The three strands of nature — clarity, restlessness, and inertia — whose shifting mix colors every mind, mood, and act.
Common misconception
The gunas are not moral good-and-evil; even sattva, the purest, is still a binding strand of nature.
The question it leaves you holding
If your moods are nature's strands rearranging, which 'you' is choosing — and which is only being moved?
Schools that center this concept
Samkhya — The oldest analysis: countless conscious selves (purusha) entangled in one unconscious nature (prakriti).
Yoga — Patanjali's discipline: still the mind's movements and the Self rests in its own nature, free of nature's play.
Debates this concept decides
If Karma Shapes My Life, Am I Free? — Every act ripens into a result that conditions the next — so is your choice truly free, or just karma wearing your face?
