Sutra 24
Because it is the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the material nature has neither beginning nor end.
Commentary by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Because it is the potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the material nature has neither beginning nor end. In the Smrti-sastra it is said:
"Please know that the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His material energy are both beginningless."
In Srimad Bhagavatam (1.1.1) it is said:
"O my Lord, Sri Krsna, son of Vasudeva, O all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You. I meditate upon Sri Krsna because He is the Absolute Truth and the primeval cause of all causes of the creation, sustenance, and destruction of the manifested universes. He is directly and indirectly conscious of all manifestations, and He is independent because there is no other cause beyond Him. It is He only who first imparted the Vedic knowledge unto the heart of Brahmaji, the original living being. By Him even the great sages and demigods are placed into illusion, as one is bewildered by the illusory representations of water seen in fire, or land seen on water. Only because of Him do the material universes, temporarily manifested by the reactions of the three modes of nature, appear factual, although they are unreal. I therefore meditation upon Him, Lord Sri Krsna, who is eternally existent in the transcendental abode, which is forever free from the illusory representations of the material world. I meditate upon Him, for He is the Absolute Truth."
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A person who tries to be a goswami is careful not to engage in those activities that are harmful to his spiritual development. For example, he refrains from taking intoxicants (including all sorts of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and so on); from having illicit sex; from gambling; and from eating meat, fish, and eggs.
Siddhaswarupananda - Jagad Guru Speaks
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Although it has neither beginning nor end, matter is situated within the confines of time and space. The author describes this in the following two sutras.
Sutra 25
Time is not another major category of existence. It is the intermediary that establishes the relationship between the conditioned souls and the material nature.
Commentary by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
Some claim that time is a major category of existence, and they quote the following words of the Markandeya Purana to support their idea:
"In the form of seconds, minutes and other parts of its nature, time changes everything in the material world."
The idea that time is a major category of existence is rejected by this sutra. Time is not a major category. It is merely an intermediary who establishes a relationship.
In Sandilya's Bhakti-sutra it is said:
"The major categories are: 1. spirit, and 2. matter. There is no third."
In Srimad Bhagavatam (3.26.16) Lord Kapila explains:
"The influence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is felt in the time factor, which causes fear of death due to the false ego of the deluded soul who has contacted material nature."
