Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 17
Guṇa-viveka, Haṁsa-gītā, and the Yoga that Cuts False Ego
सनकादय ऊचु: गुणेष्वाविशते चेतो गुणाश्चेतसि च प्रभो । कथमन्योन्यसन्त्यागो मुमुक्षोरतितितीर्षो: ॥ १७ ॥
sanakādaya ūcuḥ guṇeṣv āviśate ceto guṇāś cetasi ca prabho katham anyonya-santyāgo mumukṣor atititīrṣoḥ
The sages headed by Sanaka said: O Lord, people’s minds are naturally attracted to material sense objects, and similarly the sense objects in the form of desire enter within the mind. Therefore, how can a person who desires liberation, who desires to cross over activities of sense gratification, destroy this mutual relationship between the sense objects and the mind? Please explain this to us.
As described above, as long as one is a conditioned soul the modes of material nature, manifested in the form of sense objects, constantly disturb the mind, and by their harassment one is deprived of the actual perfection of life.
FAQs
This verse states that the mind immerses itself in the material modes, and the modes in turn occupy the mind—showing a reciprocal entanglement that binds the seeker unless transcended.
In the Hamsa-guhya-yoga teachings, the Kumāras seek a practical method for liberation; they ask how a mumukṣu can break the mutual dependence between mind and guṇas to cross beyond saṁsāra.
Notice which modes shape your thoughts and habits, then deliberately cultivate sāttvika choices and steady devotional practices (hearing, chanting, remembrance) to loosen the mind’s automatic absorption in the guṇas.