What is Brahman? This is explained in one code word, janmādy asya yataḥ: Brahman is that from whom everything is emanating. That's all. Brahman is that from whom, or from which—whatever you like—everything is emanated. So that supreme source, summum bonum of everything, is described in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: janmādy asya yato 'nvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ.
That supreme source of everything, what is the nature of that supreme source of everything? Now the Bhāgavata says, janmādy asya yataḥ anvayād itarataś ca arthesu abhijñaḥ. He is conscious. First qualification is conscious. The supreme source cannot be unconscious. Why? Because we are conscious being. So we are also emanation from the Supreme Lord, the living entities. Some of the living entities are moving, some of the living entities, they do not move. Just like the trees, the hills, the mountains, they have got also their life. So they are not moving. We are moving. Man, human being, cats, dogs and ants, so many there are. So they are conscious. So unless the Supreme Lord is conscious, the supreme source of all generation is conscious, wherefrom this consciousness can come?
So the philosophy that the supreme source is void, how you can maintain? Wherefrom this consciousness comes? They say that consciousness is generated by the combination of matter. Up till now, no scientist has proved that by combination of chemicals and matter, physical things, one can produce consciousness. So the Bhāgavata very nicely describes that the supreme source of everything, He is conscious. Conscious. Janmādy asya yataḥ anvayāt itarataś ca.
Now, He is conscious in two ways: anvayāt itarataś ca. Directly and indirectly. Just like we are also conscious, but we are directly conscious. Indirectly, we are not conscious. Indirectly we are not conscious. But God is all-powerful supreme consciousness. Therefore He's directly conscious and indirectly conscious.
In the Bhagavad-gītā, you will find that Kṛṣṇa says that vedāhaṁ samatītāni vartamānāni ca bhārata (BG 7.26): "I know everything about atītāni, what is past, everything what is past, and I know what is present, I know what is future." And on this understanding, Kṛṣṇa says in the Second Chapter, you may remember that, "You, Me and all these persons who have assembled here, they were individual person in the past, they are individual persons now, and they will continue to be individual person in the future." This is consciousness, anvayāt itarataś ca.
Now again, what sort of consciousness? Wherefrom He has got this consciousness? Just like we have got our consciousness from the Supreme Lord, the supreme source, and wherefrom the Supreme, or God, He has got His consciousness?
So Bhāgavatam says svarāṭ. Svarāṭ. Svarāṭ means He is independent. His consciousness is not dependent on others' consciousness. Svarāṭ. God, He has got all the knowledge. Yesterday we have been discussing Bhagavān. Bhagavān is full of all knowledge. Wherefrom He got this knowledge? Now our experience is that we go to schools, college, and get knowledge. Wherefrom He gets knowledge? The Bhāgavata replies, svarāṭ. He's self-sufficient, full of knowledge. These are the differences.
So these qualifications are always present. This is called svarūpa-lakṣaṇa. Unless God is independent, unless God is conscious, indirectly and directly, He cannot be the supreme source. This is called svarūpa-lakṣaṇa: constantly present.
Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. Now, people may argue that in the creation we find Brahmā the first-born living creature, and he has given us the Vedic knowledge. So this . . . in the creation, because he's the first living creature, then he is svarāṭ. He is also independent. Why God is independent? This living creature, he's first-born. He's independent. Otherwise, how could he give the knowledge of Vedas?
So the reply is tene brahma hṛdā. No. He's also dependent. He got the knowledge from the Supreme Lord. How is that? He's the first-born living creature. How he got knowledge from God? Tene brahma hṛdā. Brahmā . . . the Vedic knowledge was imparted into the heart of Brahmā. Why? Because God is situated within everyone's heart. Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61).
These things are very nicely described in the Bhāgavatam in the beginning. Tene brahma hṛdā ādi-kavaye. Ādi-kavaye means Brahmā. Kavi means the learned. Kavi. Kavinaṁ purāṇam anuśāsitāram (BG 8.9). In the Bhagavad-gītā. He's the kavinaṁ purāṇam. He's the oldest learned man. Oldest. Purāṇam. Purāṇam means the oldest.
Then why God is not recognized? Now muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ. To understand God, even the greatest of the greatest thinker, philosopher or sage or saintly person, they are also bewildered. Cannot understand. Panthās tu koṭi-śata-vatsara-sampragamya. So Lord Caitanya is . . . (indistinct) . . . that He has got two characteristics. One characteristic is . . . that is always present. What is that? He's independent and full of knowledge, and He's conscious. Unconsciousness is not the qualification of God. Voidness cannot be accepted as the qualification of the Supreme. The Supreme must be conscious.
Tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye, tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra trisargo 'mṛṣā. And yatra; in Him rests the material manifestation. And what is this material manifestation? Tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ vinimayam. It is simply exchange of fire, water and earth. Of course, there other things are eight elements, fire, water, earth, ether and air. This is the gross material elements. And the finer material elements are the mind, intelligence and false ego. We have discussed this in the Bhagavad-gītā.
So this material manifestation is nothing but a manipulation, or a preparation of these things. Just . . . just like we present sometime varieties of foodstuff—kacaurīs, siṅgāra, purī and rasagullā, and so many things. But what are these? That is varieties of grains and milk, fat, that's all. Similarly, all these varieties, manifestation in the material world, they are . . . yatra, yatra . . . tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo, oh, and yatra trisargo 'mṛṣā.
Amṛṣā. It is false. But it appears to be just like real. Foolish living entities, under the spell of illusory energy, they have accepted this false exchange of material elements as reality. This is called materialism. One who has accepted this false representation of reality, they are called materialist. And one who knows the real position of this material world, he's spiritualist. That is the difference between materialism and spiritualism.