Sattva

(“goodness”) One of the three fundamental qualities (gunas) believed to
be present in all things. The other two
gunas are rajas (“passion”) and tamas
(“darkness”). According to this model,
the differing proportions of these
qualities account for the differences
between the properties of concrete
things, and in individual human
capacities and tendencies. Of the
three, sattva is invariably positive and
carries associations with goodness,
truth, wholesomeness, health, cognitive thought, and deep-rooted religious life. The notion of these three
gunas originated in the metaphysics of
the Samkhya school, one of the six
schools of traditional Hindu philosophy. Although much of Samkhya
metaphysics connected with the
gunas have been long discredited, the
idea of the gunas and their qualities
has become a pervasive assumption in
Indian culture.