Shloka 17
निमित्तमात्रं तत्रासीन्निर्गुण: पुरुषर्षभ: । व्यक्ताव्यक्तमिदं विश्वं यत्र भ्रमति लोहवत् ॥ १७ ॥
nimitta-mātraṁ tatrāsīn nirguṇaḥ puruṣarṣabhaḥ vyaktāvyaktam idaṁ viśvaṁ yatra bhramati lohavat
My dear Dhruva, the Supreme Lord is untouched by the guṇas; in creation He is only the impelling cause. When He gives the impetus, the manifest and unmanifest universe moves, like iron moved by a magnet.
How the external energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead works within this material world is explained in this verse. Everything is happening by the energy of the Supreme Lord. The atheistic philosophers, who do not agree to accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the original cause of creation, think that the material world moves by the action and reaction of different material elements. A simple example of the interaction of elements occurs when we mix soda and acid and the movement of effervescence is produced. But one cannot produce life by such interaction of chemicals. There are 8,400,000 different species of life, with different wishes and different actions. How the material force is working cannot be explained just on the basis of chemical reaction. A suitable example in this connection is that of the potter and the potter’s wheel. The potter’s wheel rotates, and several varieties of earthen pots come out. There are many causes for the earthen pots, but the original cause is the potter, who sets a force on the wheel. That force comes by his superintendence. The same idea is explained in Bhagavad-gītā: behind all material action and reaction there is Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa says that everything depends on His energy and yet He is not everywhere. The pot is produced under certain conditions of action and reaction of material energy, but the potter is not in the pot. In a similar way, the material creation is set up by the Lord, but He remains aloof. As stated in the Vedas, He simply glanced over it and the agitation of matter immediately began.
FAQs
This verse says the Supreme Person is nirguṇa (beyond material qualities) and yet appears as the nimitta (instrumental cause) by whose presence the manifest and unmanifest universe functions.
To show that the Lord does not need to physically “struggle” to move the world—like a magnet attracting iron, His mere presence and supreme will set creation into motion.
Act responsibly while remembering the Supreme is the ultimate controller—this reduces ego, increases devotion, and helps one work as an instrument in dharma rather than as the independent doer.