One should be convinced that he is a spirit soul, part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman, Kṛṣṇa, but has somehow or other been entrapped by the material coverings of the gross and subtle bodies, consisting of earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego. One should know that the association of society, friendship, love, nationalism, religion and so on are nothing but creations of māyā. One's only business is to become Kṛṣṇa conscious and render service unto Kṛṣṇa as extensively as possible for a living being. In this way one is liberated from material bondage. By the grace of Kṛṣṇa, Devayānī attained this state through the instructions of her husband.
(Srimad Bhagavatam-----9:19:27-28-----purport).

This material world of three modes of nature-sattva-guṇa, rajo-guṇa and tamo-guṇa—is a composition of earth, water, fire, air, mind, intelligence and false ego, all of which are energies coming from Kṛṣṇa, yet Kṛṣṇa, being always transcendental, is aloof from this material world. Those who are not in pure knowledge think that Kṛṣṇa is a product of matter and that His body is material like ours (avajānanti māṁ mūḍhāḥ (B.G.9:11). In fact, however, Kṛṣṇa is always aloof from this material world.
(Srimad Bhagavatam-----10:3:14-----purport).

"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe."
The body, therefore, has a relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, just as the soul does. Since both of them are energies of the Lord, neither of them is false, because they come from the reality. One who does not know this secret of life is described as abudhaḥ. According to the Vedic injunctions, aitadātmyam idaṁ sarvam, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: everything is the Supreme Brahman. Therefore, both the body and the soul are Brahman, since matter and spirit emanate from Brahman.
(Srimad Bhagavatam-----10:3:18-----purport).

At the time of annihilation, the five gross elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether—enter into the mind, intelligence and false ego (ahaṅkāra), and the entire cosmic manifestation enters into the spiritual energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who alone remains as the origin of everything. The Lord is therefore known as Śeṣa-nāga, as Ādi-puruṣa and by many other names.
Devakī therefore prayed, "After many millions of years, when Lord Brahmā comes to the end of his life, the annihilation of the cosmic manifestation takes place. At that time the five elements—namely earth, water, fire, air and ether—enter into the mahat-tattva. The mahat-tattva again enters, by the force of time, into the nonmanifested total material energy, the total material energy enters into the energetic pradhāna, and the pradhāna enters into You. Therefore after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation, You alone remain with Your transcendental name, form, quality and paraphernalia.
(Srimad Bhagavatam-----10:3:25-----purport).

"Earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego—all together these eight comprise My separated material energies. But besides this inferior nature, O mighty-armed Arjuna, there is a superior energy of Mine, which consists of all living entities who are struggling with material nature and are sustaining the universe." Spirit and matter cannot be made one, for actually they are superior and inferior energies, yet the Māyāvādīs, or Advaita-vādīs, try to make them one. This is wrong. Although spirit and matter ultimately come from the same one source, they cannot be made one. For example, there are many things that come from our bodies, but although they come from the same source, they cannot be made one. We should be careful to note that although the supreme source is one, the emanations from this source should be separately regarded as inferior and superior. The difference between the Māyāvāda and Vaiṣṇava philosophies is that the Vaiṣṇava philosophy recognizes this fact.
(Srimad Bhagavatam-----10:13:39-----purport).

The all-pervading feature of the Lord is called the Supersoul. In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, ahaṁ kṛtsnasya jagataḥ prabhavaḥ: the cosmic manifestation is a display of the energy of the Supreme Lord. The material elements (earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego) display the inferior energy of the Lord, and the living entities are His superior energy. Since the energy of the Lord is not different from Him, in fact everything that exists is Kṛṣṇa in His impersonal feature. Sunshine, sunlight and heat are not different from the sun, and yet simultaneously they are distinct energies of the sun. Similarly, the cosmic manifestation and the living entities are energies of the Lord, and they are considered to be simultaneously one with and different from Him. The Lord therefore says, "I am everything," because everything is His energy and is therefore nondifferent from Him.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta-----1:1:53-----purport).

The gross material elements (earth, water, fire, air and ether) combine with the subtle material elements (mind, intelligence and false ego) to construct the bodies of this material world, and yet they are beyond these bodies as well. Any material construction is nothing but an amalgamation or combination of material elements in varied proportions. These elements exist both within and beyond the body. For example, although the sky exists in space, it also enters within the body. Similarly, the Supreme Lord, who is the cause of the material energy, lives within the material world as well as beyond it. Without His presence within the material world, the cosmic body could not develop, just as without the presence of the spirit within the physical body, the body could not develop. The entire material manifestation develops and exists because the Supreme Personality of Godhead enters it as Paramātmā, or the Supersoul.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta-----1:1:55-----purport).

The Lord is the reservoir of all cosmic manifestation, animate and inanimate. The advocates of Viśiṣṭādvaita-vāda philosophy explain the Vedānta-sūtra by saying that although the living entity has two kinds of bodies—subtle (consisting of mind, intelligence and false ego) and gross (consisting of the five basic elements)—and although he thus lives in three bodily dimensions (gross, subtle and spiritual), he is nevertheless a spiritual soul. Similarly, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who emanates the material and spiritual worlds, is the Supreme Spirit. As an individual spirit soul is almost identical to his gross and subtle bodies, so the Supreme Lord is almost identical to the material and spiritual worlds. The material world, full of conditioned souls trying to lord it over matter, is a manifestation of the external energy of the Supreme Lord, and the spiritual world, full of perfect servitors of the Lord, is a manifestation of His internal energy.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta-----1:2:37-----purport).

In the Bhagavad-gītā it is explained that the five elements earth, water, fire, air and ether constitute the gross energy of the Absolute Truth and that there are also three subtle energies, namely, the mind, intelligence and false ego, or identification with the phenomenal world. Thus the entire cosmic manifestation is divided into eight energies, all of which are inferior. As explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (mama māyā duratyayā (B.G.7:14), the inferior energy, known as māyā, is so strong that although the living entity does not belong to this energy, due to the superior strength of the inferior energy the living entity (jīva-bhūta) forgets his real position and identifies with it. Kṛṣṇa says distinctly that beyond the material energy there is a superior energy which is known as the jīva-bhūta, or living entities. When in contact with the material energy, this superior energy conducts all the activities of the entire material, phenomenal world.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta-----1:7:118-----purport).

In all Vedic literatures, including Bhagavad-gītā and Viṣṇu Purāṇa, much evidence is given to distinguish between the energy and the energetic. In Bhagavad-gītā (B.G.7:4) it is clearly stated that earth, water, fire, air and ether are the five principal gross elements of the material world and that mind, intelligence and false ego are the three subtle elements. All material nature is divided into these eight elements which together comprise the inferior nature, or energy, of the Lord. Another name for this inferior nature is māyā, or illusion. Beyond these eight inferior elements there is a superior energy, which is called parā-prakṛti. That parā-prakṛti is the living entity, who is found in great numbers throughout the material world. He is indicated in Bhagavad-gītā (B.G.7:5) as jīva-bhūtām.
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya).

In Bhagavad-gītā the living entity is described as one of the energies of the Supreme Lord. Although inseparable from the energetic, energy is still energy, and it cannot be equal with the energetic. In other words, the living entity is simultaneously one and different from the Supreme Lord. Bhagavad-gītā (7.4-5) clearly states that earth, water, fire, air, ether, mind, intelligence and false ego are the eight elementary energies of the Supreme Lord and are of inferior quality, whereas the living entity is of superior quality. The Vedic literatures confirm the fact that the transcendental form of the Supreme Lord is eternal, blissful and full of knowledge.
(Teachings of Lord Caitanya).

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura comments that the word siddha-deha, "perfected spiritual body," refers to a body beyond the material gross body composed of five elements and the subtle astral body composed of mind, intelligence and false ego. In other words, one attains a completely spiritual body fit to render service to the transcendental couple Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa: sarvopādhi-vinirmuktaṁ tat-paratvena nirmalam (CC.2:19:170).
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta-----2:8:229-----purport).

The living entity attains a particular type of gross body in accordance with his past activities and mental condition. In this life the mental condition changes in different ways, and the same living entity gets another body in the next life according to his desires. The mind, intelligence and false ego are always engaged in an attempt to dominate material nature. According to that subtle astral body, one attains a gross body to enjoy the objects of one's desires. According to the activities of the present body, one prepares another subtle body. And according to the subtle body, one attains another gross body. This is the process of material existence.
(Sri Caitanya Caritamrta-----2:8:229-----purport).