Bhagavad Gita 14.5

sattvaṁ rajas tama iti

guṇāḥ prakṛti-sambhavāḥ

nibadhnanti mahā-bāho

dehe dehinam avyayam

 

Goodness, passion, ignorance—they all bind,

Born of nature, they condition the mind;

They entice the soul within,

Trapping it in flesh and skin.

 

My dear Lord, the most immediate effect of the forces of illusion—the modes of material nature—is that I drift away from myself. Indeed, I forget myself—and ultimately I forget you, who are the supreme self within me.

O infallible Lord, when I become captivated by the forces of illusion, I start chasing not only the external objects of temptation created by the three modes, but also an identity that I believe will make me worthy enough to enjoy those objects. Thus, under the clutches of the mode of passion, if I seek fame and prestige as a scholar, I start feverishly building an identity for myself as an intellectual. And the more I crave such an identity, the more I forget that I am a multidimensional being, with spirituality as the foundation of who I am.

O merciful Lord, let me not crave and slave in the vain attempt to be you by building a flawless outer persona that traps me in illusion, disconnected from who I am and from who you have made me to be. Guide me so that the outer identity I build helps me come closer to my actual identity—that you have made me a person, even if a finite and fallible one.

O supreme enlightener, remind me that I remain always a precious part of you, and reassure me that in playing the part you have in mind for me, I can and will find the supreme fulfillment.

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14.05 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.