na pratīyeta cātmani
tad vidyād ātmano māyāṁ
yathābhāso yathā tamaḥ
ṛte-without; artham-value; yat-that which; pratīyeta-appears to be; na-not; pratīyeta-appears to be; ca-certainly; ātmani-in relation to Me; tat-that; vidyāt-you must know; ātmanaḥ-My; māyām-illusory energy; yathā-just as; ābhāsaḥ-the reflection; yathā-just as; tamaḥ-the darkness.
"What appears to be truth without Me is certainly My illusory energy, for nothing can exist without Me. It is like a reflection of a real light in the shadows, for in the light there are neither shadows nor reflections.
When the material manifestation appears very wonderful, this is due to a perverted reflection of the supreme sunshine, the Absolute Truth, as confirmed in the Vedānta-sūtra. Whatever one can see here has its substance in the Absolute. As darkness is situated far away from the sun, so the material world is also far away from the spiritual world. The Vedic literature directs us not to be captivated by the dark regions (tamaḥ) but to try to reach the shining regions of the Absolute (yogi-dhāma).