Page 10 - THE FOURTH DIMENSION

“This is an explanation of the (material) world: everything that takes place is due to the combination
of kṣetra and kṣetra-jña, the body and the spirit soul. This combination of material nature and the living entity is
made possible by the Supreme God Himself. The mahat-tattva (the total material creation) is the total cause of
the total cosmic manifestation; and that total substance of the material cause, in which there are three modes
of nature, is sometimes called Brahman. The Supreme Personality impregnates that total substance, and thus
innumerable universes become possible. This total material substance, the mahat-tattva, is described as
Brahman in the Vedic literature (Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad 1.1.19): tasmād etad brahma nāma-rūpam annaṁ ca
jāyate. The Supreme Person impregnates that Brahman with the seeds of the living entities. The twenty-four
elements, beginning from earth, water, fire and air, are all material energy, and they constitute what is
called mahad brahma, or the great Brahman, the material nature. As explained in the Seventh Chapter, beyond
this there is another, superior nature – the living entity. Into material nature the superior nature is mixed by the
will of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and thereafter all living entities are born of this material nature.”
(Bg 14.3 – purport)

In other words, everything in existence in the material and spiritual worlds is a by-product of Lord Krishna
variegated spiritual energies. Nothing in existence is independent of the Lord.
The supreme proprietorship of the Lord is further emphasized in the Isopanisad Mantra One:

īśāvāsyam idam sarvaṁ / yat kiñca jagatyāṁ jagat
tena tyaktena bhuñjīthā / mā gṛdhaḥ kasya svid dhanam

“Everything animate or inanimate that is within the universe is controlled and owned by the Lord. One should
therefore accept only those things necessary for himself, which are set aside as his quota, and one should not
accept other things, knowing well to whom they belong.” (Iso Mantra one)

The Supreme Lord is the source of all energy. He is referred to as the energetic and the material creation is His
inferior spiritual energy called apara prakriti; and the superior energy is called para prakriti: para is superior and
apara is inferior, prakriti is energy. Both the inferior and superior energies of the Lord are spiritual and eternal.
The material energy is considered inferior because it comes from the superior energy and it is sometimes
manifest and sometimes unmanifest, whereas the superior energy is always manifest in the spiritual world.

Spiritual knowledge requires the understanding that everything belongs to Lord Krishna and is made of His
various energies and He is present within everything. Along with this knowledge comes the responsibility to use
everything correctly in His service. If the living entities misuse the material facilities provided by the Lord for
their own selfish purposes, then they infringe on the laws of nature and they suffer negative karmic reactions.
If they make offerings to the Lord, but with the desire to enjoy of the fruits of their labor themselves as the
primary enjoyer, then again they receive karmic reactions whether good or bad that keeps them within the
confines of the material world of repeated birth and death.

The proprietorship of the Lord is explained by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

“The Lord's proprietorship over everything within the universe is confirmed in the Seventh Chapter of
the Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5), where parā (superior) and aparā (inferior) prakṛti are discussed. The elements of
nature—earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and ego—all belong to the Lord's inferior, material
energy (aparā prakṛti), whereas the living being, the organic energy, is His superior energy (parā prakṛti). Both
of these prakṛtis, or energies, are emanations from the Lord, and ultimately He is the controller of everything

8