We don't theorize. We accept the statement of the Vedas. That is our process of knowledge. Descending process. We take knowledge from the authority.

Wild Guesses

So many different theories

Suta said: In the beginning of the creation, the Lord first expanded Himself in the universal form of the purusha incarnation and manifested all the ingredients for the material creation. And thus at first there was the creation of the sixteen principles of material action. This was for the purpose of creating the material universe."

PRABHUPADA: So adau, in the beginning, loka-sisrikshaya, for creating the cosmology, jagrihe paurusham rupam, person, the creation is coming from the person. Not from imperson. The modern scientists, their theory of creation... "There was something matter, a chunk," or something like that. What do they say? What was the beginning of creation, Hayagriva Prabhu?

HAYAGRIVA: Uh, one is that there was a mass that exploded, and all of these universes came out in the explosion. The other is that the universe is a solid state universe, that it is constantly existing and regenerating itself. These two theories. One's called the "Big Bang Theory," and the other's called "Solid State Theory," "Steady State, Steady State."

PRABHUPADA: Anyway...

HAYAGRIVA: In either case, there was something there, something originally there, which they don't explain.

PRABHUPADA: But here we find it quite reasonable. Because everything is, is from the person. Jagrihe paurusham rupam. Rupam, form. It is not from imperson. Jagrihe paurusham rupam. So we don't theorize. We accept the statement of the Vedas. That is our process of knowledge. Descending process. We take knowledge from the authority. Of course, the scientists also say they take from authority, but originally, as explained by our Hayagriva Prabhu, it does not appear that the knowledge was taken from authority. It is theory. Theory, one can put theory of his own, and there are so many theories. But we don't accept theories. We want solid fact.

The solid fact is the Lord created. In the Bible also it is said that God said, "Let there be creation." So it is from the person. Here also, we find the creation begins from the person. In the Vedas it is said, "By the glance, He looked over, God looked over, and He created." The reference is to the person. We also find from our experience that whenever there is something manufacturing, or creation, we do not find automatically some matter comes into being. We don't, we haven't such experience. Whenever there is anything manufactured or created, there is a person behind it.

So this is not a very good theory that from the chunk, or some matter exploded, and immediately the universe came into existence. That is not a very good theory. But this is nice. Jagrihe paurusham rupam. This paurusham, the Maha-Vishnu, Garbhodakashayi Vishnu, and Kshirodakashayi Vishnu, They are expansions of Krishna. Advaitam achyutam anadim ananta-rupam [Brahma-samhita 5.33]. He incarnates, He expands Himself in various incarnations. Now, for the creation, these three persons (always person) — Garbhodakashayi Vishnu, person; Kshirodakashayi Vishnu, person; and Karanarnava-jala or Karanarnavashayi Vishnu, person. And Karanarnavashayi Vishnu, Maha-Vishnu, He's also expansion of Sankarshana. And Sankarshana is expansion of Baladeva; Baladeva is expansion of Krishna. Therefore Krishna becomes the origin. Ishvarah paramah krishnah sach-chid-ananda-vigrahah, anadih [Bs. 5.1]. He has no beginning, but He is beginning. Anadir adih. He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of creation.