Logos 130

The cosmic manifestation, as it appears to us now, was identical in the past and will continue to be so in the future. The manifestation, maintenance and annihilation (end of the world) of the material galaxy is perpetuated according to a precise plan. Just as it is now manifested and will later be destroyed, creation existed in the past, and again in the future it will be created, maintained and destroyed when the time comes.

There are nine types of creations apart from that which occurs naturally through the interaction of the three gunas, the three attributes and modes of influence of material nature; virtue, passion, ignorance. Likewise, there are three kinds of annihilation determined by eternal time, material elements and the nature of our actions. Creations and annihilations follow their course according to the supreme will. There are indeed other types of creations, resulting from the interaction of the material elements and carried out by the intelligence of Brahma, the demiurge and first being created.

As for the three forms of annihilation, they are driven by:

1) the passage of the time provided for the duration of the galaxy;

2) the flames emanating from Ananta's mouth;

3) the nature of our actions and their consequences.

The cosmic manifestation is dissolved in two ways. One occurs every 4 billion 320 million (4,320,000,000) solar years, when Brahma, the ruler of the universe, takes his night rest. The other, where the entire galaxy is destroyed, takes place at the end of Brahma's life, which lasts a hundred of his years, i.e. 311 trillion 40 billion (311.040 billion) years solar, or 4 billion 320 million x 2 (one day and one night) x per 30 days x 12 months x 100 years. In either of these two annihilations, material energy and marginal energy are absorbed in the body of the Supreme Lord. Living beings then remain there asleep, until the material galaxy is created again. These are the ways of creation, maintenance and destruction of the material world.

Material creation is produced by the interaction of the three gunas, set in motion by the Lord; therefore it is said that the Lord existed before the manifestation of material influences. Only Visnu, the Supreme Lord, existed before creation, without Brahma, Siva, or any other celestial being. This Visnu is Maha-Visnu, lying on the ocean of causes; by the action of its only breath emanate from its body the