TEXT 51
atma-mayam samavisya
so ham gunamayim dvija
srjan raksan haran visvam
dadhre samjnam kriyocitam
SYNONYMS
atma-mayamMy energy; samavisyahaving entered; sahMyself; ahamI; guna-mayimcomposed of the modes of material nature; dvi-jaO twice-born Daksa; srjancreating; raksanmaintaining; haranannihilating; visvamthe cosmic manifestation; dadhreI cause to be born; samjnama name; kriya-ucitamaccording to the activity.
TRANSLATION
The Lord continued: My dear Daksa Dvija, I am the original Personality of Godhead, but in order to create, maintain and annihilate this cosmic manifestation, I act through My material energy, and according to the different grades of activity, My representations are differently named.
PURPORT
As explained in Bhagavad-gita (7.5), jiva-bhutam maha-baho: the whole world is energy released from the supreme source, the Personality of Godhead, who, it is further stated in Bhagavad-gita, acts in superior energies and inferior energies. The superior energy is the living entity, who is part and parcel of the Supreme Lord. As parts and parcels, the living entities are not different from the Supreme Lord; the energy emanated from Him is not different from Him. But in the actual activity of this material world, the living entity is under the different qualities of material energy and in different forms. There are 8,400,000 life forms. The same living entity acts under the influence of the different qualities of material nature. The entities have different bodies, but originally, in the beginning of creation, Lord Visnu is alone. For the purpose of creation, Brahma is manifested, and for annihilation there is Lord Siva. As far as the spiritual entrance into the material world is concerned, all beings are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, but under the covering of different material qualities they have different names. Lord Brahma and Lord Siva are qualitative incarnations of Visnu, as guna-avataras, and Visnu with them accepts control of the quality of goodness; therefore He is also a qualitative incarnation like Lord Siva and Lord Brahma. Actually the different names exist for different directions, otherwise the origin is one only.

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