# Modes of Nature *On the three guṇas: sattva, rajas, and tamas* --- ### Controlled by Prakṛti > You are not independent. You are under the control of prakṛti. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. So long you will remain under the control of prakṛti you will forcibly be carried away by the waves of the material nature. Mṛtyu-saṁsāra-vartmani. — [[spoken/1976/761016bg.cha|Bhagavad-gītā 9.3, Chandigarh, 1976]] --- ### Very Strong Māyā > Māyā is very strong. Daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā duratyayā. Kṛṣṇa says that "This māyā is very strong, very difficult to overcome." But mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te: "Anyone who surrenders unto Me, he can easily cross over this māyā." — [[spoken/1972/721017sb.vrn|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.6, Vṛndāvana, 1972]] --- ### Acting According to Modes > If you act like dog, then become dog next life. And if you act like god, then you'll get god, very easy thing. So whatever you like, you can do. But the śāstra gives you direction, yajñārthe. "Act, work, work hard for pleasing the Supreme Lord." — [[spoken/1975/750310bg.lon|Bhagavad-gītā 7.2, London, 1975]] --- ### Rise Above the Modes > A devotee is free from both sinful activities and pious activities. He is not hankering after the result of pious activities—promotion to heavenly planets. Nor is he afraid of sinful activities—going to hell. He is transcendental to both. — [[spoken/1972/721017sb.vrn|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.6, Vṛndāvana, 1972]] --- ### Infection and Disease > If you eat and sleep and act like dog, then become dog next life. And if you act like god, then you'll get god, very easy thing. So whatever you like, you can do. But the śāstra gives you direction, yajñārthe. "Act, work, work hard for pleasing the Supreme Lord." Otherwise you will be bound up in the cycle of birth and death. — [[spoken/1975/750310bg.lon|Bhagavad-gītā 7.2, London, 1975]] --- ### Body According to Mode > Kṛṣṇa is so kind, ye yathā māṁ prapadyante. As you desire, Kṛṣṇa gives you. If you desire to become a tiger, He will give you a tiger's body. If you desire to become a devotee, He will give you a body like a devotee. So everything depends on your desire. — [[spoken/1976/760619sb.tor|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.3, Toronto, 1976]] --- ### Transcendental Platform > When the senses are purified, then they can be engaged in the service of Kṛṣṇa. Sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam. When the senses are free from material designation and are purified, they can act in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. — [[spoken/1970/701219sb.sur|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.34–39, Surat, 1970]] --- ### Beyond Good and Bad > So devotional service is such a nice thing that one becomes perfect by purification. Yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpam. One whose sinful activities are completely stopped—na tu māṁ abhijānanti tattvenātmā-vicālanam—one can understand Kṛṣṇa in truth. — [[spoken/1972/721017sb.vrn|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.6, Vṛndāvana, 1972]] --- ### Becoming Transcendental > Just like if you put iron rod in the fire, it becomes red hot, and if you touch the iron rod anywhere, it will burn. Similarly, if you put yourself always in the fire of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you become purified. This is the process. — [[spoken/1970/701219sb.sur|Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.1.34–39, Surat, 1970]] --- ### No More Bondage > Yajñārthe karmaṇaḥ anyatra karma-bandhanaḥ. If you work for Kṛṣṇa, there is no bondage. But if you work for yourself, for your sense gratification, then you are bound up by the laws of nature. — [[spoken/1975/750310bg.lon|Bhagavad-gītā 7.2, London, 1975]] --- *10 quotes from Śrīla Prabhupāda on the modes of nature* [[wiki/quotes|Back to Quotes]]