Text 7] Fundamental Principles of Material Nature 1071

—the living entity; karmasu kriyamanesu—while the activities are being
performed; gunaih—by the three modes; atmani—to himself; manyate—he
considers.

TRANSLATION

Due to his forgetfulness, the transcendental living entity accepts the
influence of material energy as his field of activities, and, thus actuated,
he wrongly applies the activities to himself.

PURPORT

The forgetful living entity can be compared to a man who is under the
influence of disease and has become mad, or to a man haunted by ghosts
who acts without control and yet thinks himself to be in control.
Under the influence of material nature, the conditioned soul becomes
absorbed in material consciousness. In this consciousness, whatever is done
under the influence of the material energy is accepted by the conditioned
soul as self-actuated. Actually, the soul in his pure state of existence
should be in Krsna consciousness. When a person is not acting in Krsna
consciousness he is understood to be acting in material consciousness.
Consciousness cannot be killed because the symptom of the living entity
is consciousness. The material consciousness simply has to be purified.
One becomes liberated by accepting Krsna, or the Supreme Lord, as
master and by changing the mode of consciousness from material con-
sciousness to Krsna consciousness.

TEXT 7

aqae daftea: mast 4 aaTy |
waa afyet fsaKAg: 11 9 HI

tad asya samsrtir bandhah
para-tantryam ca tat-krtam

bhavaty akartur isasya
saksino nirurtatmanah

tat—from the misconception; asya—of the conditioned soul; samsrtih—
conditioned life; bandhah—bondage; para-tantryam—dependence; ca—and;
tat-krtam—made by that; bhavati—is; akartuh—of the non-doer; isasya—
independent; saksinah—the witness; nirurta-tmanah—joyful by nature.
