Text 11
puruṣaḥ prakṛtir vyaktam
ātmā bhūtendriyāśayāḥ
śaknuvanty asya sargādau
na vinā yad-anugrahāt
puruṣaḥ — the generator of the total material energy; prakṛtiḥ — the material energy or material nature; vyaktam — the principles of manifestation (mahat-tattva); ātmā — the false ego; bhūta — the five material elements; indriya — the ten senses; āśayāḥ — the mind, intelligence and consciousness; śaknuvanti — are able; asya — of this universe; sarga-ādau — in the creation, etc.; na — not; vinā — without; yat — of whom; anugrahāt — the mercy.
The three puruṣas — Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī-Viṣṇu — the material nature, the total material energy, the false ego, the five material elements, the material senses, the mind, the intelligence and consciousness cannot create the material manifestation without the direction of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
As confirmed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat: whatever manifestations we experience are nothing but various energies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. These energies cannot create anything independently. This is also confirmed by the Lord Himself in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10): mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram. “This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving living beings.” Only under the direction of the Lord, the Supreme Person, can prakṛti, which is manifested in twenty-four elements, create different situations for the living entity. In the Vedas the Lord says:
madīyaṁ mahimānaṁ ca
parabrahmeti śabditam
vetsyasy anugṛhītaṁ me
sampraśnair vivṛtaṁ hṛdi
“Since everything is a manifestation of My energy, I am known as Parabrahman. Therefore everyone should hear from Me about My glorious activities.” The Lord also says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.2), aham ādir hi devānām: “I am the origin of all the demigods.” Therefore the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of everything, and no one is independent of Him. Śrīla Madhvācārya also says, anīśa jīva-rūpeṇa: the living entity is anīśa, never the controller, but is always controlled. Therefore when a living entity becomes proud of being an independent īśvara, or god, that is his foolishness. Such foolishness is described in the following verse.