Modes of Material Nature

Without introspection we go through life having never been exposed to the ability to command our soul's purpose, resulting in us falling in and out of the various modes of material nature.

These modes are known as the mode of goodness, the mode of passion and the mode of ignorance. Every individual is affected by the modes. In the physical realm we are surrounded by matter and its energy, which is enforced by nature. Several of these forces affect us on a psychological level. Once we become aware of them, we can begin to take control of our everyday actions in order to have more positive and healthy experiences in life. Over the course of our life the experiences we accumulate influence our desires, decisions and ultimately our karma. The material modes of nature influence us in every moment. Becoming aware of them, how they act upon us and how to transcend them is vital knowledge on your path to self realisation.

All embodied souls are under the influence of the three modes of material nature. When an individual comes in contact with nature they become conditioned by these modes, in our case from birth. Each person will act according to the consequences of the three modes. Understanding the modes is the first step in being able to transcend them. The effect of developing the mode of goodness in the material world is that one becomes wiser than those in the modes of passion or ignorance. When in this mode, love is displayed in great amounts, through acts of kindness, affection and respect towards all living beings. In this mode we see the super soul in all and strive for advancement in spiritual knowledge without being caught up in material dissatisfaction.

In the mode of goodness, you become free from sinful reactions, with this understanding happiness occurs.

A person in the mode of goodness is satisfied by intellectual pursuit. Knowledge could actually become contaminated by the three modes, however knowledge which remains pure is called transcendental knowledge. When a person is positioned in the mode of goodness, he may become conditioned to feel that he is advanced in knowledge and is somehow better than others. Three of the most well known billionaires attempting space exploration serve as the perfect example. Each proud of their knowledge and discoveries, they feel a sense of material happiness and continued ambition. This contentment in conditioned life makes them bound by the mode of goodness and attracted towards working in the mode of goodness, without ever being satisfied. As long as they have a desire working in that way, in their next life they will have to take birth again in the modes of nature, leaving them with no likelihood of liberation or of being transferred to the spiritual world. One may become a philosopher, a scientist, or a poet yet repeatedly become entangled in the same cycle of birth and death. However, due to the illusion of material energy i.e. the desire to colonise Mars, we may mistakenly believe that chasing an insatiable ambition is the way of life.

The mode of passion exists because of our desires and longings, entangling us with transient material activities. When the mode of passion develops, we desire material enjoyment through sense gratification. Once this occurs we work hard to continuously obtain this enjoyment and are bound by such activities. A person in the modes of passion and goodness may be engaged in temporarily rewarding activity.

The mode of ignorance causes the delusion in all living beings. The result of this mode is instability, indolence and the insatiable desire for sleep, which securely binds the conditioned soul. The mode of ignorance is the opposite of the mode of goodness. In the mode of goodness, by development of knowledge, we can understand right from wrong and logic, contrary to the mode of ignorance. In the mode of ignorance rather than advancing, we become stagnant. Society is busy accumulating money and working arduously all day and night, with no acknowledgement for the soul. In this position, they are reluctant to make progress in spiritual understanding. An unnatural way of life has been accepted. An individual living in the mode of ignorance will sleep more than required and often enjoys intoxication. These are the symptoms of a person conditioned by the mode of ignorance.

When the mode of goodness is prominent, passion and ignorance are defeated. When the mode of passion is ruling your decisions, the modes of goodness and ignorance are defeated. When the mode of ignorance is ruling, passion and goodness are defeated. Therefore, we have to be able to transcend these three modes. By transcending the mode of goodness, we can be situated in pure goodness, a state in which we can understand the science of God. By the manifestation of particular activities, we can understand what mode of nature we are situated in.

“Flirt with creation as it flirts with you. Explore, become smaller than an atom. Travel, drink the rays of the sun. Play, with those that make your light dance.”

Virtuous activities in the mode of goodness lead the way to purification. Activities in the mode of passion cause distress. For example, if a man purchases a new home for his family but shortly after begins to desire a neighbours bigger house for his own family, his passion could lead to frustration and eventually anger at himself for not being able to afford the neighbours house. He may also feel resentment toward the neighbour, which could lead to ignorant actions. However, if he remains situated in the mode of goodness his activities can eventually lead him to buying a bigger house or being satisfied with his current home.

An individual in the mode of goodness enjoys a pure form of happiness and can reach higher planetary systems in their next birth. There are impurities in the material world, but the mode of goodness is the purest form of existence in the material world. There are different types of planets for different kinds of living entities. Those in the mode of goodness are elevated to the planets where purified souls live. Those in the mode of passion take birth among those engaged in rewarding activities and those in the mode of ignorance are reborn in lower living standards. From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, suffering develops; and from the mode of ignorance, illusion develops.

According to the degree of development of the mode of goodness, the living entity can be transferred to various planets. The mode of passion is situated in between the modes of goodness and ignorance. Acts of pure passion will remain on earthly planets with favourable living conditions. In the mode of passion, there is also the risk of reaching ignorance due to the closeness of the modes. Once an individual becomes passionate desire is born, then frustration, which leads to anger followed by illusion, eventually ignorance and bewilderment.

Although we all inhabit a material body in this lifetime, by acquiring spiritual knowledge we can be free from the influence of the modes of nature and we can experience the happiness of spiritual life in this body. This is because after death, it is certain a place in the spiritual sky will be granted. Once freed from the influence of the modes of material nature, devotional service follows. We spend our lives chasing happiness, failing to understand that happiness is a consequence of becoming situated in knowledge.

- Space Apricity

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