Srimad Bhagavatam #14: The process of creation
Srimad Bhagavatam #14: The process of creation
How does the Lord create the material universes by His potencies? How does the Lord engage his energies and expansions to maintain and destroy them?
In this part:
The questions of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Goswami glorifies the Lord (chapter 2.4)
Hearing about Rasa Lila
Sukadeva Goswami starts to answer
The recent story of our planet
The Lord is the Cause of All Causes (Chapter 2.5)
Lord Brahma describes the greatness of the Supreme Lord
Primary and secondary creation
Brahma describes the creation of the universe
The process of creation
The nature of the material elements
How does the soul interact with the body?
False or illusory?
Last words
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Session 14, The Process of Creation
The questions of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Goswami glorifies the Lord (chapter 4)
After hearing the words of Saunaka Rsi, Suta Goswami continued his description of the discussion between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Parikisit, answering the question the Rsi asked in verse 2.3.13 (What did Mahārāja Parīkṣit again inquire from him after hearing all that he had said?).
First of all, in verses 1 to 4, he describes the immediate effects of the instructions Sukadeva Goswami gave in the first chapters:
“Sūta Gosvāmī said: Mahārāja Parīkṣit, the son of Uttarā, after hearing the speeches of Śukadeva Gosvāmī, which were all about the truth of the self, applied his concentration faithfully upon Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, as a result of his wholehearted attraction for Lord Kṛṣṇa, was able to give up all deep-rooted affection for his personal body, his wife, his children, his palace, his animals like horses and elephants, his treasury house, his friends and relatives, and his undisputed kingdom.
O great sages, the great soul Mahārāja Parīkṣit, constantly rapt in thought of Lord Kṛṣṇa, knowing well of his imminent death, renounced all sorts of fruitive activities, namely acts of religion, economic development and sense gratification, and thus fixed himself firmly in his natural love for Kṛṣṇa and asked all these questions, exactly as you are asking me.” (SB 2.4.1-4)
In his purport, Srila Prabhupada explains that Maharaja Pariksit had two very important qualifications: he was born into a family of pure devotees and thus was trained in devotion since his childhood, and he had the blessings of a bonafide spiritual master like Sukadeva Goswami.
Because of these two factors, when he heard the instructions in the first chapters, (that one should worship the Lord only and no one else, regardless of being desireless or full of material desires) his natural affection for Kṛṣṇa was strengthened and he became fully focused on the Lord.
It’s interesting to note that Prabhupada refers to Sukadeva Goswami as the spiritual master of Pariksit Maharaja, although he never initiated him. Similarly, Arjuna is considered to be a disciple of Krsna, having heard the Bhagavad-Gita from him, although again no initiation ever took place. Bhaktivinoda Thakura appears in our parampara as a disciple of Srila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji, although his initiating spiritual master was Bipin Bihari Goswami.
The point is that the main connection to the spiritual master is not through the ceremony of initiation, but through the instructions we receive from him. We should formally accept a spiritual master, this is a very important point according to the scriptures, but at the same time just being formally initiated is not sufficient. We should take advantage of his instructions and the instructions of other great Vaishnavas we may have the opportunity to get in contact with, just like Maharaja Pariksit is doing.
The initiating spirtual master is just one, but we may receive instructions from many pure Vaishnavas during our lives, and all of them can help us to achieve the supreme destination. The main point is that we should hear from self-realized souls who are transmitting the transcendental message to us without adulteration, avoiding the ones who are trying to cover it with their own interpretations or misconceptions or who are using it to achieve their own agendas.
Due to the instructions and blessings of Sukadeva Goswami, combined with the impressions he received from his parents since childhood, Maharaja Pariksit was able to completely focus his attention on Krsna, fully abandoning any vestige of material attachment to his previous material possessions.
From there, Pariksit Maharaja proceeds in asking questions to Sukadeva Goswami. In verses 6 to 10, he asks:
a) How does the Lord create the material universes by His potencies?
b) How does the Lord engage his energies and expansions to maintain and destroy them?
He also expresses his desire to hear more about how the Lord does all of this while remaining aloof, how He is one although he expands Himself in many forms and directs the three modes of nature, and about the transcendental activities of the Lord. These topics bewilder even the greatest scholars, but he is confident Sukadeva Goswami can perfectly explain them.
He mentions that Sukadeva Goswami is “as good as the Personality of Godhead”, this is not an exaggeration. A pure devotee is connected with the Lord in the heart, and thus he can act as a perfect representative of Krsna. If anything, a pure devotee is better, because, by the mercy of Krsna, he can be empowered to do things the Lord Himself would not do. Caitanya Mahaprabhu never tried to preach in Western countries, for example, but Prabhupada did it.
Hearing about Rasa Lila
One could question why Pariksit asked about the creation of the universe, and not confidential topics about the intimate pastimes of the Lord, such as the Rasa Lila, since there was so little time left for him to live. The answer is quite simple: Pariksit Maharaja was a pure devotee and not a sahajiya.
Mundane people overestimate their qualifications and take everything as very cheap. Even great demigods don’t judge themselves as qualified to understand Krsna’s intimate pastimes. Advanced devotees thus approach the Lord very carefully, starting from his lotus feet, and then gradually progressing up to His smiling face, represented by His intimate pastimes. Because Krsna is absolute, there is no difference between His different pastimes, such as dancing with the Gopis, speaking the Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna or even expanding Himself in many forms to create this material world. By his example, Pariksit Maharaja shows us the proper attitude in trying to understand Krsna’s pastimes.
In verse 11, Sukadeva in turn shows the attitude of a proper speaker:
“Sūta Gosvāmī said: When Śukadeva Gosvāmī was thus requested by the King to describe the creative energy of the Personality of Godhead, he then systematically remembered the master of the senses [Śrī Kṛṣṇa], and to reply properly he spoke thus.”
Pure devotees can speak perfect transcendental knowledge because they are connected with the Lord. When asked by the king, Sukadeva Goswami did not try to speak out of his scholarship but instead remembered the Lord, so he could speak according to his direction.
Prabhupada explains this process in his purport: “The devotees of the Lord, while delivering speeches and describing the transcendental attributes of the Lord, do not think that they can do anything independently. They think that they can speak only what they are induced to speak by the Supreme Lord, the master of the senses. The senses of the individual being are not his own; the devotee knows that such senses belong to the Supreme Lord and that they can be properly used when they are employed for the service of the Lord. The senses are instruments, and elements are ingredients, all endowed by the Lord; therefore whatever an individual can do, speak, see, etc., is under the direction of the Lord only.”
Sukadeva Goswami starts to answer
Sukadeva Goswami starts by offering prayers to the Lord. In verses 12 to 17, he mentions that the Lord is:
a) The creator of the material world, who accepts the three modes of nature (as Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva). Vishnu is the Lord Himself, Brahma is an empowered living being, and Lord Shiva is a partial expansion of the Lord who associates with the material energy and thus doesn’t show all of His qualities, just like yogurt comes from milk, but doesn’t have the same properties as milk.
b) The Lord is the complete whole, Puruṣottama and he resides within the body of everyone, as Paramatma. His ways are inconceivable.
c) He is Akhila, complete, and He possesses a spiritual form, although He is the master of both the material and spiritual energies. This spiritual form can be understood only by devotees.
d) He liberates His devotees from all kinds of distress and ultimately brings them back to Godhead. Even the atheists and demons who are killed by the Lord achieve liberation on the Brahmajoti, His personal effulgence.
e) Being a person and possessing a spirtual form, the Lord associates with His devotees in both the material and spiritual worlds, always playing His different transcendental pastimes. Therefore, He is the enjoyer of both the material and spiritual worlds.
f) Because His opulence is unlimited, no one can claim to be equal or superior to Him.
g) Glorification of the Lord, prayers unto Him, remembrance of His form and activities, hearing of His pastimes and qualities, His personal audience, can cleanse the effects of all sins of the devotee.
h) The students of the Vedas (the karmis and jnanis) become free of all attachments and process without difficulties in their spiritual path by surrendering unto Him.
i) Surrender to the Lord is the essence of all the Vedas. In fact, one cannot achieve any fruitful result without directly or indirectly serving the Lord, because all such results are awarded by Him only.
In verses 19 to 23, more details about the Lord are given:
j) The Lord is the master of everyone, and especially of all self-realized souls. However, He can only be understood by pure devotees who are above all pretensions.
k) The Lord is the husband of all goddesses of fortune, the proprietor of all planets (both spiritual and material), and so on. People desire opulence and other material assets, but real happiness can be found only in connection to the Lord. He thus comes regularly to show His transcendental pastimes and attract the conditioned souls to real life in the spirtual world.
l) The Lord reveals Himself to a devotee when He is pleased with the devotees service attitude. The pure devotee, therefore, never tries to see the Lord by mental speculation, but by following in the footsteps of the ācāryas (mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ). Mental speculators, however, try to understand the Lord according to their whims and therefore become imprisoned by many misconceptions. As a result, can’t understand Him at all.
n) At the beginning of creation, the Lord inspired Brahma from within the heart, giving him full knowledge about the creation of the universe.
o) The Lord is present inside the universe as both Garbhodakasayi Visnu and Ksirodakasayi Visnu (Paramamtma). Both the material elements and the senses we use to perform material activities (and everything else) were created by the Lord. The Lord helps the living entity to enjoy the material creation, but He is aloof from such false enjoyment.
The recent story of our planet
Text 18 emphasizes that anyone, no matter how elevated or degraded he or she may be, can become purified by taking shelter in the devotees of the Lord. It also explains something about the recent history of our planet:
“Kirāta, Hūṇa, Āndhra, Pulinda, Pulkaśa, Ābhīra, Śumbha, Yavana, members of the Khasa races and even others addicted to sinful acts can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord, due to His being the supreme power. I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.” (SB 2.4.18)
In his purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada gives us a glimpse of how most of the ancient civilizations were formed by people who emigrated from India or were connected with Vedic culture. This gives us a quite valuable resource to better understand the history of humanity from the Vedic perspective.
For example, in the Vedas, the Greeks are called Pulindas and were in the past classified amongst the kṣatriya kings. However, later on, they gave up Brahminical culture and thus started being classified as mlecchas. When Maharaja Yudisthira became the king, the Pulindas were conquered by Bhima and Sahadeva. The Greeks are largely considered the birthplace of Western culture, therefore their Vedic origins are quite significant. In the Vana-Parva of Mahābhārata, it is mentioned that during Kali-yuga the Greeks would rule the world, which became true with Alexander the Great.
Another people mentioned are the Turks, called Yavanas in the Mahabharata. The Turks are descendants of an old Vedic community that started with Maharaja Yavana, one of the sons of Maharaja Yayati, who was given this part of the world to rule. Just like the Greeks, the Turks were originally Vedic ksatriyas, but later they gave up Vedic culture and became mlecchas. It’s described that the Yavanas joined Duryodhana in the Battle of Kurukṣetra.
Another people mentioned is the Abhiras, which correspond to people of the Caucasus regions, including what is nowadays Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and south of Russia. It’s mentioned that these people came from Ksatriyas who left India because of Parasurama and took shelter in the Caucasus mountains. It’s interesting to note that people in Georgia and Armenia are historically very strong and of very white skin. In the Armenian language, a great number of Sanskrit words (and especially names) are still used. These people also used to be very warrior-like, defeating many strong invasors over time. Historically they used to be worshippers of the sun, being converted to Christianity or Islam only within the last two thousand years.
Prabhupada mentions that people from Russia and Europe are also descendants of these original Ksatrias, who over time migrated north. By different characteristics, it appears that this applies to the Celtics, as well as the different German tribes, Italians, Iberians and the different Slavic groups. Before Christianity, the Russians were still largely following a type of Vedic culture, that included the worship of Radha and Krsna, as well as numerous demigods.
The Mongolians and Chinese, as well as other Asiatic groups, are described as Khasas, and their distinctive feature is stunted growth of hair on the upper lip. They were also originally Arian people who later abandoned Vedic culture. It’s interesting to note that in the sects of Bhudists found nowadays in Japan and Korea, the cult of demigods like Brahma and Indra is still present, a visible trace of the original Vedic culture.
According to modern paleontologists, the native Indians living in both North and South America are descendants of people who originally migrated from Asian countries. In this way, they can also be classified among the Khasas. This explains how tribes of native American Indians have a concept of the universe that is very similar to the model of the universe described in the Puranas (although much simplified), amongst other cultural traces that remind of Vedic culture.
The Huns are described as Huna. Historically their empire included parts of the territories of modern Russia and East Germany. There is not much information about the Huna, but apparently, they were also originally followers of Vedic culture who later became degraded. It appears that the modern Mongols, Huns, and Tatars derive from this tribe.
People from Siberia are described as the Sabarah, This group apparently includes people like the Yakuts, who still live there. Just as the Huna, the Sabarah are described as sinful on SB 2.7.46, apparently due to meat eating. Even today the Yakuts who still follow the traditional culture have a diet based on horse meat and mare (female horse) milk.
Western historians frequently explain such similarities on the basis of the Arian Invasion Theory (which is based on quite weak evidence), but when we study the Vedas the recent history of humanity becomes more clear.
In any case, the verse makes the point that no matter what one’s origin is, he can be purified by taking shelter of the devotees of the Lord.
Concluding the chapter, Sukadeva Goswami offers his respects to Srila Vyasadeva and reveals that the same questions asked by Maharaja Pariksit (How the Lord creates the material universes, and how the Lord destroys them through his energies and expansions) were in the distant past asked by Narada Muni to his father, Lord Brahma. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 describe this conversation.
The Lord is the Cause of All Causes (Chapter 5)
To answer the question of Maharaja Pariksit, Sukadeva Goswami goes back in time, to the beginning of the current day of Brahma, and narrates an ancient conversation between Narada Muni and Lord Brahma that describes the creation of the universe, and debunks the idea that everything appears by chance. Everything has a cause, just like the cause of a car is the car factory, the cause of the universe is the Supreme Lord, acting through His potencies.
In the first canto, we learned about the history of Narada Muni, who in his previous birth as the son of the maidservant. After he left his body, he entered the body of Maha-Vishnu following the universal devastation at the end of the previous day of Brahma and was reborn in the current day as one of the sons of Brahma. Observing the wonderful activities of Brahma in creating the universe, he wondered if Brahma was not the Supreme Lord. However, observing him practicing meditation and performing austerities, he concluded that there may be someone more powerful than him, who he was trying to satisfy. With this doubt, he approached his father and questioned:
“O chief amongst the demigods, O firstborn living entity, I beg to offer my respectful obeisances unto you. Please tell me that transcendental knowledge which specifically directs one to the truth of the individual soul and the Supersoul.
My dear father, please describe factually the symptoms of this manifest world. What is its background? How is it created? How is it conserved? And under whose control is all this being done?
My dear father, all this is known to you scientifically because whatever was created in the past, whatever will be created in the future, or whatever is being created at present, as well as everything within the universe, is within your grip, just like a walnut. (SB 2.5.1-3)
In these first three verses, Narada asks about the nature of the soul and the Supersoul, what exists behind the cosmic manifestation, and how the universe is created and maintained. Brahma is surely qualified to describe it. Since as the creator of the universe, he must know everything about it.
Narada also questions the nature of Lord Brahma Himself. Who is behind him? Who is he trying to satisfy with his penances and meditation?
“My dear father, what is the source of your knowledge? Under whose protection are you standing? And under whom are you working? What is your real position? Do you alone create all entities with material elements by your personal energy?
As the spider very easily creates the network of its cobweb and manifests its power of creation without being defeated by others, so also you yourself, by employment of your self-sufficient energy, create without any other’s help.
Whatever we can understand by the nomenclature, characteristics and features of a particular thing — superior, inferior or equal, eternal or temporary — is not created from any source other than that of Your Lordship, thou so great.
Yet we are moved to wonder about the existence of someone more powerful than you when we think of your great austerities in perfect discipline, although your good self is so powerful in the matter of creation.
My dear father, you know everything, and you are the controller of all. Therefore, may all that I have inquired from you be kindly instructed to me so that I may be able to understand it as your student.” (SB 2.5.4-8)
Lord Brahma describes the greatness of the Supreme Lord
Brahma starts his answer by thanking Narada Muni for his wise questions. This is not just out of politeness. Brahma is genuinely happy because the questions posed by Narada give him an opportunity to glorify the Supreme Lord. In a narration about the glories of the Supreme Lord, both the hearers and the speaker are equally purified. Just as Pariksit Maharaja attained perfection by hearing the Srimad Bhagavatam, Sukadeva Goswami attained perfection by speaking it. Thanks to Narada Muni, Brahma got a similar opportunity. Later, Narada Muni will speak this knowledge to Vyasadeva, who in turn will recite it to Sukadeva Goswami, who will narrate it to Pariksit Maharaja and Suta Goswami, who in turn will repeat it to the sages in Naimisharanya. In this way, this ancient conversation that happened billions of years ago comes to us through the parampara system.
“Lord Brahmā said: My dear boy Nārada, being merciful to all (including me) you have asked all these questions because I have been inspired to see into the prowess of the Almighty Personality of Godhead.
Whatever you have spoken about me is not false because unless and until one is aware of the Personality of Godhead, who is the ultimate truth beyond me, one is sure to be illusioned by observing my powerful activities.” (SB 2.5.10)
Brahma certainly exhibits a great deal of power in performing his activities. We can’t even imagine what kind of force is necessary to create a universe, including all planets and stars. Atomic weapons, often considered a technological marvel, are many orders of magnitude less potent than such a power. However, Lord Brahma admits that actually this is not his power. The Supreme Lord is behind, empowering him to perform his activities. However, not many can understand Him because the Lord has a transcendental body and has inconceivable energies.
In verse 11, Brahma directly reveals to Narada Muni that his suspicion that there is a controller behind him is entirely correct. Brahma creates the universe after being empowered by the energy of the Supreme Lord, and this same energy that maintains the universe until the time of the final dissolution. In other words, the Lord doesn’t create the universe by His personal labor, like a blacksmith making a metal instrument. Instead, everything happens automatically through His different potencies, through the collaboration of Brahma and other servants.
“I create after the Lord’s creation by His personal effulgence [known as the brahmajyoti], just as when the sun manifests its fire, the moon, the firmament, the influential planets and the twinkling stars also manifest their brightness.
I offer my obeisances and meditate upon Lord Kṛṣṇa [Vāsudeva], the Personality of Godhead, whose invincible potency influences them [the less intelligent class of men] to call me the supreme controller.”(SB 2.5.11-12)
Just like the potencies of the Lord empower Brahma to create the universe, the influence of the illusory potency of the Lord covers the vision of materialistic men, preventing them from seeing the Lord as the ultimate cause. When a soul wants to forget his original position, the illusory potency covers his vision and intelligence, helping him to forget. Such illusioned souls may worship demigods like Brahma and Shiva in the hope of obtaining material blessings, but they are not at all attracted to worship the Supreme Lord, being envious of Him.
However, the illusory potency of the Lord can’t come before Him. Therefore, when one surrenders to the Lord, he or she becomes free from her influence, as mentioned by Lord Brahma in verse 13:
“The illusory energy of the Lord cannot take precedence, being ashamed of her position, but those who are bewildered by her always talk nonsense, being absorbed in thoughts of “It is I” and “It is mine.” (SB 2.5.13)
In verse 14, Brahma describes briefly the interactions of the material elements in the process of creation. There are five basic material elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether), as well as the subtle elements: false ego, intelligence, and the mind. All these different elements come from the interaction of material time with Pradhana and the three modes of nature. Pradhana is the unmanifested mass of all material elements, including the three modes. This unmanifested mass is activated by the look of Lord Maha-Vishnu, which injects the time energy and also the souls who are going to participate in the material creation. Just as a woman becomes pregnant after sexual contact with a man, Pradhana becomes active when inseminated with the time energy and the souls, starting the process of creation of the different material elements, and eventually of the whole cosmic manifestation. All of this is ultimately meant to be used in the service of the Lord, as Lord Brahma emphasizes:
“The Vedic literatures are made by and are meant for the Supreme Lord, the demigods are also meant for serving the Lord as parts of His body, the different planets are also meant for the sake of the Lord, and different sacrifices are performed just to please Him. All different types of meditation or mysticism are means for realizing Nārāyaṇa. All austerities are aimed at achieving Nārāyaṇa. Culture of transcendental knowledge is for getting a glimpse of Nārāyaṇa, and ultimately salvation is entering the kingdom of Nārāyaṇa.” (SB 2.5.14-15)
Primary and secondary creation
In text 17, Brahma reveals that not only he himself was created by the Lord, but that in reality, the Lord is the original creator of everything that exists. Brahma appears to create the universe, but in reality, he just reveals things that were already previously created by the Lord.
“Inspired by Him only, I discover what is already created by Him [Nārāyaṇa] under His vision as the all-pervading Supersoul, and I also am created by Him only.”
This brings us to the concept of primary and secondary creation, something that was mentioned previously, but that we didn’t explore in detail. How is it that there are two creations? How does it work?
Inside our universe, creation starts with the birth of Lord Brahma, the first living being, who has the mission of creating and populating the universe, giving thus a chance for all the souls imprisoned there to satisfy their material desires and eventually become attracted to perform devotional service to Krsna.
The primary creation is done by Lord Maha-Vishnu, who creates everything that exists in the numerous universes in a subtle form (like a project or an idea). Later, Brahma is inspired from the heart to give physical forms to this project, performing the secondary creation, as he mentioned in the above-mentioned verse.
This is similar to the process of producing an article or a book. First, the author conceives it in his mind, and then it is written on paper. As soon as the author has it in his mind, the book exists, although not yet in a tangible form. Still, when the book is finally written and printed, it follows what was conceived and conveyed by the author.
Another example is that most contemporary constructions and products exist first in a subtle form (a project) and later are manifested in a gross form when finally built. Similarly, the ideas and desires stored in our minds are the basis for the gross forms and experiences that will be experienced in our future lives.
When Lord Maha Vishnu performs the primary creation, he creates all possible forms, manifestations, and experiences that exist in the material universes. This is the universal form, or Virat-purusa, which will be described in the next chapters.
During the secondary creation, Brahma creates a number of different levels of existence that correspond to the different levels of consciousness of the different living entities. There are thus 14 levels of planetary systems, subdivided into millions of planets and stars, each one containing an enormous volume of forms and experiences. By our consciousness, we take birth into one of these places, according to the level of consciousness and there we perform our small role in the creation, manipulating the different material objects and interacting with other living entities.
When an engineer desires to design a plane, for example, the Lord reveals to him, from inside his heart the knowledge necessary to build it. The engineer may thus take the credit for it, but the plane was actually conceived by the Lord long before. In reality, everything that exists inside the universe is the manifestation of ideas previously conceived by the Lord. As different living beings desire these things, the Lord gives the knowledge from the heart, so they can satisfy their desires.
The description of the creation of the universe given in the Srimad Bhagavatam (starting from the creation of material elements) gives us an idea of the work necessary for creating the environment we live in. It also helps us to better understand the nature of this world and gradually become free from it.
Srila Prabhupada frequently explains in his teachings that life in this material world is in a sense similar to a dream. We spend time in this dream thinking that we are a man or a woman, that we have this or that position and do on, but because none of it is true in the ultimate sense we need to leave these positions in due time, just like someone awakening from a dream. This however should not be misunderstood.
Like all analogies, the comparison of material life and a dream offers many similarities with reality, but like all analogies, it doesn’t represent all the intricacies of the subject being discussed. We should thus take the main meaning, which is the temporary nature and illusion of our current situation, and not start believing that we are literally living inside a dream and everything around us doesn’t exist.
A dream is illusory, but it is not false. It is real in the sense that someone is experiencing it, but at the same time, it is illusory in nature, since in the dream we forget our real identity and become absorbed in imaginary situations. A dream is thus not false, but it is illusory and based on the forgetfulness of our real identity.
Similarly, this whole material manifestation is not false. We are here experiencing it, as are all the people around us. Things are happening. It is compared to a dream because we become forgetful of our real nature and become absorbed in the different temporary roles we play here.
Because they are not connected with our eternal nature, all the roles we play in this material world are temporary. We play for some time, but eventually, we are forced to leave, and this is called death. After that, if one is still not ready to accept his real nature, a new temporary role is accepted, which we call birth.
Brahma describes the creation of the universe
Starting from verse 2.5.18, all the way to the end of the 5th chapter, Brahma gives us a description of the process of creation of the universe. Surely he is the most competent to speak about it since he is directly involved. We like to hear from specialists in different areas because we understand these are the people who know, and in these verses, we have the opportunity to hear about creation from the creator himself.
In modern physics it’s believed that the universe started as a mass of energy, following the Big Bang, that gradually cooled down into hydrogen, which was in turn gradually transformed into heavier elements inside stars. The Vedas partially agree with this idea, stating that the creation of the material elements and other features of the universe starts from the most subtle elements and gradually progresses to the grossest. However, the Vedas go much beyond merely describing the process of the formation of atoms.
The process of creation of the different material elements is discussed in different passages of the Srimad Bhagavatam. It is discussed here in the 5th chapter of the 2nd canto, as well as the 5th and 10th chapters of the third canto, with additional discussions of the material elements being held in the 26th chapter of the third canto and the 22nd chapter of the 11th canto and so on. Each of these explanations gives us additional details, allowing our understanding to grow as we progress in our studies.
The Lord is completely spiritual and transcendental to all material qualities. However, he accepts through His external energy the material modes of nature to facilitate the creation of the universe. The souls are also not originally part of the material creation, but we become entangled in it due to our desire to lord over the material energy.
The soul is originally part of the spiritual energy of the Lord, but when the soul comes to the material world, his spiritual nature is covered. It then appears that the soul is eternally here. As Prabhupada explains: “This external energy of the Lord covers up the pure knowledge of the living entity’s eternally existing with Him, but the covering is so constant that it appears that the conditioned soul is eternally ignorant. Such is the wonderful action of māyā or external energy manifested as if materially produced.”
The whole material creation exists to give us a chance to remember Krsna and return to our original position.
The process of creation
When we speak about the creation itself, everything starts with the creation of material time.
“The Lord, who is the controller of all energies, thus creates, by His own potency, eternal time, the fate of all living entities, and their particular nature, for which they were created, and He again merges them independently.” (SB 2.5.21)
The universe goes through numerous cycles of creation and destruction. This is not the first time the universes are assembled. All the souls present at the beginning of the current cycles were souls who were previously performing activities in the universes that existed before. When the universes are destroyed, the gross and subtle bodies of all the souls, as well as their conditioned natures, are destroyed, and the souls merge into the body of Maha-Vishnu to sleep until the next cycle.
It’s mentioned that the cycles of creation and destruction of the material universes follow the breath of Maha-Vishnu. When He exhales all the universes are created, and when He inhales the universes are destroyed and everything merges back unto Him. The universes exist for a period of 311.04 trillion years (a life of Brahma) and the period when the souls stay merged into the body of Maha-Vishnu goes on for the same period.
However, what happens when the universe is created again? How can the souls continue their activities if their material minds with all their previous desires, as well as the material intelligence and other tools they use to act have beem dissolved? That’s what this verse explains. Apart from creating material time, Lord Maha-Vishnu restores the previous conditioning of all living entities, including their previous desires, inclinations, and karma. Everything is restored as it was previously.
This can help us to understand how all these different layers are different from our real nature as souls. We tend to give a lot of importance to our material desires, thinking that these are an intrinsic part of our identity, but this description clarifies that they are actually external to us, just like our gross body. The process of self-realization implies getting free of all these coverings and restoring our original pure nature.
The explanation continues in the following verses:
“After the incarnation of the first puruṣa [Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu], the mahat-tattva, or the principles of material creation, take place, and then time is manifested, and in course of time the three qualities appear. Nature means the three qualitative appearances. They transform into activities. Material activities are caused by the mahat-tattva’s being agitated. At first there is transformation of the modes of goodness and passion, and later — due to the mode of ignorance — matter, its knowledge, and different activities of material knowledge come into play. The self-centered materialistic ego, thus being transformed into three features, becomes known as the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance in three divisions, namely the powers that evolve matter, knowledge of material creations, and the intelligence that guides such materialistic activities. Nārada, you are quite competent to understand this.” (SB 2.5.22-24)
When we play a computer game, a great part of the fun is based on identifying with the role we are playing there. The more we identify with the characters and with the virtual world it offers, the more we can enjoy the experience.
Souls come to this material world to enjoy it. Although this material enjoyment is illusory, we desire it, and the first layer necessary to allow us to enjoy the material experience is the false ego, which leads us to accept false identities in this material world. Although I’m a human being, I may become an Elf or an Orc inside the game. Similarly, although we are all souls, we can become men, women, demigods, or animals inside this material world due to the influence of the false ego. All the souls inside of the material world are thus in a more or less insane state under the influence of the false ego, believing they are something they are not, while the pure souls residing in the spiritual world live under the influence of the true ego, understanding their eternal identity as souls. The main purpose of human life is exactly to gradually progress from the false ego to the true ego.
The false ego, or materialistic ego is further transformed into the three modes of material nature, goodness, passion, and ignorance, that impel us to perform different material activities. Naturally, to execute material activities, we need material objects that we can manipulate. The creation of these are explained in the following verses:
“From the darkness of false ego, the first of the five elements, namely the sky, is generated. Its subtle form is the quality of sound, exactly as the seer is in relationship with the seen. Because the sky is transformed, the air is generated with the quality of touch, and by previous succession the air is also full of sound and the basic principles of duration of life: sense perception, mental power and bodily strength. When the air is transformed in course of time and nature’s course, fire is generated, taking shape with the sense of touch and sound. Since fire is also transformed, there is a manifestation of water, full of juice and taste. As previously, it also has form and touch and is also full of sound. And water, being transformed from all variegatedness on earth, appears odorous and, as previously, becomes qualitatively full of juice, touch, sound and form respectively. (SB 2.5.25-29)
The nature of material elements
When we think about matter we think about atoms, but Srimad Bhagavatam explains it in a different way, focusing on the practical aspects of material experience. It explains how the material experience, as well as the tools we use to experience it, are created.
According to the Vedas, all material objects are a combination of the five material elements. These elements are created together with the senses that can experience them. There is no point in having eyes if there are no forms to be seen, there is no point in having ears if there are no sounds to be heard, etc. Similarly, there would be no point in form, sound, and taste existing if there were no one to experience them, therefore, they come together. From the moment sound is created, the possibility of hearing such sounds (the sense of hearing) is created, when forms are created, the possibility of seeing such forms (vision) is created, and so on.
The element ether mentioned here is not connected with the disproven theory of the luminiferous ether from past centuries, nor is it just a vacuum, like in space. The Vedic conception of ether is a subtle element that serves as a fabric or support for all the other material manifestations.
The Vedas explain that ether can conduct sound. Of course, the gross sounds we can hear depend on the presence of atoms that can conduct the vibration, but there are subtle forms of sound that can travel on ether. Even in our gross reality, radio signals can travel through the vacuum of space. The creation of the element ether thus comes together with the creation of sound and the sense of hearing.
Next, air is created, together with the sense of touch. We can’t see air; when it’s pure, we can’t taste or smell it, but we can easily feel it when we move our arms. Thus, the creation of air comes together with the sense of touch.
The next element is fire, which includes also a form. Sound can pass through fire and we can surely feel its warmth, but fire adds a third quality which is form. Different from pure air or ether, fire can be seen, and thus it comes together with the sense of vision.
The fourth element is water. Pure water doesn’t have smell, but it has taste. It also has form and can transmit sound. We can surely also feel it with our hands. Thus, water has all the three previous properties, and add one more, which is taste. Together with the creation of water, comes the sense of taste, that allows us to experience it.
The final element is earth, the grossest, which includes all the four previous qualities, and adds smell, which leads to the creation of the last of the five senses.
The Vedas explain that reality exists on several different levels. There are levels of existence much subtler than the reality we currently experience. In our current level, matter is composed of atoms, but in subtler levels matter has a different nature, not being based on physical particles. Matter there is still composed of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether), but is not based on gross atoms like here. Thus, the Vedas explain the five original elements that are used to constitute all types of matter in all different planes, and not just on atoms, which are relevant only to our particular plane.
How does the soul interact with the body?
What happens after the creation of the elements?
The five basic material elements are the constituents of all material objects, as well as the bodies we use to experience them. The Bhagavad-Gita explains that the body is just like a vehicle that is driven by the soul. A car certainly allows us to do lots of things, but there is no point in having a car if we don’t have hands and legs to drive it. In the same way, the five elements form all the material objects as well as the bodies and senses we use to experience them, but all of this is useless if there is no way for the soul to interact with the body and control it. This interface between the soul and the body is facilitated by two additional layers: the material mind and intelligence. Their creation is explained in the next few verses:
“From the mode of goodness the mind is generated and becomes manifest, as also the ten demigods controlling the bodily movements. Such demigods are known as the controller of directions, the controller of air, the sun-god, the father of Dakṣa Prajāpati, the Aśvinī-kumāras, the fire-god, the King of heaven, the worshipable deity in heaven, the chief of the Ādityas, and Brahmājī, the Prajāpati. All come into existence. By further transformation of the mode of passion, the sense organs like the ear, skin, nose, eyes, tongue, mouth, hands, genitals, legs, and the outlet for evacuating, together with intelligence and living energy, are all generated.
O Nārada, best of the transcendentalists, the forms of the body cannot take place as long as these created parts, namely the elements, senses, mind and modes of nature, are not assembled.” (SB 2.5.30-32)
Before the creation of the five elements, the text mentioned the creation of the three material modes. Now, the three modes combine with the five elements to create the means to experience the world.
Actions are motivated by desires, and desires are stored in the mind. The mind is also the connection between the soul and the material body and senses. Therefore, the mind is the basic tool we use to experience the material world.
The mind is not a living being, but rather a mechanical entity created from material energy, much like a computer. The mind is created from the material mode of goodness, which indicates that originally the mind is peaceful. It becomes agitated due to contact with innumerable material desires, but it can be brought back to its original peaceful nature by spiritual practice.
While modern science explains the movements of the body as just a combination of nerves and muscles activated by electrical signals, the Vedas explain the existence of subtle forces, such as the vital air and different demigods that control body movements. These demigods are also created from the mode of goodness.
From the mode of passion, the intelligence is created. There are two types of intelligence: spiritual intelligence, which is used when the soul is connected with his eternal spiritual nature, and material intelligence, which works to satisfy the desires of the mind, making plans to manipulate matter. This passage speaks about material intelligence, which is created together with the sense organs. From this description, we can also understand that there is a difference between the subtle senses, grouped around the mind, and the gross sense organs that are part of the physical body.
As the verse mentions, the physical bodies of all living entities are the last stage of creation, which becomes possible only after all the previous stages are concluded.
False or illusory?
Some philosophers, like the Mayavadis, conclude that this world is false, but in his teachings, Srila Prabhupada explains that this world is not false, but it is illusory. By “illusory” he doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist, but that it is temporary. The material world is real in the sense that it was created by Krsna and it is being experienced by us, but at the same time, it is illusory because it is disconnected from our eternal reality in the spiritual world.
In contemporaneous terms, this universe has many similarities with the idea of virtual reality, which allows content creators to create whole virtual worlds that exist only in the memory of computers. These words are not false, because they were created by someone and are experienced by others, but they are illusory since they are divorced from reality. One may die a thousand times inside a VR game, but this doesn’t affect his real life in any way.
The Srimad Bhagavatam explains in detail the workings of this temporary world we somehow ended in. Apart from helping us to understand it, this explanation can help us to find our way out.
Last words
In this way, the universe came into being by the combination of the primary and secondary creations, as mentioned by Lord Brahma in verse 33:
“Thus when all these became assembled by force of the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, this universe certainly came into being by accepting both the primary and secondary causes of creation.”
Another meaning of this verse, pointed out by Srila Prabhupada in his purport is that it makes clear that the Lord employs His different energies to create the material universe while remaining apart from it, and not that He himself is transformed into the material creation like some believe.
Verses 34 and 35 may sound difficult to understand, but they just explain the process of Lord Maha-Vishnu looking into the direction of the material universes, impregnating the material energy with material time and the souls, and then entering into each universe as Lord Garbodakasayi Vishnu and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu:
“Thus all the universes remained thousands of aeons within the water [the Causal Ocean], and the Lord of living beings, entering in each of them, caused them to be fully animated. The Lord [Mahā-Viṣṇu], although lying in the Causal Ocean, came out of it, and dividing Himself as Hiraṇyagarbha, He entered into each universe and assumed the virāṭ-rūpa, with thousands of legs, arms, mouths, heads, etc.”(SB 2.5.34-35)
After being created by the exhalation of Maha-Vishnu, the universes lay down lifeless for a long time, until the Lord enters into each of them as Gabodakasayi Vishnu and Ksirodakasayi Vishnu. This shows how the creation can’t progress at any stage without the participation of the Lord.