God's External Energy - The Deluding Power of the Absolute Truth
When looking at the vast, complex, and often cruel material world, many philosophers struggle to reconcile its existence with a perfectly good and spiritual God. If God is pure spirit, why does a world of matter, suffering, and illusion exist? The Vedic literatures resolve this profound mystery by introducing the science of God's external energy (māyā). The Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses unlimited potencies, which are broadly categorized into internal, external, and marginal energies. Śrīla Prabhupāda meticulously explains that the material world is the manifestation of the Lord's external energy. It is not an accident or an independent force; it is a meticulously designed environment created for a specific purpose. By understanding the nature of this external energy, how it conditions the rebellious living entities, and how the Supreme Lord remains completely unaffected by it, we can learn the secret to escaping its stringent laws and returning to the spiritual realm.
The Three Energies of the Absolute
To understand the material world, one must first understand its place within the totality of God's potencies. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Absolute Truth manifests His power primarily through three energies: the internal (spiritual), the external (material), and the marginal (the living entities).
- God has got multi-energies, and they are divided grossly into three: the external energy, the internal energy and the marginal energy.
- Maintenance is effected by the Lord through His different expansions of Self and three principal energies, namely the internal, external and marginal energies.
- The Absolute Personality of Godhead is the perfect person. The Supreme Person has manifold energies, out of which the internal, external and marginal energies are specifically important.
- These three energies (internal, external and marginal) of the Absolute Truth are also described in the Visnu Purana.
The Nature of the Material Creation
The material world is not a false illusion in the sense that it doesn't exist; it is a temporary, perverted reflection of the spiritual reality. Śrīla Prabhupāda details how the external energy, comprising only twenty-five percent of the Lord's total energy, is manifested, maintained, and ultimately dissolved.
- Because this material world is the creation of His external energy, it thus appears to be temporary; it is manifested at certain intervals, maintained for some time, and again dissolved and conserved in His own energy.
- The entire cosmic manifestation is full of variety, but actually that variety is a manifestation of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, and that energy is situated in Him.
- The material world, conducted by the Supreme Lord's external energy, is called Devi-dhama and is a manifestation of one fourth of His energy.
- The seventy-five percent expansion of His (God's) radiation is called His internal energy, whereas the twenty-five percent expansion is called the external energy of the Lord.
The Purpose: A Theater for Imitators
Why did God activate this external energy? Śrīla Prabhupāda reveals that the material creation is an expertly designed facility for the marginal living entities who have chosen to rebel against the Lord, offering them a dream-like environment where they can pretend to be the supreme enjoyers.
- It is clearly stated here that the material world is not created by the personal will of the Supreme Lord; it is created by His external energy because the living entities want to enjoy it.
- The material energy was accepted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead in order that He might exhibit pastimes for the living entities who wanted to enjoy and lord it over the material energy.
- The material world is the temporary, external energy of the Lord, and the living entity is placed in this material world because he wanted to imitate the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- The external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead gives all conditioned souls what appears to be an opportunity to be happy within this material world, but that is maya; in other words, it is a dream that is never to be fulfilled.
The Conditioning of the Living Entity
Once the living entity enters the external energy, they are provided with material bodies and become completely bewildered. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains how the gross body and the subtle mind become the instruments of illusion, forcing the eternal soul to suffer under the stringent laws of material nature.
- When a living entity forgets the constitutional nature of his relationship with God, he is at once overwhelmed by the external energy. This is the cause of his false ego, his false identification of the body with the self.
- The living entity creates his own body by his personal desires, and the external energy of the Lord supplies him the exact form by which he can enjoy his desires to the fullest extent.
- The spirit soul is distinct from the material conception of his life, but he is absorbed in such a material conception because of being influenced by the external energy of the Lord, called atma-maya.
- We are covered by this gross body made up of earth, water, fire, air and ether, which is the gross external energy of God, or Krsna, and the mind, ego and intelligence, which are subtle. Thus we are covered.
The Lord Remains Unaffected
A critical philosophical error made by impersonalists is assuming that because God's energy has transformed into matter, God Himself is entangled in it. Śrīla Prabhupāda strictly refutes this, clarifying that while the external energy controls the conditioned souls, the Supreme Lord remains the supreme, unaffected controller of the energy itself.
- The external energy is controlled by the Lord, and the living entities are controlled by the external energy - by the will of the Lord.
- As stated in Bhagavad-gita (13.15), nirgunam guna-bhoktr ca: although the Lord is not attached to the external energy, He is nonetheless the master of it.
- The Supreme Lord is the master of the external energy manifested by the three material modes, namely goodness, passion and ignorance, and as master of this energy He is ever unaffected by the influence of such bewildering energy.
- Just as a devotee is never bewildered by his material body, the Lord is never bewildered by the external energy of this material world.
The Danger of Materialistic Delusion
The external energy is breathtakingly powerful and capable of completely mesmerizing even great leaders and thinkers. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that mundane philosophers and politicians, busy attempting to exploit material resources, are simply acting as tools in the hands of the Lord's bewildering māyā.
- Delusion is the perverted image of reality and is the hallmark of maya, the Lord's external energy. This delusion is totally absent in His internal, spiritual potency.
- Every living being is illusioned by the external energy of the Supreme Lord.
- So-called great leaders of human society are stubborn rebels against the supremacy of the Lord because they are ignorant of this great knowledge of bhakti-yoga and are always engaged in ignoble acts of sense gratification, bewildered by the external energy.
- The mental philosophers, under the illusion of the Lord's external energy, indulge in estimating the length and breadth of the Supreme Lord.
Escaping the External Energy
How can the tiny living entity break free from the insurmountable grip of the external energy? Śrīla Prabhupāda provides the ultimate solution: because the external energy belongs to the Supreme Lord, one must surrender directly to the Lord and engage in the activities of His internal energy through devotional service.
- I should now give up my attachment for things created by the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. I should engage in thought of the Lord and should thus surrender unto Him.
- Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti te (Bhagavad-gita 7.14). One who has fully surrendered to the Lord has no fear of the modes of material nature, for everything is but an expansion of the Lord's glories, and these glories are gradually revealed and realized.
- If he (the living entity) serves the Supreme Lord, he is in his normal condition, but if he prefers to serve the illusory external energy, then certainly he will be in bondage.
- One cannot understand the Supreme Lord simply by seeing the material energy and the conditioned soul, but when one is in perfect knowledge, he is freed from the influence of the external energy.
Conclusion
A systematic study of the Vedic literatures thoroughly protects the sincere seeker from both materialistic despair and impersonal speculation. As Śrīla Prabhupāda masterfully explains, the Supreme Personality of Godhead possesses unlimited potencies, which function primarily as three energies: internal (the spiritual world), external (the material world), and marginal (the living entities). The material cosmos is not a permanent reality, nor is it the source of life; it is a temporary exhibition of the Lord's external energy (bahir-aṅgā-māyā), comprising only one-fourth of His total manifestation. This external energy is activated for a very specific purpose: to provide a dream-like theater for those marginal living entities who have rebelled against the Lord and wish to imitate Him as supreme enjoyers. Once placed into this material atmosphere, the living entity is covered by gross elements (earth, water, fire, air) and subtle elements (mind, intelligence, false ego), completely forgetting their original spiritual identity. Under the stringent laws of material nature, the conditioned soul is forced to suffer the miseries of birth, old age, disease, and death. It is vital to understand that while the conditioned soul is utterly controlled by the external energy, the Supreme Lord remains the absolute master of it (guṇa-ātmā). He is never bewildered, entangled, or transformed by the modes of material nature. For the living entity, however, the grip of the external energy is insurmountable by any mundane method. No amount of mental speculation, political leadership, or technological advancement can extricate a soul from matter. The only solution is clearly stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.14): mām eva ye prapadyante māyām etāṁ taranti te. One must surrender completely to the Supreme Personality of Godhead and transfer their attachment from the external energy to the internal energy. By engaging in pure devotional service, the soul's original consciousness is revived, the delusion of māyā dissipates like a mirage, and the eternal servant of the Lord successfully returns back home, back to Godhead.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category God's External Energy. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.