Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 38
Nārada’s Arrival, the Nine Yogendras, and the Foundations of Bhāgavata-dharma
अविद्यमानोऽप्यवभाति हि द्वयो ध्यातुर्धिया स्वप्नमनोरथौ यथा । तत् कर्मसङ्कल्पविकल्पकं मनो बुधो निरुन्ध्यादभयं तत: स्यात् ॥ ३८ ॥
avidyamāno ’py avabhāti hi dvayo dhyātur dhiyā svapna-manorathau yathā tat karma-saṅkalpa-vikalpakaṁ mano budho nirundhyād abhayaṁ tataḥ syāt
Although the duality of the material world does not ultimately exist, the conditioned soul experiences it as real under the influence of his own conditioned intelligence. This imaginary experience of a world separate from Kṛṣṇa can be compared to the acts of dreaming and desiring. When the conditioned soul dreams at night of something desirable or horrible, or when he daydreams of what he would like to have or avoid, he creates a reality that has no existence beyond his own imagination. The tendency of the mind is to accept and reject various activities based on sense gratification. Therefore an intelligent person should control the mind, restricting it from the illusion of seeing things separate from Kṛṣṇa, and when the mind is thus controlled he will experience actual fearlessness.
Although the conditioned mind is bewildered by the objects of sense gratification offered by māyā, illusion, if one takes to the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord such material sense gratification gradually dissipates, for it is merely a mental concoction of the conditioned soul. Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has emphasized by the words avyabhicāriṇī bhakti that one cannot dissipate the illusion of material sense gratification unless one takes to the unalloyed devotional service of the Lord. As Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has stated:
FAQs
This verse explains that duality appears in consciousness even when it is not ultimately real—similar to dreams and mental fantasies—so one should not take such appearances as absolute truth.
In the Uddhava Gītā, Kṛṣṇa instructs Uddhava on liberation: since the mind creates bondage through resolve and doubt, mastering it is essential for realizing the fearless spiritual position.
Observe how decisions and anxieties arise from mental looping (resolve vs. doubt), then steady the mind through disciplined practice—especially devotion, remembrance, and self-restraint—so fear and reactivity reduce.