ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये । मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥
ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasāstāmasāśca ye | matta eveti tānviddhi na tvahaṃ teṣu te mayi ||
Translation
Whatever states of being there are — sattvic, rajasic, and tamasic — know that they all arise from Me. But I am not in them; they are in Me.
Interpretation
All three gunas — sattva (purity), rajas (passion), tamas (inertia) — and all states arising from them, emerge from the Divine. But with an important clarification: 'I am not in them; they are in Me.' The Divine does not depend on or reside within the gunas; the gunas arise within the infinite consciousness of the Divine. This is the key to non-binding action: all phenomena arise in consciousness, but consciousness is not defined or limited by any phenomenon. The Divine is the container, not the contained.