In truth, all incarnate souls are minute fragments of the Supreme Person, Krishna, and are therefore by nature joyful, eternal, and full of knowledge. But because of the sins they have committed, they try to imitate God by wanting to derive enjoyment from everything for themselves, thus failing to recognize the authority and supremacy of Krishna, God, the Supreme Person, and consequently committing offenses against the Sovereign Lord.

Because of their offenses, the material energy of Lord Krishna placed them under his control. Their spiritual attributes of joy, bliss, and wisdom then disappeared under the influence of the three attributes of material nature: virtue, passion, and ignorance.

This cosmic manifestation, composed of the three material influences, is like a prison for incarnate souls, who are thus conditioned by material nature. They struggle fiercely to escape the chains of matter, and according to the various conditions of their existence, are assigned different occupations.

There is an unlimited number of living beings incarnated in various kinds of bodies, some endowed with the power of movement and others bound to remain motionless in a fixed place.

The cause of the conditioning of all these beings lies essentially in the forgetting of the eternal bond that unites them to Krishna, God, the Supreme Person. When a living being desires to dominate material energy, thus wishing to imitate the Lord, it is immediately seized by material energy and then, according to its desire, is offered a body among one of the eight million four hundred thousand life forms.

Although subject to the three kinds of suffering inherent in material existence, the being under the sway of illusion mistakenly believes himself to be master of everything around him. Enchanted by the material influence of the three attributes and modes of influence of material nature—virtue, passion, and ignorance—he has no chance of liberation unless he receives the grace of the Supreme Lord. Through his own efforts, he remains incapable of overcoming the influence of the three attributes. With the exception of God, all living beings, from Brahma to the smallest ant, are prisoners of material nature.