Tamas

(“darkness”) One of the three fundamental qualities (gunas) believed to be
present in all things, the other two being
sattva (“goodness”) and rajas (“passion”). According to this model, the differing proportions of these qualities
account for the differences both in the
inherent nature of things and in individual human capacities and tendencies.
Of the three, tamas is always negative
and is associated with darkness, disease,
ignorance, sloth, spoilage, and death.
The notion of these three gunas originated in the metaphysics of the
Samkhya school, one of the six schools
of traditional Hindu philosophy, and
although much of Samkhya metaphysics connected with the gunas has
long been discredited, the idea of the
gunas and their qualities has become a
pervasive assumption in Indian culture.