Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 5
Nimi Questions the Yogendras: Māyā, Cosmic Dissolution, Guru-Śaraṇāgati, Bhakti, and Deity Worship
गुणैर्गुणान्स भुञ्जान आत्मप्रद्योतितै: प्रभु: । मन्यमान इदं सृष्टमात्मानमिह सज्जते ॥ ५ ॥
guṇair guṇān sa bhuñjāna ātma-pradyotitaiḥ prabhuḥ manyamāna idaṁ sṛṣṭam ātmānam iha sajjate
The individual living being, the master of the material body, uses his material senses, which have been activated by the Supersoul, to try to enjoy sense objects composed of the three modes of nature. Thus he misidentifies the created material body with the unborn eternal self and becomes entangled in the illusory energy of the Lord.
In this verse the living entity is called prabhuḥ, or “master,” because he is a minute part and parcel of the supreme master, Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, in Bhagavad-gītā (15.8) the Lord has described the living entity as īśvaraḥ, “the controller.”
FAQs
This verse explains that the soul experiences the world through the gunas, then mistakes the body and worldly arrangement as meant for itself, and thus becomes attached and bound.
Because by nature the self is conscious and distinct from matter, but due to misidentification with the gunas and the body, that true mastery is forgotten and attachment arises.
Notice that thoughts and sense urges arise from the gunas; practice witnessing them without identifying as the body-mind, and cultivate devotion and detachment to stop feeding attachment.