SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 14 Text 6
tatra sattvam nirmalatvat
prakasakam anamayam
sukha-sangena badhnati
jnana-sangena canagha

tatra--there; sattvam--the mode of goodness; nirmalatvat--being purest in the material world; prakasakam--illuminating; anamayam--without any sinful reaction; sukha--with happiness; sangena--by association; badhnati--conditions; jnana--with knowledge; sangena--by association; ca--also; anagha--O sinless one.

TRANSLATION

O sinless one, the mode of goodness, being purer than the others, is illuminating, and it frees one from all sinful reactions. Those situated in that mode become conditioned by a sense of happiness and knowledge.

JOURNAL:

The modes of material nature must be transcended to attain a real sense of God. This first one, the mode of goodness, is where many people stop, feeling that this is what God wants from them; to be good.

Srila Prabhupada warns us about this when he writes in his purport: The difficulty here is that when a living entity is situated in the mode of goodness he becomes conditioned to feel that he is advanced in knowledge and is better than others. In this way he becomes conditioned. The best examples are the scientist and the philosopher. Each is very proud of his knowledge, and because they generally improve their living conditions, they feel a sort of material happiness. This sense of advanced happiness in conditioned life makes them bound by the mode of goodness of material nature. As such, they are attracted toward working in the mode of goodness, and, as long as they have an attraction for working in that way, they have to take some type of body in the modes of nature.