SB 7.1.7
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 7
sattvaṁ rajas tama iti
prakṛter nātmano guṇāḥ
na teṣāṁ yugapad rājan
hrāsa ullāsa eva vā
SYNONYMS
sattvam—the mode of goodness; rajaḥ—the mode of passion; tamaḥ—the mode of ignorance; iti—thus; prakṛteḥ—of material nature; na—not; ātmanaḥ—of the spirit soul; guṇāḥ—qualities; na—not; teṣām—of them; yugapat—simultaneously; rājan—O King; hrāsaḥ—diminution; ullāsaḥ—prominence; eva—certainly; vā—or.
TRANSLATION
My dear King Parīkṣit, the material qualities—sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa—all belong to the material world and do not even touch the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These three guṇas cannot act by increasing or decreasing simultaneously.
PURPORT
The original position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is one of equality. There is no question of His being influenced by sattva-guṇa, rujo-guṇa or tamo-guṇa, for these material qualities cannot touch the Supreme Lord. The Lord is therefore called the supreme īśvara. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ: (BS 5.1) He is the supreme controller. He controls the material qualities (daivī hy eṣā guṇa-mayī mama māyā (BG 7.14)). Mayādhyakṣena prakṛtiḥ sūyate: (BG 9.10) material nature (prakṛti) works under His order. How, then, can He be under the qualities of prakṛti? Kṛṣṇa is never influenced by the material qualities. Therefore there is no question of partiality in the Supreme Personality of Godhead.