Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 32
Guṇa-vibhāga: The Three Modes and the Path Beyond Them
एता: संसृतय: पुंसो गुणकर्मनिबन्धना: । येनेमे निर्जिता: सौम्य गुणा जीवेन चित्तजा: । भक्तियोगेन मन्निष्ठो मद्भावाय प्रपद्यते ॥ ३२ ॥
etāḥ saṁsṛtayaḥ puṁso guṇa-karma-nibandhanāḥ yeneme nirjitāḥ saumya guṇā jīvena citta-jāḥ bhakti-yogena man-niṣṭho mad-bhāvāya prapadyate
Wahai Uddhava yang lembut, semua tahap kehidupan terikat ini timbul daripada ikatan kerja yang lahir daripada guṇa. Makhluk hidup yang menakluk guṇa yang termanifest dari minda dapat menumpukan diri kepada-Ku melalui bhakti-yoga dan mencapai cinta suci kepada-Ku.
The words mad-bhāvāya prapadyate indicate the attainment of love for God or of the same state of existence as that of the Supreme Lord. Actual liberation is residence within the eternal kingdom of God, where life is full of bliss and knowledge. The conditioned soul falsely imagines himself to be the enjoyer of the modes of nature, and thus a particular type of material work is generated, the reaction of which binds the conditioned soul to repeated birth and death. This fruitless process can be counteracted by loving service to the Lord, as described here.
FAQs
This verse explains that material wandering is caused by bondage to guna and karma, but the jīva can conquer the mind-born modes by bhakti-yoga—becoming fixed in Krishna and thus attaining His state (mad-bhāva).
Krishna is instructing Uddhava on the root cause of samsara (guna and karma) and the practical solution—exclusive devotion to Him—by which one transcends the modes and reaches spiritual perfection.
Recognize that many mental ups and downs are mode-driven, then steady the mind through bhakti practices (hearing, chanting, remembrance, and offering work to Krishna), becoming increasingly fixed in Him rather than in shifting moods and results.