Shloka 30
Divinity and Divine Service
Bhagavān and Bhakti as the Supreme Dharma
स एवेदं ससर्जाग्रे भगवानात्ममायया । सदसद्रूपया चासौ गुणमयागुणो विभु: ॥ ३० ॥
sa evedaṁ sasarjāgre bhagavān ātma-māyayā sad-asad-rūpayā cāsau guṇamayāguṇo vibhuḥ
In the beginning of creation, that very Bhagavān Vāsudeva, by His own ātma-māyā, manifested the energies of cause and effect and thus brought forth this universe; though He is beyond the guṇas, He is the all-pervading Lord of the guṇa-made potency.
The position of the Lord is always transcendental because the causal and effectual energies required for the creation of the material world were also created by Him. He is unaffected, therefore, by the qualities of the material modes. His existence, form, activities and paraphernalia all existed before the material creation.* He is all-spiritual and has nothing to do with the qualities of the material world, which are qualitatively distinct from the spiritual qualities of the Lord.
FAQs
This verse states that Bhagavan manifests the universe in the beginning by His own potency (ātma-māyā), producing the temporary material forms while He remains the supreme controller.
Because the modes of nature belong to the manifested creation, while the Lord—though causing and governing them—remains transcendental (aguṇaḥ), untouched by material limitation.
It helps a devotee stop projecting material limitations onto God and strengthens steady bhakti—worshiping the Lord as transcendental, even while living amid changing material conditions.