Srimad Bhagavatam — Tritiya Skandha, Shloka 37
Kapila Describes Bhakti-Saturated Aṣṭāṅga-Yoga and Meditation on the Lord’s Form
देहं च तं न चरम: स्थितमुत्थितं वा सिद्धो विपश्यति यतोऽध्यगमत्स्वरूपम् । दैवादुपेतमथ दैववशादपेतं वासो यथा परिकृतं मदिरामदान्ध: ॥ ३७ ॥
dehaṁ ca taṁ na caramaḥ sthitam utthitaṁ vā siddho vipaśyati yato ’dhyagamat svarūpam daivād upetam atha daiva-vaśād apetaṁ vāso yathā parikṛtaṁ madirā-madāndhaḥ
Having attained his real identity, the perfectly realized soul has no notion whether the material body is still or active; it comes by destiny and departs by destiny, just as an intoxicated man cannot tell whether he is clothed or not.
This stage of life is explained by Rūpa Gosvāmī in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. A person whose mind is completely dovetailed with the desire of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and who engages one hundred percent in the service of the Lord, forgets his material bodily demands.
FAQs
This verse teaches that a siddha (perfected person) sees the body as something that arrives and departs by destiny, like clothing, because he has realized his true spiritual identity (svarūpa).
Kapila instructs Devahuti in bhakti-yoga and sāṅkhya discrimination, emphasizing that liberation requires seeing oneself as the soul and the body as a temporary covering subject to providence.
Practice witnessing: observe bodily states (health, age, activity) without defining yourself by them, and strengthen devotion and self-knowledge so identity rests in the soul, not in changing circumstances.