Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 6.17.18

saḿsāra-cakra etasmiñ

jantur ajñāna-mohitaḥ

bhrāmyan sukhaḿ ca duḥkhaḿ ca

bhuńkte sarvatra sarvadā

SYNONYMS

saḿsāra-cakre — in the wheel of material existence; etasmin — this; jantuḥ — the living entity; ajñāna-mohitaḥ — being bewildered by ignorance; bhrāmyan — wandering; sukham — happiness; ca — and; duḥkham — distress; ca — also; bhuńkte — he undergoes; sarvatra — everywhere; sarvadā — always.

TRANSLATION

Deluded by ignorance, the living entity wanders in the forest of this material world, enjoying the happiness and distress resulting from his past deeds, everywhere and at all times. [Therefore, my dear mother, neither you nor I am to be blamed for this incident.]

PURPORT

As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (3.27):

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni

guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ

ahańkāra-vimūḍhātmā

kartāham iti manyate

"The bewildered soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by nature." Actually a conditioned soul is completely under the control of material nature. Wandering here and there — always and everywhere — he is subjected to the results of his past deeds. This is carried out by the laws of nature, but one foolishly thinks himself the doer, which in fact he is not. To get free from the karma-cakra, the wheel of the results of one's karma, one should take to bhakti-mārga — devotional service, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the only remedy. Sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaḿ śaraṇaḿ vraja [Bg. 18.66].

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness