:: Chapter 14 :: The Three Modes Of Material Nature

Text 3

mama yonir mahad brahma
tasmin garbham dadhamy aham
sam bhavah sarva-bhutanam
tato bhavati bharata

Synonyms

mama--My; yonih--source of birth; mahat--the total material existence; brahma--supreme; tasmin--in that; garbham--pregnancy; dadhami--create; aham--I; sambhavah--the possibility; sarva-bhutanam--of all living entities; tatah--thereafter; bhavati--becomes; bharata--O son of Bharata.

Translation

The total material substance, called Brahman, is the source of birth, and it is that Brahman that I impregnate, making possible the births of all living beings, O son of Bharata.

Purport

This is an explanation of the world: everything that takes place is due to the combination of ksetra and ksetra-jna, the body and the spirit soul. This combination of material nature and the living entity is made possible by the Supreme God Himself. The mahat-tattva is the total cause of the total cosmic manifestation; and that total substance of the material cause, in which there are three modes of nature, is sometimes called Brahman. The Supreme Personality impregnates that total substance, and thus innumerable universes become possible. This total material substance, the mahat-tattva, is described as Brahman in the Vedic literature (Mundaka Upanisad 1.1.19): tasmad etad Brahma nama-rupam annam ca jayate. The Supreme Person impregnates that Brahman with the seeds of the living entities. The twenty-four elements, beginning from earth, water, fire and air, are all material energy, and they constitute what is called mahad brahma, or the great Brahman, the material nature. As explained in the Seventh Chapter, beyond this there is another, superior nature--the living entity. Into material nature the superior nature is mixed by the will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thereafter all living entities are born of this material nature.

The scorpion lays its eggs in piles of rice, and sometimes it is said that the scorpion is born out of rice. But the rice is not the cause of the scorpion. Actually, the eggs were laid by the mother. Similarly, material nature is not the cause of the birth of the living entities. The seed is given by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and they only seem to come out as products of material nature. Thus every living entity, according to his past activities, has a different body, created by this material nature, so that the entity can enjoy or suffer according to his past deeds. The Lord is the cause of all the manifestations of living entities in this material world.

Text 4

sarva-yonisu kaunteya
murtayah sambhavanti yah
tasam brahma mahad yonir
aham bija-pradah pita

Synonyms

sarva-yonisu--in all species of life; kaunteya--O son of Kunti; murtayah--forms; sambhavanti--they appear; yah--which; tasam--of all of them; brahma--the supreme; mahat yonih--source of birth in the material substance; aham--I; bija-pradah--the seed-giving; pita--father.

Translation

It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kunti, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.

Purport

In this verse it is clearly explained that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krisna, is the original father of all living entities. The living entities are combinations of the material nature and the spiritual nature. Such living entities are seen not only on this planet but on every planet, even on the highest, where Brahma is situated. Everywhere there are living entities; within the earth there are living entities, even within water and within fire. All these appearances are due to the mother, material nature, and Krisna's seed-giving process. The purport is that the material world is impregnated with living entities, who come out in various forms at the time of creation according to their past deeds.

Text 5

sattvam rajas tama iti
gunah prakrti-sambhavah
nibadhnanti maha-baho
dehe dehinam avyayam

Synonyms

sattvam--the mode of goodness; rajah--the mode of passion; tamah--the mode of ignorance; iti--thus; gunah--the qualities; prakrti--material nature; sambhavah--produced of; nibadhnanti--do condition; maha-baho--O mighty-armed one; dehe--in this body; dehinam--the living entity; avyayam--eternal.

Translation

Material nature consists of three modes--goodness, passion and ignorance. When the eternal living entity comes in contact with nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, he becomes conditioned by these modes.

Purport

The living entity, because he is transcendental, has nothing to do with this material nature. Still, because he has become conditioned by the material world, he is acting under the spell of the three modes of material nature. Because living entities have different kinds of bodies, in terms of the different aspects of nature, they are induced to act according to that nature. This is the cause of the varieties of happiness and distress.