Shloka 5
Sāṅkhya: Categories of the Absolute Truth and the Unfolding of Creation
Tattva-vicāra
गुणैर्विचित्रा: सृजतीं सरूपा: प्रकृतिं प्रजा: । विलोक्य मुमुहे सद्य: स इह ज्ञानगूहया ॥ ५ ॥
guṇair vicitrāḥ sṛjatīṁ sa-rūpāḥ prakṛtiṁ prajāḥ vilokya mumuhe sadyaḥ sa iha jñāna-gūhayā
ত্রিগুণে বিচিত্র রূপ সৃষ্টি করা প্রকৃতি ও তদনুরূপ জীবদের দেখে, জীব তৎক্ষণাৎ মায়ার জ্ঞান-আবরণ শক্তিতে মোহিত হয়।
Material energy has the power to cover knowledge, but this covering cannot be applied to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is applicable only to the prajāḥ, or those who are born with material bodies, the conditioned souls. The different kinds of living entities vary according to the modes of material nature, as explained in Bhagavad-gītā and other Vedic literature. In Bhagavad-gītā (7.12) it is very nicely explained that although the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance are born of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is not subject to them. In other words, the energy emanating from the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot act on Him; it acts on the conditioned souls, who are covered by the material energy. The Lord is the father of all living entities because He impregnates material energy with the conditioned souls. Therefore, the conditioned souls get bodies created by the material energy, whereas the father of the living entities is aloof from the three modes.
FAQs
This verse states that even upon observing prakriti creating endless varieties through the gunas, one can become immediately bewildered because true knowledge becomes covered by a deluding potency.
Because the modes of nature and māyā can conceal the soul’s clear understanding, making the produced varieties of the world appear ultimate and self-sufficient rather than dependent on the Supreme.
Recognize that variety and change are effects of the gunas; step back from over-identifying with them, and cultivate steady spiritual discernment through devotion, study, and regulated living.