Chapter 10: Bhāgavatam Is the Answer to All Questions

The Vedic direction for creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world is this: "yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante yena jātāni jīvanti yat prayanty abhisaṁviśanti," i.e. everything is created by Brahman, and after creation everything is maintained by Brahman, and after annihilation everything is conserved in Brahman. Gross materialists without any knowledge of Brahman, Paramātmā or Bhagavān conclude material nature to be the ultimate cause of the material manifestation, and the modern scientist also shares this view that material nature is the ultimate cause of all manifestations of the material world. This view is refuted by all Vedic literature. The Vedānta philosophy mentions that Brahman is the fountainhead of all creation, maintenance and destruction, and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the natural commentation on the Vedānta philosophy, says, "janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ," etc.

Inert matter is potential energy undoubtedly by interactions, but it has no initiative of its own. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam therefore comments on the aphorism of janmādyasya as abhijñaḥ and svarāṭ, i.e. the Supreme Brahman is not inert matter, but He is supreme consciousness and is independent. Therefore inert matter cannot be the ultimate cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world. Superficially it appears that the material nature is the cause of creation, maintenance and destruction, but material nature is set into motion for creation by the supreme conscious being, the Personality of Godhead. He is the background of all creation, maintenance and destruction, and this is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā:

mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sacarācaram
hetunānena kaunteya jagad viparivartate.
(Bg. 9.10)

The material nature is one of the energies of the Lord, and she can work under the direction of the Lord (adhyakṣeṇa). When the Lord throws His transcendental glance over the material nature, then only can the material nature act, as the father contacts the mother, and then the mother is able to conceive a child. The material nature therefore produces the moving and standing manifestations of the material world after being contacted by the supreme father, and not independently. Therefore although it appears, to the layman, that the mother gives birth to the child, the experienced man knows that the father gives birth to the child. To consider material nature as the cause of creation, maintenance, etc., is called the "logic of nipples on the neck of the goat." The Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī describes this logic of ajagalastana as follows (as explained by His Divine Grace Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja): "The material nature, as the material cause, is known as pradhāna, and as efficient cause is known as māyā. But being inert matter, it is not the remote cause of creation." Kavirāja Gosvāmī states as follows:

ataeva kṛṣṇa mul, jagat karan
prakṛti karan jaiche ajagalastan
(C.c., Ādi 5.61)

Because the Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu is a plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa, it is He who electrifies the matter to be in motion. The example of electrification is quite appropriate. A piece of iron is certainly not fire, but when the iron is made red-hot, certainly it has the quality of fire through its burning capacity. Matter is compared with the piece of iron, and it is electrified or made red-hot by the glance or manipulation of the supreme consciousness of Viṣṇu. By such electrification only does the energy of matter become displayed by various actions and reactions. Therefore the inert matter is neither efficient nor is it the material cause of the cosmic manifestation. Śrī Kapiladeva has said:

yatholmukād visphuliṅgād dhūmād vāpi svasambhavāt
apy ātma-tvenābhimatād yathāgniḥ pṛthag ulmukāt
(Bhāg. 3.28.40)

The original fire, its flame, its sparks, and its smoke are all one, as fire is still fire yet is different from the flame, flame is different from sparks, and sparks are different from the smoke. In every one of them, namely in the flames, in the sparks and in the smoke, the integrity of fire is present, and still all of them and each and every one of them are differently situated with different positions. The cosmic manifestation is compared to the smoke (when the smoke passes over the sky so many forms appear resembling many known and unknown manifestations), the sparks are compared to living entities, and the flames are compared to material nature, pradhāna. One must know that each and every one of them is effective simply by being empowered by the quality of fire (original). Therefore every one of them, namely the material nature, the cosmic manifestation and the living entities, are all but different energies of the Lord (fire). Therefore those who accept the material nature as the original cause (prakṛti, the cause of creation according to Sāṅkhya philosophy) of cosmic manifestation are not correct in their conclusion. The material nature has no separate existence without the Lord. Therefore, setting aside the Supreme Lord as the cause of all causes is the logic of ajagalastan, or trying to milk the nipples on the neck of the goat. The nipples on the neck of a goat may seem like sources of milk, but it will be foolish to try to get milk from such nipples.