God Is The Source - The Absolute Origin of All Emanations
Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches that the material universe does not exist independently, nor does it generate from a void. The Vedic literatures conclusively establish that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the absolute source from whom all cosmic manifestations, material modes, and living entities eternally emanate.
The Source of the Cosmic Manifestation
To understand the universe, one must trace its origins back to the ultimate cause. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the very definition of the Absolute Truth is that He is the supreme source from whom the entire cosmic manifestation is generated.
- Janmady asya yatah. This means that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or the Supreme Person, Brahman, the Absolute Truth, is the source from whom everything emanates.
- The source of birth of the cosmic manifestation, or mahat-tattva, is the Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed throughout Srimad-Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-gita.
- Material nature is working under the direction of the Lord. Therefore the Lord is not unattached to the external energy, and He is addressed in this verse as guna-atma, the source of the three modes of material nature.
- O limitless one, God of gods, refuge of the universe! You are the invincible source, the cause of all causes, transcendental to this material manifestation.
The Source of the Living Entities
Every living being, regardless of their current material body, originates from the Supreme Lord. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that Bhagavān is the supreme whole, and all individual souls, as well as the all-pervading Supersoul, emanate directly from Him.
- As the vast earth is the source for the ingredients of all earthen pots, so the Supreme Soul is the source for the complete substance of all individual living entities.
- The Bhagavatam confirms as follows: Anyone who does not render service and neglects his duty unto the Primeval Lord, who is the source of all living entities, will certainly fall down from his constitutional position.
- The all-pervading Supersoul, Paramatma, is the source of all living entities, and all living entities are part and parcel of Him.
- Although Paramatma and Brahman are subordinate to Bhagavan, because Bhagavan is Purusottama or the Superperson, He is the source of the Supersoul also.
The Source of All Energies and Truths
Atheistic philosophers mistakenly attribute the creation to gross matter. However, Śrīla Prabhupāda clarifies that the supreme consciousness of the Lord is the actual source of all material and spiritual energies, and absolutely nothing can exist independently of Him.
- As in the individual body the consciousness is the source of all energies of the body, so the supreme consciousness of the Lord is the source of all energies in material nature.
- In the Vedanta-sutra the distinction between the energy and the energetic is accepted from the very beginning. In that Vedanta-sutra the first aphorism clearly explains that the Supreme Absolute Truth is the origin or source of all emanations.
- Since the complete whole, or the Absolute Truth, is the source of everything, nothing is independent of Him. Everything exists within the body of the Absolute Truth.
- The source of all truths is the Supreme Spirit, and not gross matter as wrongly conceived by the gross materialist.
The Source of Bliss, Intelligence, and Opulence
Because the Supreme Lord is the origin of everything, He is naturally the source of all desirable qualities. Śrīla Prabhupāda notes that while the Lord is a source of fear for atheists, He is the ultimate supplier of intelligence, opulence, and transcendental bliss for His devotees.
- Fear results from being absorbed in duality. When one is in knowledge of duality, one knows both fear and bliss. The same Supreme Lord is a source of bliss to devotees and fear to nondevotees who have a poor fund of knowledge.
- He is the source of everyone's opulence, and no one can equal Him in opulence. Being full of all opulences, namely wealth, fame, strength, beauty, knowledge and renunciation, certainly He is the Supreme Person.
- The intelligence with which you are working, that is supplied by God. Your body is supplied by God. You are God's. So everything becomes God's. Prabhavah: I am the source of supply of everything.
- Devotional service is transcendental attraction for the Supreme on account of His being the source of all pleasing humors.
Conclusion
True spiritual knowledge begins with the profound understanding of janmādy asya yataḥ—that everything emanates from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Prabhupāda concludes that Bhagavān is the complete, absolute source of the material universes, the spiritual planets, and the countless living entities. The impersonal Brahman and the localized Paramātmā are merely partial manifestations originating from this supreme, personal source. Materialism is simply the forgetfulness of this original source, leading the conditioned soul into a fearful existence absorbed in duality. However, when a living entity acknowledges that their intelligence, body, and very existence are supplied by the Lord, they naturally engage in devotional service. By reconnecting with God as the ultimate source of all opulences and pleasing humors, the pure devotee crosses over all material fear and attains eternal, transcendental bliss.
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