Shloka 33
Divinity and Divine Service
Bhagavān and Bhakti as the Supreme Dharma
असौ गुणमयैर्भावैर्भूतसूक्ष्मेन्द्रियात्मभि: । स्वनिर्मितेषु निर्विष्टो भुङ्क्ते भूतेषु तद्गुणान् ॥ ३३ ॥
asau guṇamayair bhāvair bhūta-sūkṣmendriyātmabhiḥ sva-nirmiteṣu nirviṣṭo bhuṅkte bhūteṣu tad-guṇān
Der Paramātmā tritt in die Körper der erschaffenen Wesen ein, die von den Guṇas der materiellen Natur beeinflusst sind; als feiner Geist und Sinne lässt Er sie die Wirkungen dieser Guṇas erfahren.
There are 8,400,000 species of living beings beginning from the highest intellectual being, Brahmā, down to the insignificant ant, and all of them are enjoying the material world according to the desires of the subtle mind and gross material body. The gross material body is based on the conditions of the subtle mind, and the senses are created according to the desire of the living being. The Lord as Paramātmā helps the living being to get material happiness because the living being is helpless in all respects in obtaining what he desires. He proposes, and the Lord disposes. In another sense, the living beings are parts and parcels of the Lord. They are therefore one with the Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā the living beings in all varieties of bodies have been claimed by the Lord as His sons. The sufferings and enjoyments of the sons are indirectly the sufferings and enjoyments of the father. Still the father is not in any way affected directly by the suffering and enjoyment of the sons. He is so kind that He constantly remains with the living being as Paramātmā and always tries to convert the living being towards the real happiness.
FAQs
This verse explains that the jīva identifies with guṇa-made mental states and with the elements, senses, and mind; by entering such self-made conditions (through karma), he experiences the corresponding results of those guṇas.
Because the Bhagavatam frames embodiment as the outcome of one’s own karma and identification: by choosing guṇa-based dispositions and actions, the jīva fashions future circumstances and then lives within them.
Watch the guṇa-driven patterns of mind and senses; by cultivating sāttvika habits and bhakti (hearing and chanting about Bhagavān), one reduces harmful conditioning and moves toward liberation.