Chapter VII · Śloka 12
Śrī Kṛṣṇa uvāca
ये चैव सात्त्विका भावा राजसास्तामसाश्च ये ।
मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥
मत्त एवेति तान्विद्धि न त्वहं तेषु ते मयि ॥
ye caiva sāttvikā bhāvā rājasās tāmasāś ca ye |
matta eveti tān viddhi na tv ahaṃ teṣu te mayi ||
matta eveti tān viddhi na tv ahaṃ teṣu te mayi ||
Whatever states of being are sāttvic, rājasic, or tāmasic — know that they all arise from Me alone. Yet I am not in them; they are in Me.
All three guṇas and the states they produce have the Lord as their source, yet He is not conditioned or defined by them — the world is in God but God is not imprisoned in the world. This asymmetrical relationship is the ontological heart of Vedāntic non-dualism.