Ādi-līlā, Chapter 1
53
is the creation itself. But neither cause nor effect existed in the beginning; they emanated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as did the energy of time. This is stated in the  Vedānta-sūtra  ( janmādy asya yataḥ ). The source of birth of the cosmic manifestation or  mahat-tattva  is the Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed throughout the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  and  Bhagavad-gītā . In  Bhagavad-gītā  (10.8) the Lord says,  aham sarvasya prabhavaḥ : "I am the fountainhead of all emanations." The material cosmos, being temporary, is sometimes manifest and sometimes unmanifest, but its energy emanates from the Supreme Absolute Lord. Before the creation there was neither cause nor effect, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead existed with His full opulence and energy.
The words  paścād aham  indicate that the Lord exists after the dissolution of the cosmic manifestation. When the material world is dissolved, the Lord still exists personally in the Vaikuṇṭhas. During the creation the Lord also exists as He is in the Vaikuṇṭhas, and He also exists as the Supersoul within the material universes. This is confirmed in the  Brahma-saṁhitā  (5.37).  Goloka eva nivasati : although He is perfectly and eternally present in Goloka Vṛndāvana in Vaikuṇṭha, He is nevertheless all-pervading ( akhilātma-bhūtaḥ ). The all-pervading feature of the Lord is called the Supersoul. In  Bhagavad-gītā  it is said,  aham kṛtsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ : the cosmic manifestation is a display of the energy of the Supreme Lord. The material elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego) display the inferior energy of the Lord, and the living entities are His superior energy. Since the energy of the Lord is not different from Him, in fact everything that exists is Kṛṣṇa in His impersonal feature. Sunshine, sunlight and heat are not different from the sun, and yet simultaneously they are distinct energies of the sun. Similarly, the cosmic manifestation and the living entities are energies of the Lord, and they are considered to be simultaneously one with and different from Him. The Lord therefore says, "I am everything," because everything is His energy and is therefore non-different from Him.
Yo 'vaśiyeta so 'smy aham  indicates that the Lord is the balance that exists after the dissolution of the creation. The spiritual manifestation never vanishes. It belongs to the internal energy of the Supreme Lord and exists eternally. When the external manifestation is withdrawn, the spiritual activities in Goloka and the rest of the Vaikuṇṭhas continue, unrestricted by material time, which has no existence in the spiritual world. Therefore in  Bhagavad-gītā  it is said,  yad gatvā na nivartante tad dhāma paramaṁ mama : "The abode from which no one returns to this material world is the supreme abode of the Lord." (Bg. 15.6)
TEXT 54
ঋতেহর্থং যং প্রতীয়েত ন প্রতীয়েত চাত্মনি ।
তত্ত্বিচাদাত্মনো মায়াং যথাভাসো যথা তমঃ ॥ ৫৪ ॥
ṛte 'rthaṁ yat pratīyeta na pratīyeta cātmani