The Cause of Bondage
Purusha, seated in prakriti, experiences the gunas born of prakriti. Attachment to the gunas is the cause of birth in good and evil wombs.
Bondage arises when pure consciousness (purusha) identifies with material nature (prakriti) and its qualities (gunas). This false identification creates the sense of being a doer and experiencer bound by karma. The gunas we attach to determine our future births—sattvic attachment leads to higher births, rajasic to middle, tamasic to lower. Liberation comes from recognizing that the Self is the witness, not the participant, in nature's play.
The living entity in material nature thus follows the ways of life, enjoying the three modes of nature. This is due to his association with that material nature. Thus he meets with good and evil among various species.
The mechanism of bondage is clearly stated: identification plus attachment equals karma equals rebirth. The solution: disidentify from the gunas.
Bhagavad Gita