Devanagari
चेत: खल्वस्य बन्धाय मुक्तये चात्मनो मतम् ।
गुणेषु सक्तं बन्धाय रतं वा पुंसि मुक्तये ॥ १५ ॥
Verse text
cetaḥ khalv asya bandhāya
muktaye cātmano matam
guṇeṣu saktaṁ bandhāya
rataṁ vā puṁsi muktaye
Synonyms
cetaḥ
—
consciousness
;
khalu
—
indeed
;
asya
—
of him
;
bandhāya
—
for bondage
;
muktaye
—
for liberation
;
ca
—
and
;
ātmanaḥ
—
of the living entity
;
matam
—
is considered
;
guṇeṣu
—
in the three modes of nature
;
saktam
—
attracted
;
bandhāya
—
for conditional life
;
ratam
—
attached
;
vā
—
or
;
puṁsi
—
in the Supreme Personality of Godhead
;
muktaye
—
for liberation .
Translation
The stage in which the consciousness of the living entity is attracted by the three modes of material nature is called conditional life. But when that same consciousness is attached to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, one is situated in the consciousness of liberation.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
The mind is the cause of bondage and liberation for the jīva. Attachment to the guṇas causes bondage but attraction for the Lord causes liberation.
The mind of the jīvas binds him up by bad association, and liberates him by good association. That is explained here. The method of bondage is mentioned. Attachment to the guṇas, which create bondage, produces bondage for the jīva. Attachment or rati (ratam) to the Lord (pumsi) who is without material guṇas, the destroyer of the bondage of guṇas, produces liberation. Vā means “but” in the sentence. The cause of rati for the Supreme Lord is bhakti alone, not jṣāna or yoga. Pure bhakti alone is recommended for liberation.
Purport
There is a distinction here between Kṛṣṇa consciousness and
māyā
consciousness.
Guṇeṣu,
or
māyā
consciousness, involves attachment to the three material modes of nature, under which one works sometimes in goodness and knowledge, sometimes in passion and sometimes in ignorance. These different qualitative activities, with the central attachment for material enjoyment, are the cause of one’s conditional life. When the same
cetaḥ,
or consciousness, is transferred to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, or when one becomes Kṛṣṇa conscious, he is on the path of liberation.