People are affected with three kinds of material qualities: goodness, passion and ignorance. Generally, they are affected by the lower two qualities -- ignorance and passion. Rajas-tamah. How do we know that "This man is in the modes of goodness and this man is in the modes of passion and this man is in the modes of ignorance"? How do we know? By the symptoms. By the symptoms. When one is affected by the lower qualities, rajas-tamah, passion and ignorance, his symptoms are that he is very greedy and lusty. These are the symptoms. As soon as you find a person is very greedy and lusty, he is to be understood under the control of the lower-grade qualities of this material world. And sattva-guna means prakasa, illumination. When one is situated in the goodness, that is brahminical qualification.
So these three classes of men are there. So Krsna consciousness movement means to bring persons from the wretched, low qualities, ignorance and passion, to bring him to the platform of goodness. And that goodness also has to be purified. In the material world the goodness is also attacked by the other, lower qualities. Then you will be able to understand what is God. It is not so cheap thing that one can understand God so easily while he is in the modes of material nature, especially the lower grade modes.
By H.D.G. Srila Prabhupada
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