Bombay, December 17, 1974
So when Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya [Bg. 18.66], sarva means "all." What is that "all"? Because we have created something pious and impious, something good, something bad, so Kṛṣṇa says, "You rascal, give up all this bad and good. Your so-called bad and good has no value. The only value is that you surrender unto Me." And then that is value. Otherwise you concoct, "This is very good; this is very bad." In the prison house, if you think a first-class prison is very nice, but after all, it is prison house. Your independence is cut down. So you may think that if it is actually first-class prison... Politicians, they are given first-class classification of prison house. Does it mean the politician want to remain there for good? Why they want to come out? So similarly, here in this material world it is simply vicitra, varieties. We call, "This is first class. This is second class. This is third class." It is simply varieties. Actually, it is all third class. There is no first class, second class. Guṇair vicitrāḥ. Just like you like some color. Somebody likes red color, somebody likes blue color, sometimes yellow color. But after all, it is color, you like this or that. Similarly, sattva-guṇa is yellow color, and tamo-guṇa is blue color, and rajo-guṇa is red color. So you may like this color or that color—after all, it is material color.
So you should become free from all this colorful life of material existence and you become pure. But how you can become pure? That is also given in the Bhagavad... Sa guṇān samatītyaitān brahma-bhūyāya kalpate [Bg. 14.26]. Guṇān. Here it is said, guṇair vicitrāḥ: "By the colorful mixture of these modes of material nature, there are so many varieties, varieties of the modes of nature." But if you want to be out of this colorful material life and you realize yourself, ahaṁ brahmāsmi, "I am Brahman, and I am the same quality as God," then you have to engage yourself in devotional service.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.26.5