{"id":47,"date":"2018-01-30T12:50:56","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T12:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/?page_id=47"},"modified":"2018-02-06T12:31:27","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T12:31:27","slug":"prakriti-matter","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/concepts\/key-concepts\/prakriti-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Prakriti: Matter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-av_textblock-2de302bf1aa3cf4c9157dbe6f50ac7eb '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/CreativeWork\" ><div class='avia_textblock'  itemprop=\"text\" ><h3>Prakriti (Matter) and Guna<\/h3>\n<p>The eternal <em>atman<\/em> is entrapped within successive temporary bodies made of matter (<em>prakriti<\/em>). Everything made of matter undergoes three stages of existence \u2013 (1) it is created, (2) it remains for some time and, (3) it is inevitably destroyed. These three phases correspond to the three <em>gunas<\/em> \u2013 qualities or modes of material nature. Passion (<em>rajas<\/em>) creates, goodness (<em>sattva<\/em>) sustains and ignorance (<em>tamas<\/em>) destroys. These three are ranked hierarchically, with ignorance considered the lowest and goodness the highest. Each member of the Hindu <em>trimurti<\/em> representsone of the three gunas.<\/p>\n<p>All material phenomena can be analysed in terms of the<em> gunas<\/em>. According to the soul&#8217;s preference for a particular mode, it takes on a corresponding body. A person influenced mainly by goodness will be elevated to the heavenly planets at death. Those largely in passion stay in human society, and those infected with ignorance enter into the lower species. Only pure souls, transcending even sattva guna, attain liberation (see <a href=\"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/concepts\/key-concepts\/moksha-liberation\/\"><em>moksha<\/em><\/a>) and escape the entanglement of matter.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Matter is inert, temporary, and unconscious.<\/li>\n<li>It is composed of three qualities (<em>gunas<\/em>) corresponding to creation, sustenance, and destruction. They are:\n<ul>\n<li><em>sattva<\/em> (goodness) \u2013 pure, elevating, enlightening<\/li>\n<li><em>rajas<\/em> (passion) \u2013 motivates us to create, acquire and enjoy<\/li>\n<li><em>tamas<\/em> (ignorance) \u2013 dirty, degrading, deluding, and destructive<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Each <em>guna<\/em> is controlled by one of three main deities \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/practice\/worship\/the-trimurti\/\">Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva<\/a> respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>A Useful Analogy<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The three primary colours \u2013 yellow, red and blue.\u00a0From these three pure colours \u2013 red, yellow, and blue \u2013 a whole palette can be created.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-614\" src=\"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/prakrti1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"170\" height=\"275\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>By mixing three primary colours we obtain the three secondary colours \u2013 orange,\u00a0green,\u00a0and\u00a0purple. By further mixing we create an almost infinite range, such as we see in a colour chart for paints. Similarly, from the interaction of the three gunas there emerges the entire range of life forms.<\/li>\n<li>On a colour chart, there is a section consisting of various reds, one largely of yellows, another mainly of blues. Similarly, human society is mainly influenced by passion (the red section). The residents of the &#8220;higher planets&#8221; live mainly under the influence of goodness (represented by yellow), and the animal species are principally under the jurisdiction of ignorance (the blue section).<\/li>\n<li>Just as there is diversity within each section of colours, similarly within human society the three <em>gunas<\/em> create a range of individuals, each with distinct characteristics according to their specific mix of <em>gunas<\/em>. Some will be relatively more influenced by goodness (yellow), others by passion (red), and the remainder by the quality of ignorance (blue).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Related Stories<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Three Men Enter the Forest (STO-107)<br \/>\n<\/strong>How we perceive things according to the gunas.<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Story of Brighu Muni (STO-108)<br \/>\n<\/strong>The qualities associated with gunas: the <em>trimurti.<\/em><strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Quote<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s not one atom of yon earth<br \/>\nBut once was living man;<br \/>\nNor the minutest drop of rain,<br \/>\nThat hangeth in its thinnest cloud,<br \/>\nBut flowed in human veins.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>Percy Shelley<\/em><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Related Practices<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The social system of <em>varnashrama-dharma<\/em> is based on an understanding of how matter conditions the soul. Some claim that the original system enabled mobility between the social classes (<em>varnas<\/em>) and was based not on birth but on personal character and inclination for a particular type of work. The members of the four varnas, such as the <em>kshatriyas<\/em>, were ascertained by the predominant influence of one or more gunas, as shown below:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Brahmanas<\/em> (priests, teachers and intellectuals) \u2013 goodness<\/li>\n<li><em>Kshatriyas<\/em> (police, soldiers and administrators) \u2013 passion &amp; goodness<\/li>\n<li><em>Vaishyas<\/em> (farmers, traders and merchants) \u2013 passion &amp; ignorance<\/li>\n<li><em>Shudras<\/em> (workers, labourers and artisans) \u2013 ignorance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Related Values and Issues<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>All behaviour can be analysed according to this threefold <em>guna<\/em> model and can be applied to many personal, social, moral and health issues. Especially relevant might be:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The environment<\/li>\n<li>Health and diet<\/li>\n<li>Lifestyle<\/li>\n<li>Sustainability (<em>sattva<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li>Sex impulse (<em>rajas<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li>Drug abuse (<em>tamas<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Personal Reflection<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Can we identify our own behaviour in terms of these gunas? Do we notice different qualities in, say, the different times of day?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>Related Content<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>In the system of <em>sankhya<\/em>, matter is divided into different elements, both subtle and gross. The five gross elements, corresponding to the five senses, are:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Earth<\/li>\n<li>Water<\/li>\n<li>Fire<\/li>\n<li>Air<\/li>\n<li>Ether<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4><strong>Scriptural Passages<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>&#8220;From the mode of goodness, real knowledge develops; from the mode of passion, greed develops; and from the mode of ignorance develops foolishness, madness and illusion.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>Bhagavad-gita<\/em> 14.17<\/p>\n<p>See also: <em>Bhagavad-gita<\/em> 14.5\u201320.<br \/>\nAlso many verses in the 17th and 18th chapters.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Meaning and Purpose<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Why do people act and respond differently?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/section>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":616,"parent":10,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[21,9,7,22],"class_list":["post-47","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-atman","tag-moksha","tag-prakriti-and-guna","tag-trimurti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":889,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions\/889"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iskconeducationalservices.org\/HoH\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}