Canto & Chapters
The Status Quo (33 Chapters)
Chapter 145v
Questions by Vidura
Chapter 234v
Remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa
Chapter 328v
The Lord’s Pastimes Out of Vṛndāvana
Chapter 436v
Vidura Approaches Maitreya
Chapter 551v
Vidura’s Talks with Maitreya
Chapter 640v
Creation of the Universal Form
Chapter 742v
Further Inquires by Vidura
Chapter 833v
Manifestation of Brahmā from Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu
Chapter 943v
Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy
Chapter 1029v
Divisions of the Creation
Chapter 1142v
Calculation of Time, from the Atom
Chapter 1257v
Creation of the Kumāras and Others
Chapter 1350v
The Appearance of Lord Varāha
Chapter 1450v
Pregnancy of Diti in the Evening
Chapter 1550v
Description of the Kingdom of God
Chapter 1637v
The Two Doorkeepers of Vaikuṇṭha, Jaya and Vijaya, Cursed by the Sages
Chapter 1731v
Victory of Hiraṇyākṣa Over All the Directions of the Universe
Chapter 1827v
The Battle Between Lord Boar and the Demon Hiraṇyākṣa
Chapter 1938v
The Killing of the Demon Hiraṇyākṣa
Chapter 2053v
Conversation Between Maitreya and Vidura
Chapter 2150v
Conversation Between Manu and Kardama
Chapter 2237v
The Marriage of Kardama Muni and Devahūti
Chapter 2354v
Devahūti’s Lamentation
Chapter 2446v
The Renunciation of Kardama Muni
Chapter 2543v
The Glories of Devotional Service
Chapter 2671v
Fundamental Principles of Material Nature
Chapter 2729v
Understanding Material Nature
Chapter 2844v
Kapila’s Instructions on the Execution of Devotional Service
Chapter 2943v
Explanation of Devotional Service by Lord Kapila
Chapter 3034v
Description by Lord Kapila of Adverse Fruitive Activities
Chapter 3147v
Lord Kapila’s Instructions on the Movements of the Living Entities
Chapter 3238v
Entanglement in Fruitive Activities
Chapter 3336v
Activities of Kapila
Canto 3, Chapter 28

Kapila’s Instructions on the Execution of Devotional Service

Verse 38 (SB 3.28.38)
SB 3.28.38 • मूल श्लोक

देहोऽपि दैववशग: खलु कर्म यावत् स्वारम्भकं प्रतिसमीक्षत एव सासु: । तं सप्रपञ्चमधिरूढसमाधियोग: स्वाप्नं पुनर्न भजते प्रतिबुद्धवस्तु: ॥ ३८ ॥

Transliteration

deho ’pi daiva-vaśagaḥ khalu karma yāvat svārambhakaṁ pratisamīkṣata eva sāsuḥ taṁ sa-prapañcam adhirūḍha-samādhi-yogaḥ svāpnaṁ punar na bhajate pratibuddha-vastuḥ

Synonyms (Word-for-Word)

dehaḥ — the body; api — moreover; daiva-vaśa-gaḥ — under the control of the Personality of Godhead; khalu — indeed; karma — activities; yāvat — as much as; sva-ārambhakam — begun by himself; pratisamīkṣate — continues to function; eva — certainly; sa-asuḥ — along with the senses; tam — the body; sa-prapañcam — with its expansions; adhirūḍha-samādhi-yogaḥ — being situated in samādhi by yoga practice; svāpnam — born in a dream; punaḥ — again; na — not; bhajate — he does accept as his own; pratibuddha — awake; vastuḥ — to his constitutional position.

Translation

“The body of such a liberated yogī, along with the senses, is taken charge of by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it functions until its destined activities are finished. The liberated devotee, being awake to his constitutional position and thus situated in samādhi, the highest perfectional stage of yoga, does not accept the by-products of the material body as his own. Thus he considers his bodily activities to be like the activities of a body in a dream.”

Bhaktivedanta Purport

By Śrīla Prabhupāda
The following questions may be posed. As long as the liberated soul is in contact with the body, why don’t the bodily activities affect him? Doesn’t he actually become contaminated by the action and reaction of material activities? In answer to such questions, this verse explains that the material body of a liberated soul is taken charge of by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is not acting due to the living force of the living entity; it is simply acting as a reaction to past activities. Even after being switched off, an electric fan moves for some time. That movement is not due to the electric current, but is a continuation of the last movement; similarly, although a liberated soul appears to be acting just like an ordinary man, his actions are to be accepted as the continuation of past activities. In a dream one may see himself expanded through many bodies, but when awake he can understand that those bodies were all false. Similarly, although a liberated soul has the by-products of the body — children, wife, house, etc. — he does not identify himself with those bodily expansions. He knows that they are all products of the material dream. The gross body is made of the gross elements of matter, and the subtle body is made of mind, intelligence, ego and contaminated consciousness. If one can accept the subtle body of a dream as false and not identify oneself with that body, then certainly an awake person need not identify with the gross body. As one who is awake has no connection with the activities of the body in a dream, an awakened, liberated soul has no connection with the activities of the present body. In other words, because he is acquainted with his constitutional position, he never accepts the bodily concept of life.