ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये | मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि || १२ ||
ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasās tāmasāś ca ye matta eveti tān viddhi na tv ahaṁ teṣu te mayi
ye—whatever; ca—and; eva—certainly; sāttvikāḥ—in the mode of goodness; bhāvāḥ—states of being; rājasāḥ—in the mode of passion; tāmasāḥ—in the mode of ignorance; ca—and; ye—whatever; mattaḥ—from Me; eva—certainly; iti—thus; tān—them; viddhi—know; na—not; tu—but; aham—I; teṣu—in them; te—they; mayi—in Me.
“Know that all states of being—whether of goodness (sattva), passion (rajas), or inertia (tamas)—proceed from Me alone. Yet I am not in them; they are in Me.”
The three guṇas are modes of Prakṛti that colour all experience. Brahman is the substratum in which the guṇas operate but is itself untouched by them—much as a screen is untouched by the fire depicted in a film. The guṇas are in Brahman; Brahman is not limited by the guṇas.
When you are feeling sluggish (tamas), agitated (rajas), or clear and calm (sattva), recognise these as passing weather in the sky of awareness. You are the sky, not the weather. This recognition prevents over-identification with mood states and maintains equanimity.