32
Śrimad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 5, Ch. 1]
mukto 'pi tāvad bibhṛyāt sva-deham ārabdham aśnann abhimāna-śūnyaḥ yathānubhūtaṁ pratiyāta-nidraḥ kiṁ tv anya-dehāya guṇān na vṛṅkte
muktaḥ —a liberated person;  api —even;  tāvat —so long;  bibhṛyāt —must maintain;  sva-deham —his own body;  ārabdham —obtained as a result of past activity;  aśnan —accepting;  abhimāna-śūnyaḥ —without erroneous conceptions;  yathā —as;  anubhūtam —what was perceived;  pratiyāta-nidraḥ —one who has awakened from sleep;  kiṁ tu —but;  anya-dehāya —for another material body;  guṇān —the material qualities;  na —never;  vṛṅkte —enjoys.
TRANSLATION
Even if one is liberated, he nevertheless accepts the body he has received according to his past karma. Without misconceptions, however, he regards his enjoyment and suffering due to that karma the way an awakened person regards a dream he had while sleeping. He thus remains steadfast and never works to achieve another material body under the influence of the three modes of material nature.
PURPORT
The difference between a liberated and conditioned soul is that the conditioned soul is under the concept of bodily life, whereas a liberated person knows that he is not the body but a spirit, different from the body. Priyavrata might have thought that although a conditioned soul is forced to act according to the laws of nature, why should he, who was far advanced in spiritual understanding, accept the same kind of bondage and impediments to spiritual advancement? To answer this doubt, Lord Brahmā informed him that even those who are liberated do not resent accepting, in the present body, the results of their past activities. While sleeping, one dreams many unreal things, but when he awakens he disregards them and makes progress in factual life. Similarly, a liberated person—one who has completely understood that he is not the body but a spirit soul—disregards past activities performed in ignorance and performs his present activities in such a way that they produce no reactions.