mano guṇān vai sṛjate balīyas
tataś ca karmāṇi vilakṣaṇāni
śuklāni kṛṣṇāny atha lohitāni
tebhyaḥ sa-varṇāḥ sṛtayo bhavanti
manah -- the mind; gunan -- the activities of the modes of nature; vai -- indeed; srijate -- manifests; baliyah -- very strong; tatah -- by those qualities; ca -- and; karmani -- material activities; vilakshanani -- of different varieties; suklani -- white (in the mode of goodness); krishnani -- black (in the mode of ignorance); atha -- and; lohitani -- red (in the mode of passion); tebhyah -- from those activities; sa-varnah -- having the same corresponding colors; sritayah -- created conditions; bhavanti -- arise.
In the mode of goodness one considers oneself to be a saintly or wise person, in the mode of passion one struggles for material success, and in the mode of ignorance one becomes cruel, lazy and sinful. By the combination of the material modes one identifies oneself as a demigod, a king, a rich capitalist, a wise scholar, etc. These conceptions are material designations generated from the modes of nature, and they arrange themselves according to the tendency of the powerful mind to enjoy temporary sense gratification. The word baliyas in this verse, meaning "very strong," indicates that the material mind becomes insensitive to intelligent advice. Even if we are informed that we are committing many sins and offenses in order to earn money, we may still think that money should be acquired at all costs, since without it one can neither perform religious ceremonies nor gratify the senses with beautiful women, mansions and vehicles. Once the money is achieved, one suffers further problems, but the stubborn mind will never heed good advice in this regard. One must therefore give up mental concoction and control the mind in Krishna consciousness, as exemplified here by the brahmana from Avanti.