Bhagavad Gita -Srila Prabhupada 326

Shrimad Bhagavad Gita As It Is -Shri Shrimad A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Knowledge of the Absolute Chapter 7: Verse-14 Another meaning of guna is rope; it is to be understood that the conditioned soul is tightly tied by the ropes of illusion. A man bound by the hands and feet cannot free himself—he must be helped by a person who is unbound. Because the bound cannot help the bound, the rescuer must be liberated. Therefore, only Lord Krsna, or His bona fide representative the spiritual master, can release the conditioned soul. Without such superior help, one cannot be freed from the bondage of material nature. Devotional service, or krsna consciousness, can help one gain such release. Krsna, being the Lord of illusory energy, can order this insurmountable energy to release the conditioned soul. He orders this release out of His causeless mercy on the surrendered soul and out of His paternal affection for the living entity, who is originally a beloved son of the Lord. Therefore surrender unto the lotus feet of the Lord is the only means to get free from the clutches of the stringent material nature. The words mäm eva are also significant. Mäm means unto krsna (Visnu) only, and not Brahmä or Siva. Although Brahmä and Siva are greatly elevated and are almost on the level of Visnu, it is not possible for such incarnations of rajo-guna (passion) and tamo-guna (ignorance) to release the conditioned soul from the clutches of mäyä. In other words, both Brahmä and Siva are also under the influence of mäyä. Only Visnu is the master of mäyä; therefore He alone can give release to the conditioned soul. The Vedas confirm this in the phrase tam eva viditvä. or “Freedom is possible only by understanding Krsna.” Even Lord Siva affirms that liberation can be achieved only by the mercy of Visnu. Lord Siva says, mukti-pradätä sarvesam Visnur eva na samsayah: “There is no doubt that Visnu is the deliverer of liberation for everyone.”