1400
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 4, Ch. 29]
kvacit pumān kvacic ca strī kvacin nobhayam andha-dhīḥ devo manuṣyas tiryag vā yathā-karma-guṇaṁ bhavaḥ
kvacit—sometimes; pumān—male; kvacit—sometimes; ca—also; strī—female; kvacit—sometimes; na—not; ubhayam—both; andha—blind; dhīḥ—he whose intelligence; devaḥ—demigod; manuṣyaḥ—human being; tiryak—animal, bird, beast; vā—or; yathā—according to; karma—of activities; guṇam—the qualities; bhavaḥ—birth.
TRANSLATION
Covered by the mode of ignorance in material nature, the living entity is sometimes a male, sometimes a female, sometimes a eunuch, sometimes a human being, sometimes a demigod, sometimes a bird, an animal, and so on. In this way he is wandering within the material world. His acceptance of different types of bodies is brought about by his activities under the influence of the modes of nature.
PURPORT
Actually the living entity is part and parcel of the Lord; therefore he is spiritual in quality. The living entity is never material, and his material conception is simply a mistake due to forgetfulness. He is as brilliant as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Both the sun and the sunshine are very brilliant. The Lord is like the full shining sun, and the living entities are like the small particles of that sun which constitute the all-pervasive sunshine. When these small particles are covered by the cloud of  māyā , they lose their shining capacity. When the cloud of  māyā  is gone, the particles again become brilliant and shining. As soon as the living entity is covered by the ignorance of  māyā  or darkness, he cannot understand his relationship with the Supreme God. Somehow or other, if he comes before the Lord, he can see himself as shining as the Supreme Lord, although he is not as extensive as the Lord. Because the living entity desires to imitate the Supreme Lord, he is covered by  māyā . We cannot imitate the Lord, nor can we become the supreme enjoyer. This is not possible, and when we think it is, we become conditioned by  māyā . Thus the encagement of the living entity under the clutches of  māyā  is brought about by forgetfulness of his relationship with the Supreme Lord.
Under the influence of  māyā , the living entity becomes exactly like a person haunted by a ghost. Such a person speaks all kinds of nonsense.