Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 12
Guṇa-vibhāga: The Three Modes and the Path Beyond Them
सत्त्वं रजस्तम इति गुणा जीवस्य नैव मे । चित्तजा यैस्तु भूतानां सज्जमानो निबध्यते ॥ १२ ॥
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇā jīvasya naiva me citta-jā yais tu bhūtānāṁ sajjamāno nibadhyate
Sattva, rajas et tamas sont des qualités de l’être vivant, non les Miennes. Nées dans son mental, elles le poussent à s’attacher au corps et aux choses créées; ainsi l’être est lié.
The living entity is the marginal potency of the Supreme Lord, having the tendency to be overwhelmed by the Lord’s illusory material energy. The Personality of Godhead, however, is the absolute controller of illusion. Illusion can never control the Lord. Thus the Supreme Lord, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the eternal object of service for all living beings, who are eternally servants of the Lord.
FAQs
This verse states that the three modes belong to the conditioned jīva and bind the embodied being through mental attachment; they do not belong to the Supreme Lord.
Kṛṣṇa teaches Uddhava that He is transcendental to material nature; bondage arises for the jīva by identifying with and clinging to the mind-born modes, not because the Lord is conditioned by them.
Observe how your mind gravitates to goodness, passion, or ignorance, reduce attachment to those moods, and cultivate devotion and steady remembrance of the Lord to avoid being bound by them.