As spiritual sparks emanating from the rays of the transcendent body of the Lord, the spiritual being is eternally connected with Krishna, God, the Supreme Person and participates of the same nature. The soul is a much brighter, more radiant, and more powerful spiritual spark than the sun. Spiritual and absolute is the energy of the Supreme Lord, an energy of which living beings are an integral part. However, there is another energy, called matter, which the cloud of ignorance covers and which therefore has three modes of influence, or gunas (virtue, passion, ignorance). Lord Chaitanya who is none other than Krishna himself, again quotes the Visnu Purana, according to which all inconceivable energies reside in the Supreme Person of the Lord, and the entire cosmic manifestation operates through them.

The Lord adds that the living being is also qualified as knowing the field of action. The body is the field of action and the living being, the spiritual soul, as it knows this field. Although the being is intrinsically familiar with spiritual energy or has the power to know it, being covered by material energy, it identifies with the body. This feeling of being what it is not constitutes what is called the false ego. Mystified by the latter, the lost being in the midst of material existence takes on different bodies and undergoes various forms of suffering, while different classes of living beings possess in varying degrees the knowledge of their true nature. In other words, every living being participates in the spiritual energy of the Supreme Lord. Since material energy is of an inferior nature, the human being has the power to escape its grip to take full advantage of spiritual energy. The higher energy is veiled by the lower one, which subjects the living being to the sufferings inherent in the material universe according to the thickness of the veil which covers it. Somewhat enlightened souls suffer less than others, but on the whole all are prone to suffer from the fact that material energy envelops them.

The Lord adds that earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego together form the lower energy of the Supreme Being. The true identity of being, however, lies in the higher energy, on which the functioning of the material universe depends entirely. The cosmic manifestation, formed of material elements, cannot in fact come to life without the presence of the higher energy, which the living being, the soul, embodies. In reality, the latter's conditioned existence results from his forgetting of the relationship which unites him to the Supreme Lord within the higher energy. It is only when the human being rediscovers his true identity as an eternal servant of the Lord that he achieves liberation. Since no one can trace the origins of the living being's stagnation in material energy, the lord says he has no beginning. That is, conditioned existence precedes Creation. It simply manifests itself during and after Creation. Forgetting his spiritual nature, the living being undergoes all kinds of suffering within matter. Let us understand here that there are also beings who, free from any material connection, inhabit the spiritual world. These liberated souls are still engaging in Krishna consciousness, in devotional service.

Souls conditioned by material nature engage in activities which result in them putting on various kinds of bodies over the course of their successive lifetimes. In the material universe, these souls are thus entitled to various punishments and rewards. Their meritorious deeds can elevate them to the higher planets, where they can join the ranks of the many celestial beings. Their reprehensible acts can on the contrary precipitate them towards various infernal planets to suffer more there the torments of the material life.