250 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 5
PURPORT

For a pure devotee, the conception of Mukunda Lord Sri Krsna is both
personal and impersonal. The impersonal cosmic situation is also Mukunda
because it is the emanation of the energy of Mukunda. For example, a tree
is a complete unit, whereas the leaves and the branches of the tree are
emanated parts and parcels of the tree. The leaves and branches of the tree
are also the tree, but the tree itself is neither the leaves nor the branches.
The Vedic version that the whole cosmic creation is nothing but Brahman
means that since everything is emanating from the Supreme Brahman,
nothing is apart from Him. Similarly, the part and parcel hands and legs
are called the body, but the body as the whole unit is neither the hands
nor the legs. The Lord is the transcendental form of eternity, cognition
and beauty. And thus the creation of the energy of the Lord appears to be
partially eternal, full of knowledge and beautiful also. The captivated con-
ditioned souls under the influence of the external energy maya are there-
fore entrapped in the network of the material nature. They accept this as
all in all, for they have no information of the Lord who is the primeval
cause. Nor have they information that the parts and parcels of the body,
being detached from the whole body, are no longer the same hand or leg
as when attached to the body. Similarly, a godless civilization detached
from the transcendental loving service of the Supreme Personality of
Godhead is just like a detached hand or leg. Such parts and parcels may
appear like hands and legs, but they have no efficiency. The devotee of the
Lord, Srila Vyasadeva, knows this very well. He is further advised by Srila
Narada to expand the idea so that the entrapped conditioned souls may
take lessons from him to understand the Supreme Lord as the primeval
cause.

According to the Vedic version, the Lord is naturally fully powerful,
and thus His supreme energies are always perfect and identical with Him.
Both the spiritual and the material skies and their paraphernalia are ema-
nations of the internal and external energies of the Lord. External energy
is comparatively inferior, whereas the internal potency is superior. The
superior energy is living force, and therefore she is completely identical,
but the external energy, being inert, is partially identical. But both the
energies are neither equal to nor greater than the Lord, who is the genera-
tor of all energies; such energies are always under His control, exactly as
electrical energy, however powerful it may be, is always under the control
of the engineer.

The human being and all other living beings are products of His internal
