Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 5.18.37

dravya-kriyā-hetv-ayaneśa-kartribhir

māyā-gunair vastu-nirīkshitātmane

anvīkshayāńgātiśayātma-buddhibhir

nirasta-māyākritaye namo namah

SYNONYMS

dravya — by the objects of sense enjoyment; kriyā — the activities of the senses; hetu — the predominating deities of sensory activities; ayana — the body; īśa — the predominating time; kartribhih — by false egotism; māyā-gunaih — by the modes of material nature; vastu — as a fact; nirīkshita — being observed; ātmane — unto the Supreme Soul; anvīkshayā — by careful consideration; ańga — by the limbs of yogic practice; atiśaya-ātma-buddhibhih — by those whose intelligence has become fixed; nirasta — completely freed from; māyā — the illusory energy; ākritaye — whose form; namah — all respectful obeisances; namah — respectful obeisances.

TRANSLATION

The objects of material enjoyment [sound, form, taste, touch and smell], the activities of the senses, the controllers of sensory activities [the demigods], the body, eternal time and egotism are all creations of Your material energy. Those whose intelligence has become fixed by perfect execution of mystic yoga can see that all these elements result from the actions of Your external energy. They can also see Your transcendental form as Supersoul in the background of everything. Therefore I repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORT

The objects of material enjoyment, the sensory activities, attachment to sensual pleasure, the body, false egotism and so on are produced by the Lord's external energy, māyā. The background of all these activities is the living being, and the director of the living beings is the Supersoul. The living being is not the all in all. He is directed by the Supersoul. In Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Krishna confirms this:

sarvasya cāham hridi sannivishto

mattah smritir jñānam apohanam ca

"I am seated in everyone's heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness." The living entity depends on the Supersoul for directions. A person advanced in spiritual knowledge, or a person expert in the practice of mystic yoga (yama, niyama, āsana and so on) can understand transcendence either as Paramātmā or as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Supreme Lord is the original cause of all natural events. Therefore He is described as sarva-kārana-kāranam [Bs. 5.1], the cause of all causes. Behind everything visible to our material eyes is some cause, and one who can see the original cause of all causes, Lord Krishna, can actually see. Krishna, the sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha [Bs. 5.1], is the background of everything, as He Himself confirms in Bhagavad-gītā (9.10):

mayādhyakshena prakritih

sūyate sa-carācaram

hetunānena kaunteya

jagad viparivartate

"This material nature is working under My direction, O son of Kuntī, and it is producing all moving and unmoving beings. By its rule this manifestation is created and annihilated again and again."

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness