Gunas (guṇa)

The three gunas are the strands out of which all of nature is woven: sattva, which is clarity and balance; rajas, which is drive and restlessness; and tamas, which is inertia and darkness. Every temperament, food, sacrifice and act in the Bhagavad Gita is sorted by which strand dominates it, and the Gita's analysis of Arjuna's reluctance turns on showing him that it is tamas dressed as virtue. Liberation is described as going beyond all three rather than perfecting the best of them.