Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.1.8
Ūti· What drives us to actChanging Fortunes Do Not Mean Divine Partiality
“When the quality of goodness is prominent, the sages and demigods flourish with the help of that quality, with which they are infused and surcharged by the Supreme Lord. Similarly, when the mode of passion is prominent the demons flourish, and when ignorance is prominent the Yakṣas and Rākṣasas flourish. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is present in everyone’s heart, fostering the reactions of sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa.”
What the purport teaches
- Victory and loss under sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa are reactions of those modes, not signs of the Lord’s partiality. Present in everyone’s heart, He gives the results without taking part in victory or loss.
- The modes become prominent at different times, like changing seasons. Goodness fosters knowledge, passion brings attachment and intense desire, and ignorance brings illusion, inertia and darkness.
- The Lord remains untouched by material qualities, while the conditioned soul experiences their effects. Material pleasure is followed by painful conditions, and even an apparent victory may bring ruin.
Try this today
Recall one recent success or setback and reflect on it without treating it as proof of the Lord’s partiality.
Ask yourself
Do I mistake material success or failure for evidence that the Lord favors or rejects someone?
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.