Bhagavad Gita 13.21
पुरुषः प्रकृतिस्थो हि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान्गुणान्। कारणं गुणसङ्गोऽस्य सदसद्योनिजन्मसु॥
puruṣaḥ prakṛti-stho hi bhuṅkte prakṛti-jān guṇān kāraṇaṁ guṇa-saṅgo 'sya sad-asad-yoni-janmasu
Translation
Purusha, seated in prakriti, enjoys the qualities born of prakriti. Attachment to the qualities is the cause of his birth in good and evil wombs.
Reflection
Let one pleasure pass through. Does sanga form behind it, or does it just pass?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter Thirteen
Now the mechanism of bondage. Purusha sits in prakriti and tastes her gunas. The tasting itself is not the problem. The attachment to the tasting is. Guna-sanga, sticking to the qualities. That sticking is what carries the knower from birth to birth, through wombs sometimes pleasant, sometimes harsh. The verse names a precise hinge: liberation does not require ceasing to experience. It requires ceasing to cling. The gunas can roll through awareness without depositing residue, or they can roll through and leave thick layers behind. Same gunas, different result. The difference is sanga. Today, watch one pleasure or one pain pass through. Notice whether sanga forms behind it.