The three qualities of everything in creation

According to the cosmology of the Bhagavad Gita, everything in creation is imbued with a combination of three qualities in varying amounts. The name for these qualities literally means “a strand within a rope” which gives a good analogy for what amounts to a primary constituent of everything in nature. The concept that creation has inherent in it these three attributes, or strands, is more ancient than any of the classical systems of philosophy and was already a widespread part of Indian culture by the time any of the oldest oral traditions were first put into writing. Because the names for these three qualities have been used in many contexts over thousands of years, their meaning is difficult to translate especially since they encompass both psychological as well as physiological influences. In simplified or general terms, we can use a few words to translate the concept that each of the qualities represents, then let the text of the Gita explain them further. First there is the quality of purity, harmony and goodness. Secondly, because nothing is inherently all good or all bad, there must be an element of darkness, inertia and decay. Then there is the force or amount of energy that is a part of the other two qualities. It is translated as restlessness, passion and dynamic energy. All three are the natural result of the universal cosmic energy becoming creation itself and each of them contributes to the illusion that binds us to and keeps us imprisoned in our physical bodies.