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Chapter 7 · Knowledge of the Absolute · 30 verses

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Nature & guṇasChapter 7 · Knowledge of the Absolute

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is · Text 7.12

The guṇas, illusion and divine energy

ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये ।

मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥ १२ ॥

ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā

rājasās tāmasāś ca ye

matta eveti tān viddhi

na tv ahaṁ teṣu te mayi

Translation

Know that all states of being – be they of goodness, passion or ignorance – are manifested by My energy. I am, in one sense, everything, but I am independent. I am not under the modes of material nature, for they, on the contrary, are within Me.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

What this verse is saying, and where it sits in the story.

Kṛṣṇa Is Beyond Material Nature

  1. 1Goodness, passion and ignorance come from Kṛṣṇa’s energy, but He remains independent of them.
  2. 2Prabhupāda explains that Kṛṣṇa is nirguṇa: the material modes come from Him but do not affect Him.
  3. 3Remember that Kṛṣṇa is not controlled by the material nature that comes from Him.

Where we are

In the story

Chapter 7, Knowledge of the Absolute: the guṇas, illusion and divine energy.

What it teaches

Theme summary

The modes of nature condition behavior.

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Key ideas in this verse

The spiritual concepts this verse connects to.

Key ideas: prakṛti, guṇa.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does BG 7.12 establish in Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport, and how does it connect to nature & guṇas?

Practice

Observe which mode shaped your last decision.

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Related verses

Keep going: verses that carry this teaching further.

Study notes are editorial summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport.

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