Bhagavata Purana 11.23.55
Srimad Bhagavatam · 23 · Verse 55
Sanskrit Original
कालस्तुहेतु: सुखदु:खयोश्चेत् किमात्मनस्तत्रतदात्मकोऽसौ । नाग्नेर्हि तापो न हिमस्य तत् स्यात् क्रुध्येत कस्मै न परस्य द्वन्द्वम् ॥ ५५ ॥
kālas tu hetuḥ sukha-duḥkhayoś cet kim ātmanas tatra tad-ātmako ’sau nāgner hi tāpo na himasya tat syāt krudhyeta kasmai na parasya dvandvam
If we accept time as the cause of happiness and distress, that experience still cannot apply to the spirit soul, since time is a manifestation of the Lord’s spiritual potency and the living entities are also expansions of the Lord’s spiritual potency manifesting through time. Certainly a fire does not burn its own flames or sparks, nor does the cold harm its own snowflakes or hail. In fact, the spirit soul is transcendental and beyond the experience of material happiness and distress. At whom, therefore, should one become angry?