Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 12 - Chapter 1 - Verse 45

Sanskrit:

सत्त्वं रजस्तम इतीश तवात्मबन्धोमायामया: स्थितिलयोदयहेतवोऽस्य ।लीला धृता यदपि सत्त्वमयी प्रशान्त्यैनान्ये नृणां व्यसनमोहभियश्च याभ्याम् ॥ ४५ ॥

ITRANS:

sattvaṁ rajas tama itīśa tavātma-bandhomāyā-mayāḥ sthiti-layodaya-hetavo ’syalīlā dhṛtā yad api sattva-mayī praśāntyainānye nṛṇāṁ vyasana-moha-bhiyaś ca yābhyām

Translation:

O my Lord, O supreme friend of the conditioned soul, although for the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this world You accept the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance, which constitute Your illusory potency, You specifically employ the mode of goodness to liberate the conditioned souls. The other two modes simply bring them suffering, illusion and fear.

Purport:

The words līlā dhṛtāḥ indicate that the creative activities of Lord Brahmā, the destructive activities of Lord Śiva and the sustaining functions of Lord Viṣṇu are all pastimes of the Absolute Truth, Lord Kṛṣṇa. But ultimately only Lord Viṣṇu can award liberation from the clutches of material illusion, as indicated by the words sattva-mayī praśāntyai. Our passionate and ignorant activities cause great suffering, illusion and fear for us and others; therefore they should be given up. One should become firmly situated in the mode of goodness and live peacefully on the spiritual platform. The essence of goodness is to renounce selfish interest in all one’s activities and thus dedicate one’s entire being to the Supreme Being, Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is the source of our existence.