Section
21
Mäyä
is Under the Lord's Control
The internal potency is also explained by describing Lord's feature of controlling Mäyä. Prahläda Mahäräja prayed to Lord Nåsiàha (S.B.7.9.22): O Supreme Lord, You eternally control the modes of material nature, which influence the living entities, by Your internal potency. In Your form as Käla you keep the material cause and effect under Your control.
Çrédhara Swämé comments: Svadhämnä means the potency, because of which time (käla) activates Mäyä.
Here the word ätma means jéva and his guëa are the modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance. As is stated in the Çrémad Bhägavatam 11.25.12, "Lord Kåñëa said : The modes of goodness, passion, and ignorance belong to the living entity and not to Me."
PURPORT
In the previous Text it was shown that the jéva is not independent in exercising cognition. This Text explains that all his other activities are controlled by the Lord through the agency of Mäyä. Mäyä works under the control of the Lord's internal energy and thus all actions are initiated from the internal potency. The Çrémad Bhägavatam explains (7.9.22.) that the Lord controls the modes of material nature. The popular meaning of the word Dhäman is abode. According to the Amarakoña dictionary one of the meaning of the word dhäman is energy, gåha-deha -tvit-prabhäva-dhämäni (Amarakoña 3.3.124). Viçvaprakäça dictionary also confirms this, dhäma saptan prabhäve ca tejo mandira janmasu. Prabhäva means energy. The word sva-dhämnä, therefore, in this verse means "by His own potency", which means the internal potency as commented by Srédhara Swämé. The Lord is eternally in control of the modes of material nature, which influence the living entity--nitya-vijitätma-guëaù.
Ätma refers to the conditioned soul. He is influenced by the material modes and not the Lord, guëa jévasya naiva me (S.B.11.25.12). When it is said that the modes belong to the jéva it means they bind him, not that he owns them. In the material world everything belongs to the Lord. As Kåñëa asserts, mama bhüta maheçvaram (B.g. 9.11), "I am the Supreme Lord of all that be;"; aham sarvasya prabhavaù (B.g. 10.3), "I am the source of everything"; pitämahasya jagataù (B.g. 9.17), "I am the father of the universe." Still living beings believe some things belong to them and they get attached and thus bound to matter. The general principle is that when one becomes attached to something he becomes its slave. The Lord is the real owner, yet He is not attached and thus not bound. The living entity imagines himself the owner and thus becomes bound. When mother Earth sees this she laughs, having seen big emperors, who considered themselves rulers of the planet, vanish into thin air. In the Twelfth Canto of Çrémad Bhägavatam she speaks the following verse (S.B. 12.3.6):
"Although in the past great men and their descendants have left me, departing from this world in the same helpless way they came into it, even today foolish men are trying to conquer me."
Fortunately this bondage is not real, just as the sense of ownership is not real. It happens because of the superimposition of the subtle body onto the self. When the living entity recognizes the real proprietor and becomes attached to Him, then this knot of attachment is loosened. This can happen only by the mercy of the Lord and his devotees.
The Lord is not touched by the modes as was explained in great detail in Text Ten. Although he controls them, He impels them to act through his time potency (käla), which keeps control over cause and effect. This function of käla is described by mother Devaké in her prayer to Kåñëa (S.B. 10.3.26.):
"O Lord ,who activates the material nature, this whole material universe is active due to Your powerful time energy, which is divided into seconds, minutes and so on, up to the year. You are all powerful and the abode of all good fortune. I take shelter of you."
According to Swämépäda the word visåjya means the material objects and visarga means used to produce them. Everything is under the Lord's control. In this way all activities originate from Him. Lord Kåñëa affirms this (B.g. 10.8), mattaù sarvaà pravartate. "All activities issue forth from Me." The following Text further confirms this by a statement from Bhudevé.