yÄvan mano rajasÄ pÅ«ruá¹£asya
sattvena vÄ tamasÄ vÄnuruddham
cetobhir ÄkÅ«tibhir Ätanoti
niraá¹…kuÅ›aá¹ kuÅ›alaá¹ cetaraá¹ vÄ
yÄvat - as long as; manaḥ - the mind; rajasÄ - by the mode of passion; pÅ«ruá¹£asya - of the living entity; sattvena - by the mode of goodness; vÄ - or; tamasÄ - by the mode of darkness; vÄ - or; anuruddham - controlled; cetobhiḥ - by the knowledge-acquiring senses; ÄkÅ«tibhiḥ - by the senses of action; Ätanoti - expands; niraá¹…kuÅ›am - independent like an elephant not controlled by a trident; kuÅ›alam - auspiciousness; ca - also; itaram - other than auspiciousness, sinful activities; vÄ - or.
In Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta it is said that material pious and impious activities are both opposed to the principle of devotional service. Devotional service means mukti, freedom from material entanglement, but pious and impious activities result in entanglement within this material world. If the mind is captivated by the pious and impious activities mentioned in the Vedas, one remains eternally in darkness; one cannot attain the absolute platform. To change the consciousness from ignorance to passion or from passion to goodness does not really solve the problem. As stated in Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ (14.26), sa guṇÄn samatÄ«tyaitÄn brahma-bhÅ«yÄya kalpate. One must come to the transcendental platform; otherwise life’s mission is never fulfilled.