Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.1.10
Visarga· Brahmā's creationMaterial Nature Acts Under the Lord
“When the Supreme Personality of Godhead creates different types of bodies, offering a particular body to each living entity according to his character and fruitive actions, the Lord revives all the qualities of material nature — sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa. Then, as the Supersoul, He enters each body and influences the qualities of creation, maintenance and annihilation, using sattva-guṇa for maintenance, rajo-guṇa for creation and tamo-guṇa for annihilation.”
What the purport teaches
- Material nature is not independent. The Supreme Personality of Godhead directs the activities of its three qualities: goodness, passion and ignorance.
- A living entity receives a body according to character and karma, under the Supreme Lord’s supervision. In each body, one of the three qualities is prominent.
- The Lord enters each body as Paramātmā and gives directions. He employs sattva-guṇa for maintenance, rajo-guṇa for creation and tamo-guṇa for annihilation.
Try this today
Write down the three qualities of material nature and the activity the Lord directs through each.
Ask yourself
How does knowing that material nature has a supreme director change my understanding of the body?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.