorance. What starts delusional and ends, similarly, in poison, is nothing but the mode of ignorance. As Srila Prabhupada said in the purport of BG 18.39, “There is no happiness either in the beginning or at the end. For the person in the mode of passion there might be some kind of ephemeral happiness in the beginning and at the end distress, but for the person in the mode of ignorance there is only distress both in the beginning and at the end.” This is the mode of ignorance.

Hence, these are the three modes of material nature, and how to identify them in this material world.