Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 11.13.1

sri-bhagavan uvaca

sattvam rajas tama iti

guna buddher na catmanah

sattvenanyatamau hanyat

sattvam sattvena caiva hi

SYNONYMS

sri-bhagavan uvaca -- the Supreme Personality of Godhead said; sattvam -- goodness; rajah -- passion; tamah -- ignorance; iti -- thus known; gunah -- the modes of material nature; buddheh -- pertain to material intelligence; na -- not; ca -- also; atmanah -- to the soul; sattvena -- by the material mode of goodness; anyatamau -- the other two (passion and ignorance); hanyat -- may be destroyed; sattvam -- the material mode of goodness; sattvena -- by purified goodness; ca -- also (may be destroyed); eva -- certainly; hi -- indeed.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: The three modes of material nature, namely goodness, passion and ignorance, pertain to material intelligence and not to the spirit soul. By development of material goodness one can conquer the modes of passion and ignorance, and by cultivation of transcendental goodness one may free oneself even from material goodness.

PURPORT

Goodness in the material world never exists in a pure form. Therefore, it is common knowledge that on the material platform no one is working without personal motivation. In the material world goodness is always mixed with some amount of passion and ignorance, whereas spiritual, or purified, goodness (visuddha-sattva) represents the liberated platform of perfection. Materially, one is proud to be an honest, compassionate man, but unless one is fully Krishna conscious one will speak truths that are not ultimately significant, and one will give mercy that is ultimately useless. Because the onward march of material time removes all situations and persons from the material stage, our so-called mercy and truth apply to situations that shortly will not exist. Real truth is eternal, and real mercy means to situate people in eternal truth. Still, for an ordinary person, cultivation of material goodness may be a preliminary stage on the road to Krishna consciousness. For example, it is stated in the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam that one who is addicted to meat-eating cannot understand the pastimes of Lord Krishna. By cultivation of the material mode of goodness, however, one may become a vegetarian and perhaps come to appreciate the sublime process of Krishna consciousness. Since it is clearly stated in Bhagavad-gita that the material modes of nature constantly rotate, one must take advantage of an elevated position in material goodness to step onto the transcendental platform. Otherwise, as the wheel of time turns one will again go into the darkness of material ignorance.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari