Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.22.12
Sarga· CreationThe Soul Is Beyond Material Modes
“Nature exists originally as the equilibrium of the three material modes, which pertain only to nature, not to the transcendental spirit soul. These modes — goodness, passion and ignorance — are the effective causes of the creation, maintenance and destruction of this universe.”
What the purport teaches
- Material nature originally exists as the equilibrium of goodness, passion and ignorance. These modes bring about the universe’s creation, maintenance and destruction.
- The bewildered soul thinks himself the doer, although nature carries out material activities. The modes are far more powerful than the tiny living entity they control.
- Material knowledge, work and darkness do not belong to the transcendental soul, whose qualities are eternality, bliss and knowledge. The material modes cannot enter the kingdom of God, where the eternal living entity is meant to live.
Try this today
Notice one experience of knowledge, work or darkness today, and remind yourself that this material condition does not define the transcendental soul.
Ask yourself
When I feel driven by work or covered by darkness, do I mistake that condition for my spiritual identity?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.