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Imported quote 14073
The conception of one without a second is clearly confirmed here. The one is Lord Vasudeva, and by His different energies and expansions only, different manifestations, both in the material and in the spiritual worlds, are maintained. In the material world also, Lord Vasudeva is everything, as is stated in the Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 7.19): vasudevaḥ sarvam iti, everything is Vasudeva only. In the Vedic hymns also the same Vasudeva is held to be supreme. It is said in the Vedas, vasudevat paro brahman na canyo 'rtho 'ti tattvata: in fact there is no greater truth than Vasudeva. And Lord Krsna affirms the same truth in the Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 7.7), mattaḥ parataram nanyati: there is nothing above Me (Lord Krsna). So the conception of oneness, as is overly stressed by the impersonalist, is also accepted by the personalist devotee of the Lord. The difference is that the impersonalist denies personality in the ultimate issue, whereas the devotee gives more importance to the Personality of Godhead. Srimad-Bhagavatam explains this truth in the verse under discussion: Lord Vasudeva is one without a second, but because He is all-powerful, He can expand Himself as well as display His omnipotencies. The Lord is described here as omnipotent by three energies (tri-sakti-dhrk). So primarily His three energies are internal, marginal, and external. This external energy is also displayed in the three modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Similarly, the internal potency is also displayed in three spiritual modes, samvit, sandhini, and hladini. The marginal potency or the living entities are also spiritual (prakrtim viddhi me param), but they are never equal with the Lord. The Lord is nirasta samya atisaya; in other words, no one is greater than or equal to the Supreme Lord. So the living entities, including even such great personalities as Lord Brahma and Lord Siva, are all subordinate to the Lord. In the material world also, in His eternal form of Visnu, He maintains and controls all the affairs of the demigods, including Brahma and Siva.    (More...)

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