Hare Krsna,
Unlike material scientific knowledge where existence of matter is considered as the first principle of creation, the science of Krsna consciousness conclusively establishes that the first principle of creation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In the first verse of Catuh-sloki, the Personality of Godhead is addressing Lord Brahmā and specifying with great emphasis Himself, pointing out that it is He, the Personality of Godhead, who existed before the creation, it is He only who maintains the creation, and it is He only who remains after the annihilation of the creation (SB 2.9.33). Therefore, we need to be firmly convinced of the principle that the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, is the source of all creation. At various places in the scriptures, the following evidence is provided.
BG 10.8: aham sarvasya prabhavo (I am the source of all material and spiritual worlds),
Brahma-Samhita 5.1: isvarah parama Krsna (Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Godhead. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin, and He is the prime cause of all causes.)
SB 1.1.1: janmady asya yatah (the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the origin of all emanation.)
Nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam (Kathopanisad)
The transcendental Lord with all His name, fame, quality, and paraphernalia exists eternally.
Our teacher has made an important point in the forum topic – the Lord existed prior to the material creation produce a thread of knowledge weaved throughout descriptions of the creation itself. Without accepting this fact, it will be difficult to follow the descriptions of the creation that we will study in the upcoming lessons. As a single thread can be used to produce an entire garment, such wisdom of the Lord’s existence prior to the creation is essential to unfold and reveal the entire pattern of the material cosmos.
In BG 7.7. Lord Krsna addresses Arjuna: O conqueror of wealth, there is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.
“There is no truth superior to that Supreme Person, because He is the supermost. He is smaller than the smallest, and He is greater than the greatest. He is situated as a silent tree, and He illumines the transcendental sky, and as a tree spreads its roots, He spreads His extensive energies.” (Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (3.9)
In summary, we need to accept two principles of creation – (a) The source of all creation is the Supreme Absolute Truth, (b) The Supreme Absolute Truth is a transcendental person.
SB 3.5.23: The Personality of Godhead, the master of all living entities, existed prior to the creation as one without a second. It is by His will only that creation is made possible and again everything merges in Him. This Supreme Self is symptomized by different names.
“Because everything that be is an emanation from the Personality of Godhead, He always exists alone without a second. He can so exist because He is all-perfect and omnipotent. Everything other than Him, including His plenary expansions, the viṣṇu-tattvas, is His part and parcel. Before the creation there were no Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī or Garbhodakaśāyī or Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇus, nor was there Brahmā or Śaṅkara. The Viṣṇu plenary expansion and the living entities beginning from Brahmā are separated parts and parcels. Although the spiritual existence was there with the Lord, the material existence was dormant in Him. By His will only is the material manifestation done and undone. The diversity of the Vaikuṇṭhaloka is one with the Lord, just as the diversity of soldiers is one with and the same as the king. As explained in Bhagavad-gītā (9.7), the material creation takes place at intervals by the will of the Lord, and in the periods between dissolution and creation, the living entities and the material energy remain dormant in Him.” (SB 3.5.23 Purport)
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
Krsna Katha 