Srimad Bhagavatam — Ekadasha Skandha, Shloka 31
Guṇa-viveka, Haṁsa-gītā, and the Yoga that Cuts False Ego
असत्त्वादात्मनोऽन्येषां भावानां तत्कृता भिदा । गतयो हेतवश्चास्य मृषा स्वप्नदृशो यथा ॥ ३१ ॥
asattvād ātmano ’nyeṣāṁ bhāvānāṁ tat-kṛtā bhidā gatayo hetavaś cāsya mṛṣā svapna-dṛśo yathā
ภาวะทั้งหลายที่ถูกคิดว่าแยกจากพระบุคคลสูงสุดนั้นแท้จริงไร้สภาวะจริง แต่กลับก่อความรู้สึกแยกจากสัจจะสัมบูรณ์ ดุจผู้เห็นความฝันที่จินตนาการกิจกรรมและรางวัลมากมาย ฉันใด สัตว์โลกเพราะหลงว่าตนแยกจากพระเจ้า จึงกระทำกรรมหวังผลอย่างลวง และคิดว่าเป็นเหตุแห่งคติและผลในภายหน้า ฉันนั้น
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura comments as follows: “Although Lord Kṛṣṇa in His form of Haṁsa-avatāra has condemned the intelligence that sees duality and separate values within the material world, the Vedas themselves institute the system of varṇāśrama-dharma, by which the entire human society is divided into different castes, occupations and spiritual statuses. Therefore, how can the Lord recommend that one give up one’s faith in this Vedic system? The answer is given in this verse as follows. The words anyeṣāṁ bhāvānām, or ‘of other states of existence,’ refer to the innumerable divisions of false identification with the material body, mind, occupation, and so on. Such identification is illusion, and the material divisions of the varṇāśrama system are certainly based on this illusion. The Vedic literatures promise heavenly rewards such as residence in upper planetary systems and prescribe the means to acquire such rewards. However, both the rewards and the means for achieving them are ultimately illusion. Since this world is the Lord’s creation, one cannot deny that its existence is also real; yet the living entity who identifies the creations of this world as belonging to himself is certainly in illusion. The example may be given that horns are real and rabbits are real, but if one imagines a rabbit’s horns, that is certainly illusion, though a rabbit’s horns may occur in a dream. Similarly, the living entity dreams of a permanent relationship within the material world. One may dream that one is feasting on sumptuous sweet rice prepared with milk and sugar, but there is no actual nutritional value in the dream of royal feasting.”
FAQs
This verse says the soul’s perceived differences, destinations, and their causes are ultimately false—like dream experiences—because the self is not truly bound by material states.
Krishna instructs Uddhava to see beyond bodily and karmic identities, recognizing that liberation comes from realizing the soul’s transcendence and taking shelter of spiritual truth (and devotion).
Treat success, failure, praise, and fear as temporary appearances; act responsibly, but reduce attachment by remembering you are the soul, and anchor the mind in bhakti and steady spiritual practice.