Shloka 15
Kapila’s Devotional Sāṅkhya: Sādhu-saṅga, Bhakti-yoga, and Fearlessness in the Supreme Shelter
चेत: खल्वस्य बन्धाय मुक्तये चात्मनो मतम् । गुणेषु सक्तं बन्धाय रतं वा पुंसि मुक्तये ॥ १५ ॥
cetaḥ khalv asya bandhāya muktaye cātmano matam guṇeṣu saktaṁ bandhāya rataṁ vā puṁsi muktaye
The living being’s consciousness is said to be the cause of both bondage and liberation. When that consciousness is attached to the guṇas of material nature, it brings conditioned life; but when the same consciousness is devoted to Bhagavān, the Supreme Puruṣa, one stands in the consciousness of liberation.
There is a distinction here between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and māyā consciousness. Guṇeṣu, or māyā consciousness, involves attachment to the three material modes of nature, under which one works sometimes in goodness and knowledge, sometimes in passion and sometimes in ignorance. These different qualitative activities, with the central attachment for material enjoyment, are the cause of one’s conditional life. When the same cetaḥ, or consciousness, is transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is on the path of liberation.
FAQs
Bhagavatam 3.25.15 says the mind binds the soul when attached to the material modes, and liberates when attached to the Supreme Person through devotion.
Kapila instructs His mother Devahuti on bhakti-yoga, explaining that redirecting the mind from guṇas to the Supreme is the key principle behind freedom from material bondage.
Notice what your mind repeatedly clings to, reduce guṇa-driven habits, and deliberately engage the mind in devotion—hearing, chanting, remembering, and serving the Lord—so attachment shifts from material objects to God.