Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 51
Sāṅkhya Enumeration of Tattvas, Distinction of Puruṣa–Prakṛti, and the Mechanics of Birth and Death
प्रकृतेरेवमात्मानमविविच्याबुध: पुमान् । तत्त्वेन स्पर्शसम्मूढ: संसारं प्रतिपद्यते ॥ ५१ ॥
prakṛter evam ātmānam avivicyābudhaḥ pumān tattvena sparśa-sammūḍhaḥ saṁsāraṁ pratipadyate
Неразумный человек, не различая себя и пракрити, принимает материальную природу за подлинную реальность; соприкасаясь с ней, он полностью заблуждается и вступает в круговорот сансары.
A similar verse is found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.5) :
FAQs
This verse explains that when one does not discriminate the ātmā from prakṛti, one becomes deluded by sense-contact and thereby falls into saṁsāra (bondage and repeated worldly experience).
In the Uddhava Gītā, Kṛṣṇa teaches Uddhava liberation through clear knowledge (viveka). Here He warns that taking sensory experience as ultimate truth keeps one bound to material existence.
Regularly pause before reacting to pleasure or discomfort, remember you are the observer (ātmā) and not the sensations, and choose actions guided by dharma and devotion rather than impulse.