Untouched by the Three Modes of Material Nature

by The Three Modes of Material Nature

It is by the will of Kåñëa that such guru-päda-padma descends here. He descends and stays here in the material world, to shower mercy unto the suffering souls, those jévas who from time immemorial have been drowning in this dreadful ocean of materialistic existence.

Someone may raise the question: “This is the material world, mäyika-jagat, the illusory world, and the three modes of material nature are acting here, sattva, rajo and tamo. If çré-guru comes here, how can he stay and not be affected by it? How can he retain his transcendental nature?” It is very easy to understand this by the following example: the lotus flower lives and grows in water, but it remains untouched by water. Similarly, although the guru comes here, he remains untouched. He never becomes affected by the three modes of material nature. Therefore the lotus feet of guru are compared to a lotus.

The bumblebee that remains in the core of a lotus that is in water, is sheltered by the petals of that lotus. Thereby it also remains untouched by the water. Similarly, if a fortunate disciple has sincerely taken shelter at the lotus feet of çré-guru, he does not need to be afraid of this material world. He will not be affected by material nature. This is the power of the lotus feet of çré-guru.