God Is The Origin of All - The Supreme Source of Everything
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently reminds his disciples that the first aphorism of the Vedānta-sūtra directs human beings to inquire into the Absolute Truth. The second aphorism defines that Absolute Truth simply: it is that from which everything originates. The Vedic literatures overwhelmingly conclude that this original source is not a formless void or an impersonal energy, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
The Supreme Source of Everything
In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa makes His position unmistakably clear. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that defining God based on Kṛṣṇa's own words eliminates all speculation: God is the original source from whom all material and spiritual energies emanate.
- In Bhagavad-gita, the Lord says, aham sarvasya prabhavo: "I am the origin of everything." Mattah sarvam pravartate: "whatever exists in the creation emanates from Me."
- If you define God like that, "God is the origin of everything," where is your difficulty? There is no difficulty, because you are defining God by the words of God.
- Param is explained further by the word, pradhanam, which means the chief, the origin, the source of everything - sarva-karana-karanam - the cause of all causes.
- According to different phases of understanding, Lord Visnu is differently described, but in fact He is the origin of everything.
The Origin of the Material Creation
Atheistic philosophers propose that the complex material universe somehow arose from dead, inert matter. Śrīla Prabhupāda refutes this, explaining that matter only acts when activated by the supreme consciousness, making the Lord the true origin of the cosmic manifestation.
- From Vedic reference it is concluded that the origin of all energies (namely internal, external and marginal) is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As explained hereinbefore, the illusory conclusion is that creation is made by the inert material nature.
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of all manifestations. Material nature can supply only when it is activated by the glance of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
- Here the word praticaksanaya, "there are varieties," announces the glories of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appeared as Nara-Narayana Rsi and who is the origin of all varieties of material nature.
- We should be very much careful not to become their victim. So although the atheists say there is no God, jagad ahur anisvaram, but we are convinced that God is the origin - janmady asya yatah - of both matter and spirit.
The Origin of the Living Entities
While we may identify with our physical families, our true lineage traces back to the Supreme. Śrīla Prabhupāda points out that because the Lord is the origin of all energies, He is necessarily the original father and source of all individual living entities.
- The words atmanam atma-stham sarva-bhutesv avasthitam are also significant. The Personality of Godhead is the origin of all living entities. Because the living entities are parts and parcels of the Lord, He is the father of all of them.
- Since the Lord is the origin of both Paramatma and Brahman, He is the origin of all living entities and all else that exists. One who knows this engages himself at once in the devotional service of the Lord.
- The Vedic hymns confirm the fact that He is the origin of all living entities and the rest of all.
- Dear Lord, we offer our respectful obeisances unto You because from Your abdomen sprouts the lotus flower, the origin of all living entities. You are always decorated with a lotus garland, and Your feet resemble the lotus flower with all its fragrance.
The Original Uncreated Cause
Because everything we see in the material world has a beginning and an end, we mistakenly assume God must also have been created. Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the Absolute Truth is anādi—having no creator—He is the causeless origin of everything else.
- The Lord is called anadi, or having no creator, and adi, or the origin of all. We think in our own imperfect way that the Lord is also created, but the Vedanta informs us that He is not created.
- The origin of all creation is Lord Visnu, and the origin of all the visnu-tattvas is Lord Krsna. Consequently, Krsna is the origin of everything.
- Indeed, You alone know Yourself by Your own internal potency, O Supreme Person, origin of all, Lord of all beings, God of gods, Lord of the universe!
- Nature has given us the opportunity now to enquire about the Absolute Truth. And what is that Absolute Truth? Because this is our only enquiry, that - What is the Absolute Truth, or the origin of everything.
Conclusion
The fundamental inquiry of human life—seeking the ultimate source of our existence—is conclusively answered by the Vedic literatures. Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the primeval, uncreated origin of all material universes, spiritual planets, and individual living entities. Rejecting the illogical atheistic theories that trace creation back to dead matter, true intelligence recognizes that the complex varieties of the cosmos can only manifest through the direction of a supreme, conscious origin. When a living entity perfectly understands that Lord Kṛṣṇa is the causeless cause of everything (ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo), their search for the Absolute Truth is completed. This profound realization naturally awakens an attitude of deep reverence, prompting the soul to joyfully surrender and engage in the eternal devotional service of the supreme origin.
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