Material energy, a perverted form of spiritual energy, presents everything in a distorted light, thus causing misconceptions and dualities. Scientists and materialist philosophers, conditioned by the influence of material nature, suppose that material energy acts on its own and they find themselves frustrated like one who, in the grip of illusion, strives expressing milk from the fleshy udder-like appendages on the necks of goats. It is just as impossible to succeed in understanding the original cause of creation by advancing theories born of material energy as obtaining milk from these pieces of skin. Such an undertaking is a manifestation of ignorance. The material energy of God, the Supreme Person, is called māyā or illusion, for in two ways (by producing the material elements and by bringing about the material manifestation) it renders the conditioned soul incapable of understanding the pure truth of creation. However, when the living being is freed from the conditioned existence imposed on it by matter, it can experience the two different actions of material nature, namely covering and leading astray.

God, the Supreme Person, is the origin of creation. The cosmic manifestation acts under the direction of the Supreme Lord, who appoints the three attributes and modes of influence of material nature; virtue, passion and ignorance, to material energy. Stirred by these three influences, the elements provided by material energy produce a variety of things, just as the artist creates various paintings by mixing the three colors red, yellow and blue. Yellow represents virtue, red represents passion, and blue represents ignorance. The colorful diversity of creation is therefore only the interaction of these three attributes, manifested in eighty-one varieties of combinations. Illusioned by material energy, the conditioned soul, enamored of these eighty-one varied manifestations, desires to dominate it, just like a fly attracted by fire. This illusion is the sure result of his forgetting the eternal relationship which unites him to God, the Supreme Person. When conditioned, the soul is moved by material energy to seek the satisfaction of the senses, while the being enlightened by spiritual energy offers itself to the service of the Supreme Lord, according to his eternal relationship.

Kṛiṣhṇa is the original cause of the spiritual world, and He is the veiled cause of material manifestation. It is also the original cause of marginal power, made up of living beings, souls. He is both the guide and the support of all living beings. These are called marginal power, because they can act under the protection of spiritual energy or under the veil of material energy. With the help of spiritual energy, we can understand that independence only appears in the person of Kṛiṣhṇa, who, thanks to his inconceivable energy, can act as he wishes.

God, the Supreme Person, is the Absolute Whole, of which all living beings are parts. This relationship that exists between them is eternal. Let us never make the mistake of thinking that the spiritual whole can be broken down into tiny parts by the insignificant material nature. Truly, living beings are everlasting tiny fragments of the Supreme Spirit Whole, Krishna. Just as a part can never equal the Whole, the living being, as a tiny fragment of the Spiritual Whole, cannot equal the Supreme All, the absolute Divine Person. Although, according to a quantitative report, the Lord and living beings are related as the Whole and its parts, the parts nonetheless remain qualitatively identical to the Whole.