Material Nature

MATERIAL NATURE	GOODNESS/SATVA	PASSION/RAJAS	IGNORANCE/TAMA
BASIC NATURE	Illuminates the mind and intelligence, sense of happiness and knowledge.	Unlimited desires, longings, selfish actions, deep attachment, intense endeavor, hankering.	Delusion, madness, indolence and sleep
RESULT OF ACTION	Pure	Misery	Foolishness
DEVELOPMENT OF MIND	Knowledge develops.	Greed develops.	Foolishness, madness and illusion develops.
NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE	Knowledge to see the undivided spiritual nature in all living entities, even though seemingly divided by bodily differences.	Knowledge to see the body to be the self and different types of bodies as the self and differentiate accordingly.	knowledge by which one is attached to work only as the all in all without knowledge of the true self or Supreme truth.
NATURE OF ACTION	Action in a regulated fashion without attachment to selfish results, love or hate.	Action performed with great effort to gratify one’s desires out of ego and pride.	Action disregarding scriptures, without concern for future results. Causes violence and distress to others.
NATURE OF WORK/DUTIES	Work with determination and enthusiasm unwavering in success or failure. Free from ego, pride.	Work with attachment to work, and fruit of work desiring to enjoy the fruits. Greedy, envious, impure and disturbed by joy and sorrow (resulting from success and failure).	Work against the injunctions of the scripture. Materialistic, obstinate, cheating, expert in criticizing others, lazy, always morose and procrastinating.
NATURE OF INTELLIGENCE	Intelligence to discriminate what is to be done/not done, what is to be feared/not feared, what is binding/liberating.	Intelligence to discriminate dharma and adharma, what is to be done and not be done.	Intelligence to consider religion to be irreligion and irreligion to be religion. Always in illusion and darkness and strives in the wrong direction.
NATURE OF DETERMINATION	Determination to be steady by sustained practice, controls the mind, and senses through meditation and yoga.	Determination which attaches one to selfish results in religion, economic development and sense gratification.	Determination that cannot go beyond dreaming, fearfulness, lamentation, moroseness and illusion.
NATURE OF HAPPINESS	Like poison in the beginning but like nectar at the end.	Derived from contact of the senses including the mind. Feels like nectar in the beginning but poison at the end.	Blind to self-realization, delusional from beginning to end. Arises from sleep, laziness and illusion.
FOOD	Increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence, gives strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction. Food is juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart.	Too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning causing distress, misery and disease.	Food prepared more than three hours before being eaten, tasteless, decomposed and putrid, and food consisting of remnants and untouchable things.
YAJNA or SACRFICE	Performed according to the directions of scripture, as a matter of duty, desire for no reward.	Performed for some material benefit, or pride.	Performed without regard to scriptures, no distribution of prasādam [spiritual food], no chanting of Vedic hymns and no remunerations to the priests, and with no faith.
BODY,SPEECH and MIND	Using body, speech and mind not for material benefits but only for the sake of pleasing the Supreme.	Using body, speech and mind out of pride and for the sake of gaining respect, honor and worship. It is neither stable nor permanent.	Using body, speech and mind out of foolishness, with self-torture or to destroy or injure others.
WORSHIP/FAITH	Worship demigods	Worship demons	Worships ghosts and spirits
CHARITY	Given out of duty, without expectation of return, at the proper time and place, and to a worthy person.	Given with the expectation of some return, or with a desire for selfish results, or in a grudging mood.	Given at an impure place, improper time, to unworthy persons, or without proper attention and respect.
AT DEATH	Born again in higher planets.	Born again in earthly realm (born in a family where selfish actions are predominant).	Born again in animal kingdom.

 source: Bhagavad Gita chapters 14,17 and 18

Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna says:

One who engages in full devotional service unto Me, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends material nature and thus comes to My eternal nature– BG 14.26

Hare Krishna