Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 549

तद्वद्देहादिबन्धेभ्यो विमुक्तं ब्रह्मवित्तमम् ।

पश्यन्ति देहिवन्मूढाः शरीराभासदर्शनात् ॥ ५४८ ॥

tadvaddehādibandhebhyo vimuktaṃ brahmavittamam |

paśyanti dehivanmūḍhāḥ śarīrābhāsadarśanāt ||

(Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 549)

So too, the perfect knower of Brahman, liberated from the bondage of body, etc. is looked upon by the ignorant as possessing a body; they but see only an appearance of it.

A self-realized person, or a devotee, knows well that this material cosmic manifestation is a temporary, illusory representation appearing to be truth. It is like a phantasmagoria. But behind this shadow creation, there is reality—the spiritual world. A devotee is interested in the spiritual world, not its shadow. Since he has the realization of the supreme truth, a devotee is not interested in this temporary shadow of truth.