1064 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 26

anddir adtma puruso
nirgunah prakrteh parah
pratyag-dhama svayam-jyotir
visvam yena samanvitam

anadih—without a beginning; dtma—the Supreme Soul; purusah—the
Personality of Godhead; nirgunah—transcendental to the material modes of
nature; prakrteh parah—beyond this material world; pratyak-dhama—
perceivable everywhere; svayam-jyotih—self-effulgent; visvam—the entire
creation; yena—by whom; samanvitam—is maintained.

TRANSLATION

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the Supreme Soul, and He has
no beginning. He is transcendental to the material modes of nature and
beyond the existence of this material world. He is perceivable everywhere
because He is self-effulgent, and by His self-effulgent luster the entire
creation is maintained.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is described as being without
beginning. He is purusa, the Supreme Spirit. Purusa means person. When
we think of a person in our present experience, that person has a begin-
ning. This means that he has taken birth and that there is a history from
the beginning of his life. But the Lord is particularly mentioned here as
anadi, beginningless. If we examine all persons, we will find that everyone
has a beginning, but when we approach a person who has no beginning, He
is the Supreme Person. That is the definition given in the Brahma-samhita.
Isvarah paramah krsnah: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is Krsna,
the supreme controller; He is without beginning, and He is the beginning
of everyone. This definition is found in all Vedic literatures.

The Lord is described as the soul or spirit. What is the definition of
spirit? Spirit is perceivable everywhere. Brahman means great. His greatness
is perceived everywhere. And what is that greatness? Consciousness. We
have personal experience of consciousness, for it is spread all over the
body; in every hair follicle of our body we can feel consciousness. This is
individual consciousness. Similarly, there is Superconsciousness. The
example can be given of a small light and the sunlight. The sunlight is
perceived everywhere, even within the room or in the sky, but the small
light is experienced within a specific limit. Similarly, our consciousness is
