Out of ignorance the living being performs material activities and thereby becomes in one sense the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction of the universe. Some authorities call the living being the personality underlying the material creation, while others say he is the unmanifest self.
Srimad Bhagavata Purana
श्रीमद्भागवतमहापुराणम्
मूल श्लोकः
हेतुर्जीवोऽस्य सर्गादेरविद्याकर्मकारकः । यं चानुशयिनं प्राहुरव्याकृतमुतापरे
heturjīvo'sya sargāderavidyākarmakārakaḥ | yaṃ cānuśayinaṃ prāhuravyākṛtamutāpare
SB 12.7.18