Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Ādi 5.61
Kṛṣṇa Is the Original Cause
“Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation. Prakṛti is like the nipples on the neck of a goat, for they cannot give any milk.”
What the purport teaches
- Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation. His external energy, māyā-śakti, includes the ingredient-supplying portion and the causal portion.
- Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī, Mahā-Viṣṇu, is the plenary expansion of Kṛṣṇa who activates all the material ingredients. Lord Viṣṇu activates material nature by the power of His glance.
- Material nature has no independence to act without the touch of Viṣṇu. Like iron made red-hot by fire, it gains the power to act through contact with Him.
Try this today
Write one sentence explaining why material nature cannot independently supply the material ingredients.
Ask yourself
How does the example of iron and fire help you see why material nature is not independent?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.