#257 Invisible Forces that Shape Our Lives

We tend to be unaware of the invisible yet powerful forces which shape our lives and cause us to make decisions and take action which can contribute to our unhappiness and suffering.

The ancient yoga texts of India dealt with these topics in a wonderful and instructive way which we can all benefit from. In this talk I touch on Time, the Law of Karma, Maya (the great illusory energy) and in some detail, the three modes of material nature or the three gunas.

The texts I quoted were:

Both by rising and by setting, the sun decreases the duration of life of everyone, except one who utilizes the time by discussing topics of the all-good Supreme Soul. - Bhāgavata Purāṇa 2.3.17

Material nature consists of three modes -- goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.5

O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.6

The mode of passion is born of unlimited desires and longings, O son of Kuntī, and because of this the embodied living entity is bound to material fruitive actions. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.7

O son of Bharata, know that the mode of darkness, born of ignorance, is the delusion of all embodied living entities. The results of this mode are madness, indolence and sleep, which bind the conditioned soul. - Bhagavad-gītā 14.8