Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 4.9.7
Sarga· CreationOne Supreme Person, Many Energies
“My Lord, You are the supreme one, but by Your different energies You appear differently in the spiritual and material worlds. You create the total energy of the material world by Your external potency, and after creation You enter within the material world as the Supersoul. You are the Supreme Person, and through the temporary modes of material nature You create varieties of manifestation, just as fire, entering into wood of different shapes, burns brilliantly in different varieties.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead acts throughout creation through His different energies. Being all-pervading does not mean that He loses His personal form.
- The Lord enters creation as Paramātmā, the Supersoul, and His spiritual energy enlivens material energy. The material body cannot act independently, just as a machine needs a separate source of energy.
- The Lord’s energy is inseparable from Him and is originally spiritual. It inspires devotees to serve Him, while as external potency it engages nondevotees in activities for sense enjoyment.
Try this today
Use your voice for one minute to glorify the Lord, consciously directing your energy toward His service.
Ask yourself
How could remembering the source of your energy change the way you use it?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.