74
Teachings of Lord Chaitanya
independent, and the Master of all objects movable and immovable in the material world.
The influence of material Nature cannot reach beyond the  Viroja , or Causal Ocean, and this is confirmed in the  Srimad Bhagwatam , Second Canto, Ninth Chapter. On the Vaikuntha planets there is no influence of the modes of material Nature. There is no mixture of the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance, and neither is there any influence of material time. On those planets the liberated associates of Krishna live eternally, and they are worshipped both by the demigods and the demons.
The material Nature acts in two capacities, as  Maya  and  Pradhana . Maya is the direct cause and Pradhana means the elements of material manifestation. The first Purusha Avatara, Maha Vishnu, glances over the material Nature and thereby the material Nature becomes agitated, and the Purusha Avatara thus impregnates matter with the living entities. By this glancing, consciousness is created, and consciousness is known as  Maha Tattwa . The predominating deity of  Maha Tattwa  is Vasudeva. Consciousness is then divided into three departmental activities, under the three gunas, or modes of material Nature. Consciousness in the mode of goodness is described in the  Srimad Bhagwatam  Eleventh Canto, and the predominating deity is called Aniruddha. Consciousness in the mode of material passion produces intelligence, and the predominating deity is called Pradyumna. He is the Master of the senses. Consciousness in the mode of ignorance is the cause of production of the ether, the sky, and the cause of production of the hearing instrument, the ear. The cosmic manifestation is the combination of all these, and thereby innumerable Universes are created. Nobody can count how many Universes there are.
These innumerable Universes are being produced from the pores on the body of Maha Vishnu. It is also said that, as innumerable atoms are coming and going through the holes in a window, so from the pores of the body of Maha Vishnu innumerable Universes emanate. From His breathing also innumerable Universes are being produced and annihilated. All His energies are spiritual—they have nothing to do with the material energy. In the  Brahma Samhita  this fact is stated also. In the fifth Chapter, 54th verse, it is said that the predominating deity of each Universe, Brahma, lives only during one breath of Maha Vishnu. Maha Vishnu again is the original Supersoul of all the Universes, and He is also the Master of all the Universes. That is the description of the first incarnation, known as Maha Vishnu.
The second Vishnu incarnation enters into each and every Universe. In