SB 10.88.5
Devanāgarī
हरिर्हि निर्गुण: साक्षात् पुरुष: प्रकृते: पर: । स सर्वदृगुपद्रष्टा तं भजन् निर्गुणो भवेत् ॥ ५ ॥
Text
harir hi nirguṇaḥ sākṣāt puruṣaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ sa sarva-dṛg upadraṣṭā taṁ bhajan nirguṇo bhavet
Synonyms
hariḥ—the Supreme Lord Hari;hi—indeed;nirguṇaḥ—untouched by the material modes;sākṣāt—absolutely;puruṣaḥ—the Personality of Godhead;prakṛteḥ—to material nature;paraḥ—transcendental;saḥ—He;sarva—everything;dṛk—seeing;upadraṣṭā—the witness;tam—Him;bhajan—by worshiping;nirguṇaḥ—free from the material modes;bhavet—one becomes.
Translation
Lord Hari, however, has no connection with the material modes. He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the all-seeing eternal witness, who is transcendental to material nature. One who worships Him becomes similarly free from the material modes.
Purport
Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī cites the following passage from the Vedic literature:
vastuno guṇa-sambandhe rūpa-dvayam iheṣyate tad-dharmāyoga-yogābhyāṁ bimba-vat pratibimba-vat
“When the absolute reality associates with the modes of nature, He assumes two different kinds of form in this world, according to whether His spiritual qualities are manifest or not. Thus He acts just like a reflection and its further, secondary reflection.”
guṇāḥ sattvādayaḥ śānta- ghora-mūḍhāḥ svabhāvataḥ viṣṇu-brahma-śivānāṁ ca guṇa-yantṛ-svarūpiṇām
“The modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, whose individual natures are peaceful, violent and foolish, are personally regulated by Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva, respectively.”
nāti-bhedo bhaved bhedo guṇa-dharmair ihāṁśataḥ sattvasya śāntyā no jātu viṣṇor vikṣepa-mūḍhate
“Lord Viṣṇu’s peaceful mode of goodness does not differ substantially from His original, spiritual qualities, although it is only a partial manifestation of them within this world. Thus Lord Viṣṇu’s mode of goodness is never tainted by agitation [in passion] or delusion [in ignorance].”
rajas-tamo-guṇābhyāṁ tu bhavetāṁ brahma-rudrayoḥ guṇopamardato bhūyas tad-amśānāṁ ca bhinnatā
“By the modes of passion and ignorance, on the other hand, the original, spiritual qualities of Lord Brahmā and Lord Rudra are obscured. Thus these spiritual qualities appear only partially, as separated, material qualities.”
ataḥ samagra-sattvasya viṣṇor mokṣa-karī matiḥ aṁśato bhūti-hetuś ca tathānanda-mayī svataḥ
“Therefore focusing one’s consciousness upon Lord Viṣṇu, the embodiment of all goodness, leads one to liberation. Such God consciousness also generates material success as a by-product, but its proper nature is pure spiritual ecstasy.”
aṁśatas tāratamyena brahma-rudrādi-sevinām vibhūtayo bhavanty eva śanair mokṣo py anaṁśataḥ
“According to their mode of worship, devotees of Brahmā, Rudra and other demigods obtain the limited success of material opulences. Eventually they may possibly become qualified for full liberation.”
This same idea is echoed in the following statement of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.23) : śreyāṁsi tatra khalu sattva-tanor nṛṇām syuḥ. “Of these three [Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva], all human beings can derive ultimate benefit from Viṣṇu, the form of the quality of goodness.”