Text 23] The Cause of All Causes 249

mahatah—of the mahat-tattva; tu—but; vikurvanat—being transformed;
rajah— material mode of passion; sattva—mode of goodness; upab rivhitat—
because of being increased; tamah—the mode of darkness; pradhanah—
being prominent; tu—but; abhavat—took place; dravya—matter: jiidna—
material knowledge; kriyd-atmakah —predominantly material activities.

TRANSLATION

The cause of material activities is due to mahat-tattva being agitated.
At first there is transformation of the modes of goodness and passion, and
later on, due to the mode of ignorance, matter, its knowledge, and differ-
ent activities of material knowledge come into play.

PURPORT

Material creations of every description are more or less due to the devel-
opment of the mode of passion (tamas). The mahat-tattva is the principle
of material creation, and when it is agitated by the will of the Supreme at
first the modes of passion and goodness are prominent, and afterwards the
mode of passion, being generated in due course by material activities of
different varieties, becomes prominent, and the living entities are thus
involved more and more in ignorance. Brahma is the representation of the
mode of passion, and Visnu is the representation of the mode of goodness,
while the mode of ignorance is represented by Lord Siva, the father of
material activities. Material nature is called the mother, and the initiator for
materialistic life is the father, Lord Siva. All material creation by the
living entities is therefore initiated by the mode of passion. With the
advancement of the duration of life in a particular millennium, the differ-
ent modes act by gradual development, and in the age of Kali (when the
mode of passion is most prominent) material activities of different
varieties, in the name of advancement of human civilization, take place,
and the living entities become more and more involved in forgetting their
real identily—the spiritual nature. By a slight cultivation of the mode of
goodness, a glimpse of spiritual nature is perceived, but due to the promi-
nence of the mode of passion, the mode of goodness becomes adulterated.
Therefore one cannot transcend the limits of the material modes, and
therefore realization of the Lord, who is always transcendental to the
modes of material nature, becomes very difficult for the living entities,
even though prominently situated in the mode of goodness through culti-
