Text 8] Mohini-marti Bewilders Lord Siva 107

and the soul is considered spiritual. The origin of them both, however, is

the same Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord explains in
Bhagavad-gita (7.4-5):

bhiimir apo ’nalo vayuh
kham mano buddhir eva ca
ahankara itiyarn me

bhinna prakrtir astadha

apareyam itas tv anyam
prakrtirn viddhi me param

Jiva-bhiitam maha-baho
yayedam dharyate jagat

“Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all
together these eight comprise My separated material energies. But
besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior
energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling
with material nature and are sustaining the universe.” Thus both matter
and the living entities are manifestations of energy of the Supreme Lord.
Since the energy and the energetic are not different and since the ma-
terial and marginal energies are both energies of the supreme energetic,
the Supreme Lord, ultimately the Supreme Personality of Godhead is
everything. In this regard, the example may be given of gold that has not
been molded and gold that has been molded into various ornaments. A
gold earring and the gold in a mine are different only as cause and effect;
otherwise they are the same. The Veddnta-sitra describes that Brahman
is the cause of everything. Janmédy asya yatah. Everything is born of
the Supreme Brahman, from which everything emanates as different en-
ergies. None of these energies, therefore, should be considered false. The
Mayavadis’ differentiation between Brahman and mayéd is only due to ig-
norance.

Srimad Viraraghava Acarya, in his Bhagavata-candra-candrika, de-
scribes the Vaisnava philosophy as follows. The cosmic manifestation is
described as sat and asat, as cit and acit. Matter is acit, and the living
force is cit, but their origin is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, in
whom there is no difference between matter and spirit. According to this
