Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 552

प्रारब्धकर्मपरिकल्पितवासनाभिः

संसारिवच्चरति भुक्तिषु मुक्तदेहः ।

सिद्धः स्वयं वसति साक्षिवदत्र तूष्णीं

चक्रस्य मूलमिव कल्पविकल्पशून्यः ॥

prārabdhakarmaparikalpitavāsanābhiḥ

saṃsārivaccarati bhuktiṣu muktadehaḥ |

siddhaḥ svayaṃ vasati sākṣivadatra tūṣṇīṃ

cakrasya mūlamiva kalpavikalpaśūnyaḥ ||

(Sankaracarya's Vivekachudamani 552)

Through desires produced by Prarabdha Karma, the man of Perfection, bereft of the body-idea, moves in the midst of sense-enjoyments, looking like one subject to the transmigration. He, however, lives unmoved in the body like a witness, free from mental agitations, like the pivot of a potter's wheel.

Material conception and bodily enjoyments will hide our real nature which is to surrender to the Supreme Lord. By unwanted human desires, they produce a collection of karmas. All those material activities are not done by the Atma, we are becoming 'godasa'. Godāsa means servant of the mind, servant of the senses. Tār madhye jihvā ati. Yan maithunādi-gṛhamedhi-sukhaṁ hi tuccham (SB 7.9.45). Tṛpyanti neha kṛpana bahu-duḥkha-bhājaḥ. The sense, the tongue, the belly, the straight line, and then the genital. If you can control the tongue, then you can control your belly and then control your genital. And that is required. Unless you can control the genital, there is no question of liberation from this material bondage. This is the principle.

The soul is the witness of all our activities and free from mental agitations, like the pivot of a potter's wheel.