yathā nabho vāyv-analāmbu-bhū-guṇair
gatāgatair vartu-guṇair na sajjate
tathākṣaraṁ sattva-rajas-tamo-malair
ahaṁ-mateḥ saṁsṛti-hetubhiḥ param
yathā - just as; nabhaḥ - the sky; vāyu - of air; anala - fire; ambu - water; bhū - and earth; guṇaiḥ - by the qualities; gata-āgataiḥ - which come and go; vā - or; ṛtu-guṇaiḥ - by the qualities of the seasons (such as heat and cold); na sajjate - is not entangled; tathā - similarly; akṣaram - the Absolute Truth; sattva-rajaḥ-tamaḥ - of the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance; malaiḥ - by the contaminations; aham-mateḥ - of the conception of false ego; saṁsṛti-hetubhiḥ - by the causes of material existence; param - the Supreme.
The sky may display the various qualities of the air, fire, water and earth that pass through it, as well as such qualities as heat and cold, which continually come and go with the seasons. Yet the sky is never entangled with any of these qualities. Similarly, the Supreme Absolute Truth is never entangled with the contaminations of goodness, passion and ignorance, which cause the material transformations of the false ego.
The word ahaṁ-mateḥ here indicates the conditioned living entity, who becomes manifest with the false ego of a particular material body. By contrast, the Personality of Godhead is unaffected by the modes of nature, and thus He is never covered by a material body and never subject to false ego. As described here, the Lord is eternally infallible and pure.
