Bhagavad Gita · Chapter 14: The Three Qualities of Nature
Bhagavad Gita 14.7
रजो रागात्मकं विद्धि तृष्णासङ्गसमुद्भवम् ।
तन्निबध्नाति कौन्तेय कर्मसङ्गेन देहिनम् ॥
rajo rāgātmakaṃ viddhi tṛṣṇāsaṅgasamudbhavam | tannibadhnāti kaunteya karmasaṅgena dehinam ||
Know passion to be of the nature of desire, arising from craving and attachment. It binds the embodied self, Arjuna, through attachment to action.
Modern context
Rajas is the energy of wanting. It arises from craving and binds through attachment to action. The rajasic person is always busy, always starting something new, always chasing. Much of modern life is rajasic: productivity, ambition, the constant feeling of needing more. Rajas is not bad in itself; it gets things done. But unchecked, it becomes restless and never at peace.