Devanagari
श्रीभगवानुवाच
प्रकृतिस्थोऽपि पुरुषो नाज्यते प्राकृतैर्गुणै: ।
अविकारादकर्तृत्वान्निर्गुणत्वाज्जलार्कवत् ॥ १ ॥
Verse text
śrī-bhagavān uvāca
prakṛti-stho ’pi puruṣo
nājyate prākṛtair guṇaiḥ
avikārād akartṛtvān
nirguṇatvāj jalārkavat
Synonyms
śrī
—
bhagavān uvāca — the Personality of Godhead said
;
prakṛti
—
sthaḥ — residing in the material body
;
api
—
although
;
puruṣaḥ
—
the living entity
;
na
—
not
;
ajyate
—
is affected
;
prākṛtaiḥ
—
of material nature
;
guṇaiḥ
—
by the modes
;
avikārāt
—
from being without change
;
akartṛtvāt
—
by freedom from proprietorship
;
nirguṇatvāt
—
from being unaffected by the qualities of material nature
;
jala
—
on water
;
arkavat
—
like the sun .
Translation
The Personality of Godhead Kapila continued: When the living entity is thus unaffected by the modes of material nature, because he is unchanging and does not claim proprietorship, he remains apart from the reactions of the modes, although abiding in a material body, just as the sun remains aloof from its reflection on water.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The Lord said: The jīva, though situated in prakṛti, is not affected by prakṛti’s guṇas, since it is without guṇas, not the doer and is devoid of change, like the sun’s rays on the surface of water.
In the Twenty-seventh Chapter, after discussing the method of jṣāna mixed with bhakti and distinguishing prakṛti and puruṣa, the method for liberation is described. Kapila shows the difference of the jīva from prakṛti in order to present liberation by discriminating knowledge. Though the jīva is situated in prakṛti, it is not affected because it is not a doer and consequently unchanging, since it is without guṇas in deep sleep and during final devastation. It is like the rays of the sun on the water. The sun is not at all disturbed by the qualities of water. If the water quivers because of wind, the suns rays on the water also quiver. It is said:
jyotir yathaivodaka-pārthiveṣv adaḥ
samīra-vegānugataṁ vibhāvyate
evaṁ sva-māyā-raciteṣv asau pumān
guṇeṣu rāgānugato vimuhyati
When the luminaries in the sky, such as the moon, the sun and the stars, are reflected in liquids like oil or water, they appear to be of different shapes—sometimes round, sometimes long, and so on—because of the movements of the wind. Similarly, when the living entity, the soul, is absorbed in materialistic thoughts, he accepts various manifestations as his own identity because of ignorance. SB 10.1.43
Thus, when there is purification of the mind, the concept of self also becomes pure. The scriptures say that the mind is the cause of bondage and liberation.
Purport
In the previous chapter Lord Kapiladeva has concluded that simply by beginning the discharge of devotional service one can attain detachment and transcendental knowledge for understanding the science of God. Here the same principle is confirmed. A person who is detached from the modes of material nature remains just like the sun reflected on water. When the sun is reflected on water, the movement of the water or the coolness or unsteadiness of the water cannot affect the sun. Similarly,
vāsudeve bhagavati bhakti-yogaḥ prayojitaḥ
(
Bhāg.
1.2.7
): when one engages fully in the activities of devotional service,
bhakti-yoga,
he becomes just like the sun reflected on water. Although a devotee appears to be in the material world, actually he is in the transcendental world. As the reflection of the sun appears to be on the water but is many millions of miles away from the water, so one engaged in the
bhakti-yoga
process is
nirguṇa,
or unaffected by the qualities of material nature.
Avikāra
means “without change.” It is confirmed in
Bhagavad-gītā
that each and every living entity is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, and thus his eternal position is to cooperate or to dovetail his energy with the Supreme Lord. That is his unchanging position. As soon as he employs his energy and activities for sense gratification, this change of position is called
vikāra.
Similarly, even in this material body, when he practices devotional service under the direction of the spiritual master, he comes to the position which is without change because that is his natural duty. As stated in the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
liberation means reinstatement in one’s original position. The original position is one of rendering service to the Lord (
bhakti-yogena, bhaktyā
). When one becomes detached from material attraction and engages fully in devotional service, that is changlessness.
Akartṛtvāt
means not doing anything for sense gratification. When one does something at his own risk, there is a sense of proprietorship and therefore a reaction, but when one does everything for Kṛṣṇa, there is no proprietorship over the activities. By changlessness and by not claiming the proprietorship of activities, one can immediately situate himself in the transcendental position in which one is not touched by the modes of material nature, just as the reflection of the sun is unaffected by the water.