New Delhi (17/11/2025): Human nature is not merely a bundle of habits; it is the inner structure in which the combined orientation and quality of mind, intellect, memory-consciousness, and ego are contained. Nature is the “default mode” through which a person responds spontaneously, without deliberate thought—whether in anger, compassion, fear, courage, generosity, greed, or forgiveness. This nature is not the ultimate truth of the soul, nor is it permanent; it is only an attribute superimposed upon the soul, created and modified by the interplay of qualities and impressions (gunas and samskaras). The soul itself is pure, stainless, and a witness; change occurs in nature— the mind, senses, and the configuration of the three gunas. This very configuration manifests as a lasting tendency called “nature.” The same soul expresses itself differently in different births because it associates with different bodies and minds having different natures. Therefore, the defect is not in the soul but in the qualities superimposed upon it; transformation occurs not in the soul but in nature.
The science of nature is rooted in the laboratory of the three gunas—sattva, rajas, and tamas. Sattva brings light, compassion, balance, truthfulness, peace, and discernment. Rajas brings movement, ambition, restlessness, desire, competition, and instability. Tamas brings inertia, lethargy, delusion, ignorance, apathy, and confusion. A person’s nature is formed by the proportion of these three qualities, which keeps changing throughout life. Beneath this lies the deeper layer of impressions: every thought, emotion, and action leaves a subtle imprint on the mind. Repeated thoughts, emotions, and actions carve a lasting channel and become impressions that shape future decisions. Impressions are invisible memories carried across lifetimes; nature is the outer layer of impressions; impressions are the deeper root-source of nature.
The formation of nature follows a circular process—repeated thoughts generate emotions, emotions generate actions, actions create impressions, and impressions solidify into nature. This nature then governs the tone of future thoughts, feelings, and actions. This cycle shapes someone into divine or demonic, expansive or narrow, courageous or fearful.
Nature arises from three fundamental sources—the impressions of past lives, the circumstances of the present life (family, culture, environment, education, company), and one’s current conscious effort—spiritual discipline, reflection, association with noble people, lifestyle refinement. Philosophically these are called accumulated karmas, destiny (prarabdha), and present action; scientifically they are nature, nurture, and conscious training.
Psychology defines nature as our default response patterns—whether we flee or face a crisis, break down or learn when criticized, remain humble or become arrogant after success. These responses are not momentary; they arise from deep patterns. When we instantly judge a new person as being “of this type,” we are actually reading their patterns, which together constitute their nature. Neuroscience explains it through neural pathways and neuroplasticity. The mind builds strong “highways” for thoughts and emotions repeatedly experienced; these later activate automatically, compelling the person to think, feel, and behave accordingly. In tamasic nature, neural pathways of lethargy, depression, confusion, and delusion strengthen; in rajasic nature, pathways of anxiety, desire, restlessness, and comparison strengthen; in sattvic nature, pathways of peace, compassion, balance, problem-solving, and discernment strengthen. This shows that the structure of qualities actually materializes in the brain’s networks.
A simple way to recognize nature is to observe where one spontaneously inclines—towards meditation, service, and study, or towards idle chatter, complaint, and distraction; towards forgiveness or revenge when hurt; towards learning or insecurity when facing new situations. These subtle inclinations accurately reveal the inner proportion of sattva, rajas, and tamas, and the direction of one’s impressions.
Philosophically, nature is a present link in an eternal chain—neither absolutely free nor absolutely predetermined. It is the bridge connecting the soul to action, and action to destiny. Hence the scriptures state that a being moves according to its nature, yet human birth is rare because only humans can transform their nature. This understanding produces two realizations—personal responsibility (“I can transform myself; circumstances alone are not at fault”) and compassion for others (“What someone appears to be is not their final truth but the result of their impressions”). This dissolves arrogance and hatred and leaves only clear understanding and gentle perception.
This combined science of nature, qualities, and impressions also shows how transformation begins—through awareness of one’s patterns, through company of the wise, through spiritual practice involving mind, breath, senses, and ego, through a sattvic lifestyle, through purification of intention and action, and through surrender to the Divine when personal effort reaches its limit. As the balance of qualities changes, impressions change, and with them nature transforms. When nature changes, actions change; when actions change, destiny changes; and as destiny loosens its grip, the door to liberation begins to open.
Connected with the science of nature is the subtle cycle of action, intention, and destiny. These are not three separate entities but three forms of a single continuous flow, like water, ice, and vapor. Action is what we do; intention is the basis on which we do it; destiny is the echo of our past actions returning to us. The visible form of an action is external, but its real value lies in its intention. Two people may perform the same act, yet its outcome differs entirely because their intentions differ. Therefore the Gita emphasizes that purity of intention is the foundation of purity in action.
Destiny is not a punishment or reward from above but the returning resonance of past actions. Like a sound echoing back in a valley, actions return after a turn in time. Their return may be immediate, delayed, or appear in another birth. Hence the Gita says that the fruit of action is unavoidable; only its timing is uncertain. Action is the seed, and destiny is the tree. Even the smallest actions shape the future, just as small habits determine one’s long-term character. Destiny arises not only from action but also from nature; two individuals may face the same event, yet experience it differently, because destiny is not merely what happens, but the inner state through which it is seen.
The fruit of action appears on three levels—visible (immediate), invisible (delayed), and subtle (transforming inner impressions). Real destiny is the sum of all three. Science echoes this truth—energy is never destroyed; it only changes form. Similarly, action never disappears; its influence returns in transformed forms. Every action strengthens certain neural pathways, forming the mental structure that determines future decisions—this is the scientific nature of destiny.
Destiny provides the initial framework of life, but the painting upon it is created by the human being. Birth conditions are destiny; how we interpret and respond to them is action; and this response becomes the seed of future destiny. The result of action depends on its quality—sattvic action produces peace, rajasic action produces restlessness and craving, and tamasic action leads to confusion, suffering, and decline. Destiny is fundamentally the outcome of quality; action is merely the medium.
Human beings often feel that they act but do not receive results. However, the result may be accumulating as subtle fruit, or lying stored as invisible fruit, or being adjusted against past karmic debts. Destiny is not an instant picture but a long-term audit.
Action, intention, and destiny are all changeable, because each rests upon nature and impressions, which themselves can be changed. Thus human beings are neither entirely free nor entirely bound. Destiny provides the framework; nature gives direction; intention provides motivation; action builds the path; discernment provides movement. The beauty of human life lies in this—that one is not a prisoner of the past, but the creator of the future.
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