Adi-tila, Chapter 5 421
the material creation. Bhagavad-gita confirms that the Lord glances over material
nature, and thus she produces the many material universes. Neither Krsna in Goloka
nor Narayana in Vaikuntha comes directly in contact with the material creation.
They are completely aloof from the material energy.

It is the function of Maha-Sankarsana in the form of Karanodakasayi Visnu to
glance over the material creation, which is situated beyond the limits of the Causal
Ocean. Material nature is connected with the Personality of Godhead by His glance
over her and nothing more. It is said that she is impregnated by the energy of His
glance. The material energy, mdyd, never even touches the Causal Ocean, for the
Lord’s glance focuses upon her from a great distance away.

The glancing power of the Lord agitates the entire cosmic energy, and thus its
actions begin at once. This indicates that matter, however powerful she may be, has
no power by herself. Her activity begins by the grace of the Lord, and then the
entire cosmic creation is manifested in a systematic way. The example of a woman’s
conception can help us understand this subject to a certain extent. The mother is
passive, but the father puts his energy within the mother, and thus she conceives.
She supplies the ingredients for the birth of the child in her womb. Similarly, the
Lord activates material nature, which then supplies the ingredients for cosmic
development.

Material nature has two different phases. The aspect called pradh@na supplies the
material ingredients for cosmic development, and the aspect called mdyd causes the
manifestation of her ingredients, which are temporary like foam in the ocean. In
reality, the temporary manifestations of material nature are originally: caused by the
spiritual glance of the Lord. The Personality of Godhead is the direct, or remote,
cause of creation, and material nature is the indirect, or immediate, cause. Material-
istic scientists, puffed-up by the magical changes their so-called inventions have
brought about, cannot see the real potency of Godhead behind matter. Therefore
the jugglery of science is gradually leading people to a godless civilization at the
cost of the goal of human life. Having missed the goal of life, materialists run after
self-sufficiency, not knowing that material nature is already self-sufficient by the
grace of God. Thus creating a colossal hoax in the name of civilization, they create
an imbalance in the natural self-sufficiency of material nature.

To think of material nature as all in all, not knowing the original cause, is
ignorance. Lord Caitanya appeared to dissipate this darkness of ignorance by
igniting the spark of spiritual life that can, by His causeless mercy, enlighten the
entire world.

To explain how mdyd acts by Krsna’s power, the author of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
gives the example that an iron rod ina fire, although it is not fire, becomes red-hot
and acts like fire itself. Similarly, all the actions and reactions of material nature
are not actually the work of material nature, but are actions and reactions of the
energy of the Supreme Lord manifested through matter. The power of electricity
is transmitted through the medium of copper, but this does not mean that the
copper is electricity. The power is generated at a powerhouse under the control of
an expert living being. Similarly, behind all the jugglery of the natural laws is a
great living being, who is a person like the mechanical engineer in the powerhouse.
It is by His intelligence that the entire cosmic creation moves in a systematic way.
