Just to let you know up front, there is no real happiness in this world. The majority of us are struggling to achieve two things: to have a vantage point to procure wealth and pleasure, and to avoid pain and suffering. Unfortunately, this is an impossible task. Even if you think you’ve achieved something, it will change shortly. There is no permanent situation. Every generation and era has its own problems. It is said that the guiding principle in the material world is the survival of the fittest. But even the so-called fittest, wealthiest, and strongest don’t last very long.
So we’re born into the material world, and as we grow up we examine the world around us. The material world seems so perplexing. But somehow, as our bodily senses spring into action, we assume the world is for our enjoyment, and that we will eventually achieve some degree of control. But actually everyone is functioning under the control of the three modes of material nature: sattva-guna, raja-guna, and tamo-guna, or goodness, passion, and ignorance. These three modes influence how we behave, what we say, and do. A small part of the population is functioning in the mode of goodness, which ideally can lead to a higher awareness. But most of us are controlled by passion and ignorance.
In the Bhagavad-gita, the omniscient Lord Krishna explains, “From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; and from the mode of ignorance develop foolishness, madness and illusion” (Gita 14.17). In the 17th chapter of the Gita, upon Arjuna’s inquiry, Krishna further elaborates on the three modes. Our different actions, intentions, the foods we eat, the way we speak, who we honor, and the way and to whom we offer charity, or express our faith, all reveal whether we are functioning under the mode of goodness, passion, or ignorance.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/the-kali-yuga-the-three-modes-and-all-that-jazz/
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