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.
That which is relative, temporary and far away from the Absolute Truth is called māyā, or ignorance. This illusion is exhibited in two ways, as explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. The inferior illusion is inert matter, and the superior illusion is the living entity. The living entities are called illusory in this context only because they are implicated in the illusory structures and activities of the material world. Actually the living entities are not illusory, for they are parts of the superior energy of the Supreme Lord and do not have to be covered by māyā if they do not want to be so. The actions of the living entities in the spiritual kingdom are not illusory; they are the actual, eternal activities of liberated souls.