Ādi-līlā, Chapter 7
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poor fund of knowledge cannot afford them sufficient enlightenment to realize that when a man's energy is transformed, the man himself is not transformed but remains the same person.
Not believing in the fact that the energy of the Absolute Truth is transformed, Śaṅkarācārya has propounded his theory of illusion. This theory states that although the Absolute Truth is never transformed, we think that it is transformed, which is an illusion. Śaṅkarācārya does not believe in the transformation of the energy of the Absolute Truth, for he claims that everything is one and that the living entity is therefore also one with the Supreme. This is the Māyāvāda theory.
Śrīla Vyāsadeva has explained that the Absolute Truth is a person who has different potencies. Merely by His desire that there be creation and by His glance ( sa aikṣata ), He created this material world ( sa asṛjata ). After creation, He remains the same person; He is not transformed into everything. One should accept that the Lord has inconceivable energies and that it is by His order and will that varieties of manifestation have come into existence. In the  Vedānta-sūtra  it is said,  sa-tattvato 'nyathā-buddhir vikāra ity udāhṛtaḥ . This  mantra  indicates that from one fact another fact is generated. For example, a father is one fact, and a son generated from the father is a second fact. Thus both of them are truths, although one is generated from the other. This generation of a second, independent truth from a first truth is called  vikāra , or transformation resulting in a by-product. The Supreme Brahman is the Absolute Truth, and the other energies that have emanated from Him and are existing separately, such as the living entities and the cosmic manifestation, are also truths. This is an example of transformation, which is called  vikāra  or  pariṇāma . To give another example of  vikāra , milk is a truth, but the same milk may be transformed into yogurt. Thus yogurt is a transformation of milk, although the ingredients of yogurt and milk are the same.
In the  Chāndogya Upaniṣad  there is the following  mantra :  aitad ātmyam idaṁ sarvam . This  mantra  indicates without a doubt that the entire world is Brahman. The Absolute Truth has inconceivable energies, as confirmed in the  Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad  ( parāsya śaktir vividhaiva śrūyate ), and the entire cosmic manifestation is evidence of these different energies of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is a fact, and therefore whatever is created by the Supreme Lord is also factual. Everything is true and complete ( pūrṇam ), but the original  pūrṇam , the complete Absolute Truth, always remains the same.  Pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya . The Absolute Truth is so perfect that although innumerable energies emanate from Him and manifest creations which appear to be different from Him, He never theless maintains His personality. He never deteriorates under any circumstances.
It is to be concluded that the entire cosmic manifestation is a transformation of the energy of the Supreme Lord, not of the Supreme Lord or Absolute Truth. Himself, who always remains the same. The material world and the living entities are transformations of the energy of the Lord, the Absolute Truth or Brahman, who is the original source. In other words, the Absolute Truth, Brahman, is the original ingredient, and the other manifestations are transformations of this ingredient. This is also confirmed in the  Taittirīya Upaniṣad .  Yato vā imāni bhūtāni jāyante : "This entire cosmic manifestation is made possible by the Absolute