Kṛṣṇa, or God, says that "I am expanded in My impersonal form everywhere. Everything is existing on account of Me. But still, I am not everything." Just like God has expanded in this microphone. The microphone is also expansion of God's energy, but that does not mean we have to worship the microphone. So God is. . ., has got that power, that although He has expanded Himself in His impersonal form everywhere, still, He has got His original existence. A small example can be given in this connection. Just like a father, he has given birth to hundreds of children. That does not mean the father is finished. These children is expansion of the father, but father keeps himself as father. So in this way He is Vāsudeva, means He is present everywhere. He says in the Bhagavad-gītā, sarvataḥ pāṇi-pādaṁ tat (BG 13.14): He has got His hands and legs and eyes everywhere, because the part and parcel expansion of God, either viṣṇu-tattva or jīva-tattva, they are everywhere.
Besides that, God is existing in everyone's heart, the Supersoul. So the Supersoul is giving direction to the individual soul. Therefore, in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo (BG 15.15). Hṛdi means "in the heart." "I am situated in everyone's heart." Mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca (BG 15.15): because God is situated within my heart, therefore He is giving me direction. So our remembrance and forgetfulness is due to God. Sometimes we forget something and try to remember. Immediately God helps us: "It is this." And we say, "Yes, yes, now I remember." "Now I remember" means we were forgetting; Kṛṣṇa immediately gives him, "It is this." Then I remember. In this way, God, by His plenary expansion, He is situated everywhere. Therefore His name is Vāsudeva.
Now, Vāsudeva is the origin of everything. So that is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā sudurlabhaḥ (BG 7.19). Anyone who has understood that everything, whatever we see, that is Vāsudeva. . . But we should always remember that Vāsudeva is everything; still, everything is not Vāsudeva. Just like in a big factory. In your country or in America, that Ford, Mr. Ford, he has got very big factory. So in the factory, everywhere the Mr. Ford is there. But if you have to see Mr. Ford, you cannot see the car Ford and you become satisfied. The car is also written there, "Ford." So if I want to see Mr. Ford, and if we see the car and we say, "Now I have met with Mr. Ford," that is foolishness. (laughter) The car is Ford, but Ford is not the car. In this way try to understand. Everything is God, but everything is not God. In this way you have to understand. Don't be misled by the Māyāvādī philosophy that "Everything is God and my knowledge is finished." That is imperfect knowledge.
Then the origin of everything, what is the nature of that origin, that is being explained now. Vāsudeva is everything—accepted—but whether Vāsudeva is a living being or a dull matter? Nowadays the theory, scientists' theory, is going on that life is made of chemicals. That means matter. This has been discussed five thousand years ago by Vyāsadeva, whether the origin of life is life or matter. So he says that the origin of everything is life because Vāsudeva is also life. And now you come to your argument and reason, whether origin of life is matter or life, that you have to discuss. So here it is said that origin is life because here it is said, yato 'nvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ. Just like if I am taken as the origin of this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, that means I know everything directly and indirectly of all this movement. If I do not know directly or indirectly everything of this movement, then I cannot be called the founder-ācārya. And as soon as the origin becomes a knower, he is life. So therefore dull matter cannot be the knower of everything.
Now, it is said, yato 'nvayād itarataś ca artheṣu abhijñaḥ svarāṭ. He is abhijñaḥ. Abhijñaḥ means cognizant. The original source of everything, He has His brain. He knows. He has the power of knowledge. Everything is there. That is the reason. Anything material we think. . . Just like this microphone. This microphone is combination of some metal and some wires, or anything is metal or something plastic. But they have not combined together automatically. A person who knows the art, he has combined all of them together. Now it is acting. Now, if this microphone is not in order, then I will have to take to the person who knows what is indirectly and directly the composition of the microphone. Therefore, the origin of everything, or the original source of everything, He is the knower. He is not dull matter. So therefore it is stated here, abhijñaḥ. Abhijñaḥ means perfectly knower. Now, it can be said that abhijñaḥ. . ., perfect knowledge is received from the superior person. Just like I do not know what is the mechanical arrangement of this microphone, but if I want to know it, then I must go to a perfect knower who can explain me that these ingredients or these parts of the machines are there.
Therefore the question may be raised, that "The original source of everything is knower of everything, accepting, but where He got the knowledge?" Just like sometimes the atheist class of men enquire, that "If God is the original father, the supreme father of everyone, then who is God's father?" The answer is that God has no father; He is self-sufficient. Therefore this word is used, svarāṭ. Svarāṭ means self-sufficient. So far we are concerned, I have got my father, my father has got father, his father has got father, father, father, go on. When you come to a person who has no more father, that is God. (laughter) That is the test. If we find somebody that He has no father, then He is God. And if some rascal comes and says, "I am God," then you ask him, "Whether you have got father?" As soon as he says that "Yes, I have got father," then he is dog. So in your country, so many imitation gods come. I know this. But you ask them, to test it, "Whether you have got father?" If he says, "Yes, I have got father," then you say, "You are dog."
Therefore, God's another name is "unborn." Unborn means He is not begotten by any father. That is stated in the Vedic language, that advaitam acyutam. . ., govindam ādi-puruṣam. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, anādir ādiḥ (Bs. 5.1). Anādi means He has no source of emanation. But He is ādi; He is the original source of everything. Therefore it is said, anādir ādiḥ. Anādi means He is without any source, but everyone is on account of His presence. Now, it is simple understanding. There is no difficulty to understand God. Anādir ādiḥ. Everyone has got ādi. Just like I have got my father, father has got his father, his father, his. . ., ādi. Ādi means the original source. But when you go to Kṛṣṇa, or God, He has no ādi. He is self-sufficient. Try to understand the simple formula of understanding God, that God has no origin, but He is the origin of everything.
Now, the next question would be. . . According to Vedic information, the original person is Lord Brahmā. When there was creation, the first created being was Lord Brahmā. Then from Brahmā, all other living entities expanded. This is the creation understanding. So one may mistake, "Then Lord Brahmā is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, because he has no. . ., nobody knew that by whom born, Lord Brahmā was born." It may be questioned like that. But Brahmā is not the original source of everything. Although he has created this universe, he is not the original source. Therefore, it is explained here that the original person is Vāsudeva, or Kṛṣṇa, and He gave intelligence to Brahmā to create this universe. But if we put this argument that "Brahmā was alone. How he took instruction from the superior person?" Therefore it is said, tene brahma hṛdā: "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva, instructed him from within the heart."
That is not only for Brahmā. Mean to say, that is not the only prerogative of Brahmā. Kṛṣṇa, we have already stated, is seated in everyone's heart. If you want to consult Him, He can give you instruction. The only thing is that you have to become qualified like Brahmā so that you can receive instruction from Him within the heart.