Text 173] The Liberation of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya 297
jivera dehe atma-buddhi——sei mithya haya
jagat ye mithya nahe, nasvara-matra haya
SYNONYMS

jivera—of the living entities; dehe—in the body; atma-buddhi—considering as
the self; sei—that; mithya—untruth; haya—is; jagat—the cosmic manifestation;
ye—that; mithyda—untruth; nahe—not; nasvara-matra—only temporary; haya—
is.

TRANSLATION

“The theory of illusion can be applied only when the living entity identifies
himself with the body. As far as the cosmic manifestation is concerned, it can-
not be called false, although it is certainly temporary.

PURPORT

The living entity is the eternal servant of Krsna. Being part and parcel of the
Lord, he is constitutionally pure, but due to his contact with material energy, he
identifies himself with either the gross or the subtle material body. Such identifica-
tion is certainly false and constitutes the genuine platform of the theory of illu-
sion. The living entity is eternal; he can never be subjected to the limits of time, as
are his gross and subtle bodies. The cosmic manifestation is never false, but it is
subject to change by the influence of the time factor. For a living entity to accept
this cosmic manifestation as the field for his sense enjoyment is certainly illusory.
This material world is the manifestation of the material energy of the Lord. This is
explained by Krsna in Bhagavad-gita (7.4):

bhumir apo ‘nalo vayuh
kharh mano buddhir eva ca
ahankdra itiyara me
bhinnd prakrtir astadha

The material world is the inferior energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
but it is not a fact that the Supreme Lord has been transformed into this material
world. The Mayavadi philosophers, devoid of true understanding, have confused
the theory of illusion and the theory of the cosmic manifestation by word jugglery.
The theory of illusion can be applied to a person who identifies himself with the
body. The living entity is the superior energy of the Supreme Lord, and the ma-
terial world is the inferior energy. Both, however, are prakrti (energy). Although
the energies are simultaneously one with the Lord and different from Him, the
Lord never loses His personal form due to the transformation of His different
energies.
