God Is The Cause of Everything - The Supreme Root of Existence
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently quotes the famous Bhagavad-gītā verse (10.8): ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate—"I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me." This definitive statement establishes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the original, primeval cause of everything in existence.
The Source of Spirit and Matter
To understand the universe, one must understand the two primary energies that compose it. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that both the conscious spirit soul and the inert material nature are simply energies emanating from the Supreme Lord, making Him the root cause of everything.
- Spirit and matter, which combine together to manifest this gigantic universal form, are originally two energies of the Lord, and consequently the Lord is the original cause of everything.
- Because both energies emanate from Lord Vasudeva, the all-pervasive Supreme Personality of Godhead, He is known as both prakrti and purusa. Therefore Vasudeva is the cause of everything.
- This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (10.8), wherein Krsna says, aham sarvasya prabhavo mattah sarvam pravartate: "I am the source of all spiritual and material worlds. Everything emanates from Me."
The Causeless, Wonderful Cause
While everything in the material world is subject to the laws of cause and effect, the Supreme Lord is entirely independent. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that Bhagavān is the cause of everything, yet He Himself has no cause.
- For the Lord's existence there is no cause, for He is the cause of everything. He is in everything, He is expanded in everything, but He is not everything. He is acintya-bhedabheda, simultaneously one and different.
- My Lord, You are the cause of all causes, but You Yourself have no cause. Therefore You are the wonderful cause of everything.
- The Lord is the cause for everything, but there is no cause for Him. Sarvam khalv idam brahma. Mat-sthani sarva-bhutani na caham tesv avasthitah. Although He is everything, His personality is different from the cosmic manifestation.
Both Cause and Effect
Through the philosophy of acintya-bhedābheda-tattva, Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Lord is simultaneously one with and different from His creation. Because the creation is made of His energy, He is both the cause and the effect, yet He remains completely aloof.
- Being absolute, beyond relativity, He is free from distinctions between cause and effect, although He is the cause and effect of everything.
- Lord Mahadeva said: O chief demigod among the demigods, O all-pervading Lord, master of the universe, by Your energy You are transformed into the creation. You are the root and efficient cause of everything.
- Maha-visnu is the original cause of Garbhodakasayi Visnu, and from Him comes the lotus flower from which Lord Brahma is manifested. Thus the original cause of everything is Visnu, and consequently the cosmic manifestation is not different from Visnu.
Refuting Atheism and Impersonalism
Less intelligent persons theorize that the universe operates mechanically or sprang from a void. Śrīla Prabhupāda firmly rejects these ideas, clarifying that the original cause of the complex cosmic manifestation must be a supreme intelligence—a person.
- The original cause of everything is neither void nor impersonal but is the Supreme Person. Demons may say that this material creation is anisvara, without a controller or God, but such arguments ultimately cannot stand.
- The original cause of everything is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and after being annihilated, everything enters into Him. Thus the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead - Lord Ramacandra or Lord Krsna - is the original cause of everything.
- It is stated in the Bhagavad-gita that the Lord is the support of the Brahman effulgence. Originally He is the root cause of everything.
Conclusion
To truly understand the reality of the material and spiritual worlds, one must recognize their absolute source. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the causeless, wonderful root cause of everything. He is the active efficient cause who agitates the material nature, and He is the supreme energetic source from whom both spirit and matter emanate. Atheistic theories of a random, controller-less universe collapse when faced with the perfect order and design of the cosmos, which point directly to a supreme brain. Because Bhagavān is the ultimate origin and maintainer of all existence, the entire world is suffering simply for want of this knowledge. By acknowledging Kṛṣṇa as the original cause of everything, a sane human being naturally abandons all independent pursuits and happily engages in His eternal, unalloyed devotional service.
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