Gita 07.13 – The modes sabotage our prospects of coming out of material existence
tribhir guṇa-mayair bhāvair
ebhiḥ sarvam idaṁ jagat
mohitaṁ nābhijānāti
mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam (Bg 7.13)
Word-for-word:
e states of being; ebhiḥ — all these; sarvam — whole; idam — this; jagat — universe; mohitam — deluded; na abhijānāti — does not know; mām — Me; ebhyaḥ — above these; param — the Supreme; avyayam — inexhaustible.
Translation:
Deluded by the three modes [goodness, passion and ignorance], the whole world does not know Me, who am above the modes and inexhaustible.
Explanation:
In this verse, Kṛṣṇa speaks about His position and relationship with the three modes of material nature. He says:
tribhiḥ guṇa-mayair bhāvaiḥ: By the three modes of material nature (goodness, passion, and ignorance);
ebhiḥ sarvam idaṁ jagat: the entire world is deluded;
mohitaṁ nābhijānāti: being bewildered, people do not know
mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam: Me, who am transcendental to these modes and imperishable.
From verses 7.7 to 7.12, Kṛṣṇa has spoken about how He is the essence of everything and how He is immanent within creation. He first explains this principle through the analogy of the underlying thread in a necklace of pearls and then illustrates it with examples of His immanence.
However, when people hear that God is immanent, they sometimes assume that nature itself is God and that there is no God beyond nature—that God has no self-existence apart from it. Kṛṣṇa refutes this notion here by declaring that although He pervades all of nature, He still exists independently of it—mām ebhyaḥ param avyayam.
Another characteristic of everything in this material world is that it is ‘vyaya’—subject to the influence of time and therefore destined to deteriorate. Kṛṣṇa, however, is transcendental and imperishable—param avyayam.
Kṛṣṇa begins by declaring, tribhiḥ guṇa-mayair bhāvaiḥ—the three modes pervade everything and delude everyone. They obscure the perception of all living beings (mohitaṁ sarvam idaṁ jagat).
A common example illustrates how Kṛṣṇa remains unaffected by the illusion that influences us. Kṛṣṇa is like the sun, while the modes—along with their coverings, illusions, and obscuring effects on perception—are like clouds in the sky. We, the conditioned souls, are like observers on the ground whose vision is obstructed by those clouds.
There are three key points conveyed through this metaphor.
First, the straightforward point is that the clouds actually cover us, not the sun. Although it may appear that the sun is covered, in reality the sun is far greater than the clouds; it is our vision that is obstructed, not the sun itself. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa can never be covered by material illusion.
We will discuss transcendental illusion—yoga-māyā—later, in verse 7.25 (nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ). Here, however, the emphasis is that the material modes, which influence everyone in this world, do not affect Kṛṣṇa. He always remains transcendental.
Because He is eternally beyond the modes, His position is dramatically different from ours: He is eternally transcendental. Thus, the first point is that we are in illusion, whereas Kṛṣṇa is above illusion. We are māyādhīna—under the control of māyā—while Kṛṣṇa is māyādhīśa—the master of māyā. This point, that māyā is under Kṛṣṇa’s control, will be made even more explicitly in the next verse, 7.14.
Now, let us consider the second point. Although the sun may appear obscured to our vision by the clouds, those very clouds are a result of the sun’s own actions. The sun evaporates water from the earth; the vapor rises, gathers, and forms clouds. Thus, the clouds are not an independent reality that can act in defiance of the sun—they exist because of the sun’s influence. Without the sun, the clouds could not exist at all.
In some religions, it is proposed that Satan is an independent being who acts in defiance of God’s will, creating evil in the world and inciting people to do wrong. However, as this example and these verses make clear, māyā, the illusory energy, does not act independently of the Supreme Lord. Māyā operates entirely under His will.
She originates from the Supreme Lord and always remains under His control. Though she appears to act in ways that delude souls and turn them away from Kṛṣṇa, that activity is part of her service—to test the sincerity of each soul’s intention to serve Him. The essential point is that she is never independent of Kṛṣṇa.
Thirdly, māyā is not eternal—at least not in the sense of the illusion it creates within us, although the Lord’s energy itself is eternal. Eventually, when the sun’s heat intensifies, the clouds condense and dissipate. Similarly, the illusion caused by māyā can be removed by the Lord’s will.
From our position on the ground, it is impractical to try to influence the clouds or bring about their condensation artificially, as in cloud seeding. Although various scientific experiments have been conducted in this field, they have not produced significant or consistent rainfall to justify the high expenditure of such projects.
Similarly, the illusion created by māyā cannot be dispelled by our own efforts alone. What we need to understand is that Kṛṣṇa is always in control and always transcendental. Māyā is His energy, which deludes the living beings according to His will—and by that same will, she can withdraw her deluding influence when Kṛṣṇa sees that a soul sincerely desires to turn toward Him.
Furthermore, the verse states mohitaṁ nābhijānāti. The illusion created by māyā is often understood in terms of how it makes us attracted to the things of this world. For example, due to māyā, we are drawn to temporarily attractive bodies or feel an irresistible pull toward sense objects.
Of course, this pull exists because we ourselves harbor the desire to enjoy matter (puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān, 13.22). Since the soul desires enjoyment, everything else follows—the soul becomes entangled. However, even after this desire arises, the subsequent sequence—contact with appealing sense objects and the internal agitation that follows—takes place entirely under the arrangement of māyā.
Normally, we think of māyā in terms of the attraction she creates toward sense objects. However, here Kṛṣṇa speaks of a far more relevant effect of māyā—that she deludes us about Kṛṣṇa and prevents us from understanding Him.
When Kṛṣṇa descends into this world as an avatāra, He appears in a humanlike form, and people who see Him are unable to perceive His transcendental nature. They think He is just another ordinary person—or at best, an extraordinary one among many others. They fail to recognize that He is the Supreme Person.
For example, Duryodhana saw Kṛṣṇa on several occasions, yet he never felt genuine attraction or devotion toward Him. Had he truly understood Kṛṣṇa to be God, his attitude and actions would have been entirely different.
Even when Kṛṣṇa revealed His Viśvarūpa in Hastināpura while acting as a śānti-dūta (messenger of peace), Duryodhana dismissed it as mere magic and was unimpressed. He could not comprehend Kṛṣṇa’s true nature—and similarly, many others also failed to understand Him sufficiently to develop devotion. This was because their desires were misdirected (mohitaṁ nābhijānāti).
Ordinary people cannot know Kṛṣṇa because He is transcendental—He is not material and exists completely beyond the influence of the modes of nature.
Our illusory attraction to sense objects is, of course, a well-known and well-documented effect of the modes of nature. However, a far more detrimental effect is our misunderstanding of Kṛṣṇa, for that misunderstanding destroys our prospects of escaping material existence.
Attraction to sense objects binds us to material life, but attraction to Kṛṣṇa frees us from it. If we understand Kṛṣṇa, we naturally become drawn to Him—and through that attraction, we gain hope of becoming disentangled from material desires. But if we fail to understand Kṛṣṇa and thus feel no attraction toward Him, the primary means of liberation becomes blocked, and our material existence continues endlessly.
In conclusion, Kṛṣṇa underscores His transcendental and imperishable nature, eternally beyond the modes of material nature.
Thank you.
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