Atheistic Sankhya philosophers think that the total material energy causes the cosmic manifestation, but they are wrong. Dead matter has no moving power, and therefore it cannot act independently. The Lord infuses the material ingredients with His own creative potency. Then, by the power of the Lord, matter moves and interacts. Sea waves are moved by the air, the air is created from ether, the-ether is produced by the agitation of the three modes of material nature, and the three modes of material nature interact due to the Supreme Lords glance over the total material energy. Therefore the background of all natural occurrences is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (mayadhyaksena prakrtih suyate sa-caracaram [Bg. 9.10]). This is also further explained in Caitanya-caritamrta (Adi 5.5961):

Because prakrti [material nature] is dull and inert, it cannot actually be the cause of the material world. Lord Krsna shows His mercy by infusing His energy into the dull, inert material nature. Thus prakrti, by the energy of Lord Krsna, becomes the secondary cause, just as iron becomes red-hot by the energy of fire. Therefore Lord Krsna is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation. prakrti is like the nipples on the neck of a goat, for they cannot give any milk. Thus it is a great mistake on the part of the material scientists and philosophers to think that matter moves independently.