Shloka 29
Vidura’s Questions on Devotion and Sarga; Maitreya Begins the Account of Creation
महत्तत्त्वाद्विकुर्वाणादहंतत्त्वं व्यजायत । कार्यकारणकर्त्रात्मा भूतेन्द्रियमनोमय: । वैकारिकस्तैजसश्च तामसश्चेत्यहं त्रिधा ॥ २९ ॥
mahat-tattvād vikurvāṇād ahaṁ-tattvaṁ vyajāyata kārya-kāraṇa-kartrātmā bhūtendriya-mano-mayaḥ vaikārikas taijasaś ca tāmasaś cety ahaṁ tridhā
From the transformation of the mahat-tattva arose aham-tattva, the false ego. It appears in three aspects—cause, effect, and doer—operating on the plane of the elements, the senses, and the mind. This ego is threefold according to the guṇas: goodness, passion, and ignorance.
A pure living entity in his original spiritual existence is fully conscious of his constitutional position as an eternal servitor of the Lord. All souls who are situated in such pure consciousness are liberated, and therefore they eternally live in bliss and knowledge in the various Vaikuṇṭha planets in the spiritual sky. When the material creation is manifested, it is not meant for them. The eternally liberated souls are called nitya-muktas, and they have nothing to do with the material creation. The material creation is meant for rebellious souls who are not prepared to accept subordination under the Supreme Lord. This spirit of false lordship is called false ego. It is manifested in three modes of material nature, and it exists in mental speculation only. Those who are in the mode of goodness think that each and every person is God, and thus they laugh at the pure devotees, who try to engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord. Those who are puffed up by the mode of passion try to lord it over material nature in various ways. Some of them engage in altruistic activities as if they were agents appointed to do good to others by their mental speculative plans. Such men accept the standard ways of mundane altruism, but their plans are made on the basis of false ego. This false ego extends to the limit of becoming one with the Lord. The last class of egoistic conditioned souls — those in the mode of ignorance — are misguided by identification of the gross body with the self. Thus all their activities are centered around the body only. All these persons are given the chance to play with false egoistic ideas, but at the same time the Lord is kind enough to give them a chance to take help from scriptures like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam so that they may understand the science of Kṛṣṇa and thus make their lives successful. The entire material creation, therefore, is meant for the falsely egoistic living entities hovering on the mental plane under different illusions in the modes of material nature.
FAQs
In Canto 3, Chapter 5, this verse states that ahaṅkāra arises from the transformation of the mahat-tattva and becomes the basis for the elements, senses, and mind.
Vidura asked about creation and the workings of material nature; Maitreya explains that ego is threefold according to the guṇas, showing how different aspects of the cosmos and psychology unfold from goodness, passion, and ignorance.
By recognizing whether one’s sense of identity is shaped by goodness, passion, or ignorance, a seeker can cultivate sattva, reduce rajasic agitation and tamasic inertia, and redirect the sense of doership toward devotion and service to the Lord.