681114 Lecture - Srila Prabhupada Speaks a Nectar Drop in Los Angeles

Nectar Drops from Srila Prabhupada
"So this whole creation, whatever material creation we have got, they are made of these twenty-four el... Just like colors. Varieties of color means three color: yellow, red and blue. Those who are expert in color mixing, they'll mix these three colors into eighty-one colors. Three into three equals nine; nine into nine equals eighty-one. So expert colorists, they can display these three colors into eighty-one. Similarly, the material nature... Of course, this is one, one energy. But within this energy there are three qualities: sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa, tamo-guṇa. By interaction of these three qualities, the manaḥ, buddhi, ahaṅkāra—the subtle elements—are manufactured, and then from the subtle elements, the grosser elements are manufactured."
Lecture Excerpt on Twenty-four Elements - Los Angeles