The chief engineer of a complicated construction does not personally take part in the construction, but he knows every nook and corner because everything is done under his direction. He knows everything about the construction, both directly and indirectly. Similarly, the Personality of Godhead who is the supreme engineer of this cosmic creation knows every nook and corner, although affairs are being acrried out by demigods. Beginning from Brahma down to the insignificant ant, no one is independent in the material creation. The hand of the Lord is even everywhere. All material elements as well as all spiritual sparks emanate from Him only. And whatever is created in this material world is but the interaction of two energies, the material and the spiritaul, which emante from the ABsolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, Sri Krsna. A chemist can manufacture water in the chemical laboratory by mixing hydrogen and oxygen. But in reality, the living entity works in the laboratory under the direction of the Supreme Lord. And the materials with which he works are also supplied by the Lord. The Lord knows everything directly and indirectly, and He is cognizant of all minute details, and He is fully independent. He is compared with the mine of gold, and the cosmic creations in so many different forms are compared with objects made from the gold, such as gold rings, necklaces and so on. The gold ring and the gold necklace are qualitatively one with the gold in the mine, but quantiatively the gold in the mine is different. Nothing is absolutey equal with the Absolute Truth, but at the same time, nothing is independent of the Absolute Truth.
Conditioned souls beginning from Brahma, who engineers the entire universe, down to the insignificant ant, are all creating, but none of them are independent of the Supreme Lord. The materialist wrongly thinks that there is no creator other than his own self. This is called maya, or illusion. Because of his poor fund of knowledge, the materialist cannot see beyond the purview of his imperfect senses, and thus he thinks that matter automatically takes its own shape without the aid of a superior intelligence.
This is refuted in this sloka by Srila Vyasadeva: "Since the complete whole or the Absolute Truth is the source of everything, nothing can be independent of the body of the ABsolute Truth." Whatever happens to the body quickly becomes known to the embodied. Similarly, the creation is the body of the absolute whole. Therefore, the Absolute knows everything directly and indirectly that happens in the creation.
In the Sruti mantra, it is also stated that the absolute whole or Brahman is the ultimate source of everything. Everything emanates from Him, and everything is maintained by Him. And at the end, everything enters into Him. That is the law of nature. In the Smrti mantra, the same is confirmed. It is said that the source from which everything emantes at the beginning of Brahma's millennium, and the reservoir to which everything ultimately enters, is the Absolute Truth or Brahman. Material scientists take it for granted that the ultimate source of the planetary system is the sun, but they are unable to explain the source of the sun. Herein, the ultimate source is explained. According to the Vedic literatures, Brahma, who may be compared to the sun, is not the ultimate creator. It is stated in this sloka that Brahma was taught Vedic knowledge by the Personality of Godhead. One may argue that Brahma, being the original living being, could not be inspired because there was no other being living at that time. Herein it is stated that the Supreme Lord inspireed the secondary creator, Brahma, in order that Brahma could carry out his creative functions. So, the supreme intelligence behind all creations is the Absolute Godhead, Sri Krsna. In Bhagavad-gita, Lord Sri Krsna states that it is He only who superintends the creative energy, prakrti, which constitutes the totality of matter. Therefore, Sri Vyasadeva does not worship Brahma, but the Supreme Lord, who guided Brahma in his creative activities. In this sloka, the particular words abhijnah and svarat are significant. These two words distinguish the Supreme Lord from all other living entities. No other living entity is either abhijnah and svarat. Namely, no one is either fully cognizant or fully independent. Even Brahma had to meditate upon the Supreme Lord in order to create. Then what to speak of great scientists like Einstein! The brains of such a scientist are certainly not the products of any human being. Scientists cannot manufacture such a brain, and what to speak of foolish atheists who defy the authority of the Lord?
Even Mayavadi impersonalists who flatter themselves that they can become one with the Lord are neither abhijnah and svarat. Such impersonalists undergo severe austerities to acquire knowledge to become one with the Lord. But ultimately they become dependent on some rich disciple who supplies them with money to build monasteries and temples. Atheists like Ravana or Hiranyakasipu had to undergo severe penances before they could flout the authority of the Lord. But ultimately, they were rendered helpless and could not save themselves when the Lord appeared before them as cruel death. This is also the case witht the modern atheists who also dare to flout the authority of the Lord. Such atheists will be dealt with similarly, for history repeats itself. Whenever men neglect the authority of the Lord, nature and her laws are there to penalize them. This is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita in the well-known verse: yada yada hi dharmasya glanih. "Whenever there is a decline of dharma and rise of adharma, O Arjuna, then I incarnate Myself." (Bhag. 4.7)
That the Supreme Lord is all-perfect is confirmed in all Sruti mantras. It is said in the Sruti mantras that the all-perfect Lord threw a glance over matter and thus created all living beings. The living beings are parts and parcels of the Lord, and He impregnates the vast material creation with seeds of spiritual sparks, and thus the creative energies are set in motion to enact so many wonderful creations. An atheists may argue that God is no more expert than a watchmaker, but if course God is greater because He can create machines in duplicate male and female forms. The male and female forms of different types of machineries go on producing innumerable similar machine without God's further attention. if a man could manufacture such a set of machines that could produce other machines without his attention, then he could approach the intelligence of God. But that is not possible, for each machine has to be handled individually. Therefore, no one can create as well as God. Another name for God is asmaurdha, which means that no one is equal to or greater than Him.
Param Satyam, or the Supreme Truth, is He who has no equal or superior. This is confirmed in the Sruti mantras. It is said that before the creation of the material universe there existed the Lord only, who is master of everyone. That Lord instructed Brahma in Vedic knowledge. That Lord had to be obeyed in all respects. Anyone who wants to get rid of the material entaglement must surrender unto Him. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita.
Unless one surrenders unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, it is certain that he will be bewildered. When an intelligent man surrenders unto the lotus feet of Krsna and knows completely that Krsna is the cause of all causes, as confirmed in Bhagavad-gita, then only can such an intelligent man become a mahatma or great soul. But such a great soul is rarely seen. Only the mahatmas can understand that the Supreme Lord is the primeval cause of all creations. He is parama or ultimate truth because all other truths are relative to Him. He is omniscient. For Him, there is no illusion.
Some Mayavadi scholars argue that Srimad-Bhagavatam was not complied by Sri Vyasadeva. And some of them suggest that this book is a modern creation written by someone named Vopadeva. In order to refute such meaningless arguments, Sri Sridhara Svami points out that there is reference to the Bhagavatam in many of the oldest Puranas. This first sloka of the Bhagavatam begins with the Gayatri mantra. There is reference to this in the Matsya Purana, which is the oldest Purana. In that Puranas, it is said with reference to the Gayatri mantra in the Bhagavatam that there are many narrations of spiritual instructions beginning with the Gayatri mantra. And there is the history of Vrtrasura. Anyone who makes a gift of this great work on a full moon day attains to the highest perfection of life by returning to Godhead. There is reference to the Bhagavatam in other Puranas, also, where it is clearly stated that this work was finished in twelve cantos which include 18,000 slokas. In the Padma Purana also there is reference to the Bhagavatam in a conversation between Gautama and Maharaja Ambarisa. The King was advised therein to read regularly Srimad-Bhagavatam if desired liberation from material bondage. Under the circumstances, there is no doubt about the authority of the Bhagavatam. Within the past 500 years, many erudite scholars ans acaryas like Jiva Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Visvanatha Cakravarti, Vallabhacarya, and many other distinguished scholars even after the time of Lord Caintaya made elaborate commentaries on the Bhagavatam. And the serious student would de well to attempt to go through them to better relish the transcendental messages.