1364 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 31

tasman na karyah santraso
na karpanyam na sambhramah
buddhva jiva-gatirh dhiro
mukta-sangas cared iha

tasmat—on account of death; na—not; karyah—should be done; santrasah
—horror; na—not; kdrpanyam—miserliness; na—not; sambhramah—eagerness
for material gain; buddhva—realizing; jiva-gatim—the true nature of the
living entity; dhirah—steadfast; mukta-sangah—free from attachment;
caret—one should move about; tha—in this world.

TRANSLATION
Therefore, one should not view death with horror, nor have recourse to
defining the body as soul, nor give way to exaggeration in enjoying the
bodily necessities of life. Realizing the true nature of the living entity, one
should move about in the world free from attachment and steadfast in
purpose.

PURPORT

A sane person who has understood the philosophy of life and death is
very upset upon hearing of the horrible, hellish condition of life in the
womb of the mother or outside of the mother. But one has to make a
solution to the problems of life. A sane man should understand the
miserable condition of this material body. Without being unnecessarily
upset, he should try to find out if there is a remedy. The remedial measures
can be understood when one associates with persons who are liberated. It
must be understood who is actually liberated. The liberated person is
described in Bhagavad-gita: one who engages in uninterrupted devotional
service to the Lord, having surpassed the stringent laws of material
nature, is understood to be situated in Brahman.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead is beyond the material creation.
It is admitted even by impersonalists like Sankaracarya that Narayana is
transcendental to this material creation. As such, when one actually engages
in the service of the Lord in various forms, either Narayana, or Radha-
Krsna, or Sita-Rama, he is understood to be on the platform of liberation.
The Bhagavatam also confirms that liberation means to be situated in one’s
constitutional position. Since a living entity is eternally the servitor of the
Supreme Lord, when one seriously and sincerely engages in the transcen-
dental loving service of the Lord, that is the position of liberation. One
