Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 22
Mahārāja Sagara, Kapila Muni, and the Deliverance of the Sixty Thousand Sons
ये देहभाजस्त्रिगुणप्रधाना गुणान् विपश्यन्त्युत वा तमश्च । यन्मायया मोहितचेतसस्त्वां विदु: स्वसंस्थं न बहि:प्रकाशा: ॥ २२ ॥
ye deha-bhājas tri-guṇa-pradhānā guṇān vipaśyanty uta vā tamaś ca yan-māyayā mohita-cetasas tvāṁ viduḥ sva-saṁsthaṁ na bahiḥ-prakāśāḥ
Señor mío, los seres encarnados, dominados por las tres guṇas, sólo perciben las acciones y reacciones de esas guṇas, e incluso se hunden en la oscuridad de tamas. Embelesados por la māyā externa, no Te conocen a Ti, que moras en el corazón; con la inteligencia velada por sattva, rajas y tamas, sólo ven el brillo de lo exterior.
Unless one is situated in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, one is unable to understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is situated in everyone’s heart. However, because the conditioned souls are influenced by material nature, they can see only the actions and reactions of material nature, but not the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One therefore must purify himself internally and externally:
FAQs
This verse says that by the Lord’s māyā, embodied beings become deluded and perceive mainly the material modes—especially ignorance—so they fail to recognize the Lord’s full transcendence.
Shukadeva Gosvami is speaking, continuing his narration of the Bhagavatam’s teachings to King Parikshit.
The verse implies that one must rise above material conditioning (the guṇas) through spiritual discipline—especially devotion and purified consciousness—so the Lord is known not only as an inner witness but as the Supreme beyond matter.