118
Śrī-Caitanya-caritāmṛta
with the soul. Since the soul is actually a spiritual particle, as confirmed in  Bhagavad-gītā  ( mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke ), it is due to illusion ( vivarta-vāda ) that a human being, like an animal, identifies the body with the self. This is a proper example of  vivarta , or illusion. The verse  atattvato'nyathā-buddhir vivarta ity udāhṛtaḥ  describes such an illusion. To not know actual facts and thus to mistake one thing for another (as, for example, to accept the body as oneself) is called  vivarta-vāda . Every conditioned living entity who considers the body to be the soul is deluded by this  vivarta-vāda . One can be attacked by this  vivarta-vāda  philosophy when he forgets the inconceivable power of the omnipotent Personality of Godhead.
How the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains as He is, never changing, is explained in the  Īśopaniṣad: pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate . God is complete. Even if a complete manifestation is taken away from Him, He continues to be complete. The material creation is manifested by the energy of the Lord, but He is still the same person. His form, entourage, qualities and so on never deteriorate. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, in his  Paramātma-sandarbha , comments regarding the  vivarta-vāda  as follows: “Under the spell of  vivarta-vāda  one imagines the separate entities, namely, the cosmic manifestation and the living entities, to be one with Brahman. This is due to complete ignorance regarding the actual fact. The Absolute Truth, or Parabrahman, is always one and always the same. He is completely free from all other conceptions of existence. He is completely free from false ego, for He is the full spiritual identity. It is absolutely impossible for Him to be subjected to ignorance and fall under the spell of a misconception ( vivarta-vāda ). The Absolute Truth is beyond our conception. One must admit that He has unblemished qualities that He does not share with every living entity. He is never tainted in the slightest degree by the flaws of ordinary living beings. Everyone must therefore understand the Absolute Truth to possess inconceivable potencies.”
TEXT 123
বস্তুত: পরিণাম-বাদ – সেই সে প্রমাণ ।
দেহে আত্মবৃদ্ধি—এই বিবর্তের স্থান ॥ ১২৩ ॥
vastutaḥ pariṇāma-vāda—sei se pramāṇa dehe ātma-buddhi—ei vivartera sthāna
SYNONYMS
vastutaḥ —factually;  pariṇāma-vāda —transformation of the energy;  sei —that;  se —only;  pramāṇa —proof;  dehe —in the body;  ātma-buddhi —concept of self;  ei —this;  vivartera —of illusion;  sthāna —place.
TRANSLATION
“Transformation of energy is a proven fact. It is the false bodily conception of the self that is an illusion.